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BL 22,3

SUSTAINABLE LIBRARY IMPERATIVE

Sustainability by engagement
James W. Marcum
Fairleigh Dickinson University Library, Teaneck and Madison, New Jersey, USA
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to dene engagement and propose the utility of the concept in developing sustainable libraries. Design/methodology/approach The paper compares traditional motivation practices with methods of engagement for relevance in organizations where knowledge work is dominant or important. Findings The paper nds evidence that motivation, relying on rewards, is not productive in such organizations. Practical applications It is argued that traditional motivation practices are not productive with knowledge workers and that engagement ideas have the potential of attracting greater staff commitment. Originality/value The proposal is for directors and managers that engagement methods have the potential of attracting greater staff commitment to the organization and its work. Keywords Economic sustainability, Literacy, Libraries

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Received June 2009 Revised June 2009 Accepted June 2009

As we continue to explore the meanings and importance of sustainability we recall various steps in the process: design, partnering, and fostering appropriate mental models, for example. Nothing, however, is more important than nurturing a high level of staff engagement. Some explanation is in order; there are several dimensions to the argument: Why engagement? We live and work in a time and domain where knowledge work is more characteristic than routine work. We also live in a time of inescapable media-enhanced information and mass communication, attributed by Putnam (2000) as a root cause for periods of decline of civic and political involvement. The concept of engagement has emerged in the past decade as the key ingredient in civic and political involvement (Zukin et al., 2006); as a useful barometer in student success (Carini et al., 2006); and as a crucial workplace component of effective organizations (Faireld et al., 2009). Summarizing an extensive literature, we can say that engagement involves learning, persistence, a social context, a high sense of empowerment and self-organization, and an evident sense of condence and self-efcacy. A middle ground is appropriate, one that can be embodied and maintained, as Jackson Kytle (2000) makes clear. Neither Maslows peak experiences nor Csikszentmihalyis ow can be sustained over time. An engaged life must be carefully constructed by each individual and must reect their unique, persistent commitment.
The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances Vol. 22 No. 3, 2009 pp. 76-78 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0888-045X DOI 10.1108/08880450910999622

Engagement, not motivation Engagement is something different from employee motivation, by the way. The latter is a much over-used and abused but deeply engrained attitude governing our

assumptions about learning, child-rearing, and employment. But the assumptions are awed, driven by the desire of parents, teachers, and supervisors to get others to do what they wish for them to do. Reliance on rewards and punishment characterize motivational practices, despite countless studies (Kohn, 1993) that rewards kill interest by signaling that the task or desired behavior is not inherently worth doing on its own merits. The carrot and stick approach makes the point: what resides between them? Some form of dumb beast (Levinson, 1973); hardly a useful model for knowledge work and building knowledge and intellectual capital. Engaging sustainability There is wide recognition that sustainability already is a matter of concern to growing numbers in the workplace. People like to work for organizations that do good, that make things better rather than contributing to the problem (Gardner, 2002). There are many avenues available to those desiring to contribute to the solution. A recent review of progress in the US since 2002 nds that demonstrable progress has occurred in local government, brownelds redevelopment, education, religious organizations, and business and industry. But the ultimate challenge of making the nation sustainable remains well beyond our reach. Enormous challenges remain in consumer behavior, natural resource management, transportation, and waste and toxic chemicals (Dernbach, 2009, pp. 3-26). Academics have a comparably higher level of concern about the challenges of sustainability, and professors and universities are on the scene but not yet having the impact of their potential. As with so many institutions and professions, traditional practices such as expectations required for tenure hinder that possibility (Zilahy and Huisingh, 2009). The role of literacy as a factor in human motivation and engagement adds a particular cogency for libraries, as partners in the education process. The importance of reading, particularly at certain stages in human development, has great impact on attitudes and perceptions (Verhoeven and Snow, 2001), raising for us again the importance of reading skills for the kind of society we want for ourselves and our progeny. For two presidential administrations, starting in 2002, the government actually worked to reduce public access to information (Bruch et al., 2009), a sad commentary on the state of the nation. Hopefully, that is changing under the Obama administration. Certainly, openness and transparency in governmental activities is fundamental to encouraging people to get involved. Acknowledging the problem is the rst step to doing something, and the library profession deserves great credit for leading the ght for individual privacy and public openness. But the greater challenges lie ahead. Leaders cannot do it; organizations cannot do what needs to be done. A major shift in personal attitudes and behaviors must take place; that requires widespread engagement in the work. Librarians are strategically placed to help make that happen.
References Bruch, C., Irwin, F. and Bass, G.D. (2009), Public access to information, participation, and justice, in Dernbach, J.C. (Ed.), Agenda for a Sustainable America, ELI Press, Washington, DC, pp. 459-78.

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Carini, R.M., Kuh, G.D. and Klein, S.P. (2006), Student engagement and student learning: testing the linkages, Research in Higher Education, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 1-32. Dernbach, J.C. (Ed.) (2009), Agenda for a Sustainable America, ELI Press, Washington, DC. Faireld, K.D., Knowles, R.N., Russell, W.G., Wirtenberg, J., Mahurkar-Rao, S. and Judd, O.D. (2009), Employee engagement for a sustainable enterprise, in Wirtenberg, J., Russell, W.G. and Lipsky, D. (Eds), The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook: When it all Comes Together, Greenleaf/Amacom, New York, NY, pp. 141-61. Gardner, H. (2002), Good work, well done: a psychological study, The Chronicle Review, Vol. 148 No. i24. Kohn, A. (1993), Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, As, Praise, and Other Bribes, Houghton-Mifin, Boston, MA. Kytle, J. (2000), On constructing an engaged life, in Miller, M. and West, A.N. (Eds), Spirituality, Ethics, and Relationship in Adulthood, Psychosocial Press/International Universities Press, Madison, CT, pp. 231-54. Levinson, H. (1973), Asinine ideas toward motivation, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 51 No. 1, pp. 70-6. Putnam, R.D. (2000), Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY. Verhoeven, L. and Snow, C. (Eds) (2001), Literacy and Motivation: Reading Engagement in Individuals and Groups, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ. Zilahy, G. and Huisingh, D. (2009), The roles of academia in regional sustainability initiatives, Journal of Cleaner Productivity, Vol. 17 No. 12, pp. 1057-66. Zukin, C., Keeter, S., Andolina, M., Jenkins, K. and Delli Carpini, M.X. (2006), A New Engagement? Political Participation, Civic Life, and the Changing American Citizen, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

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