Loyal to a Place: Developing Staff as Librarians

Abstract

Recruiting and retaining librarians by exploring the uniqueness of Indiana as a “place” is an innovative and exciting concept. In addition, why not explore the concept of recruiting individuals that have already chosen Indiana as “their place?” Many talented and motivated individuals already staff Indiana’s libraries. If recruitment efforts are focused on developing existing staff members, libraries are likely to be rewarded with professionals that are already loyal to their state, their library, “their place.” The success of this approach in a mid-size public library in Indiana will be explored.