[Publib] children of staff

[Jim Sanderson]

Deborah, I fell for the unfair treatment you are dealing with from a
staffer.  One thing though really bothers me "allow parents of small
children to get first bite at vacation"  is that really fair to the
non-parents on the staff?  They presumably have the same conditions of
employment as parents, why should their benefits be administered any
differently?  Benefits are tied to the job not to outside conditions.  Yes
we all make adjustments to help one another out but that should be a
discretionary call on the employee's part not a policy official or
otherwise.  To do otherwise is to value one employee over another on a non
work related basis.
Hope you can get the "bad press" sorted out though, it seems that you have
done a lot to help this employee and they have developed a sense of
entitlement.
 

James W. Sanderson 
Supervising Librarian 
West Avenue Library 
Newport News Public Library 
2907 West Avenue 
Newport News, Virginia. 23607 
(757) 247-8505 
(757) 247-2344 
www.nngov.com/library 

 

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From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Deborah
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 7:35 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] children of staff


Thank you, Ms. Burton.  
I was surprised at how many libraries have faced this challenge and, from
what I've read, how difficult it's been to walk a fine line between
compassion and turning the library into a daycare center. 
Our library has dealt with children in the workplace and the needs of
parents in a compassionate, caring way but I found out today that a staff
member is spreading a rumor that I went into a towering rage when she
brought her 5-year-old to work. I did tell her that her child was to young
and needy to be at work with her, and I certainly did not scream at her, as
the rumor around town reports. This employee had been told many times that
the child was too young to be at work and that patron's were suffering since
she was attending to the needs of her child and neglecting work. That her
child was in the library to spare her husband from attending the baby is, to
me, not a good reason to bring her child to the library.
I do allow parents of small children to get the first bite at vacation time
so they can be with their children during spring and winter break and, if a
child is sick, I've worked 12-hour shifts to cover hours since things
happen. I'm just a tad peeved that I'm being portrayed as an ogre.

Deb
These are merely my opinions...




Beware the man of one book. Latin Proverb


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