{"id":35134,"date":"2026-02-21T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=35134"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:37:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:37:25","slug":"other-duties-as-assigned-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2026\/02\/other-duties-as-assigned-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"“Other Duties as Assigned”= Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

That quote, \u201cother duties as assigned\u201d has become a catchphrase in my library. It refers to the things we find ourselves doing as part of our work that aren\u2019t in the job description and not what our MLS degree education (where required) prepared us for. It could be ice skating in a chipmunk costume, building life-size people from chicken wire, or playing with mud. Why would we volunteer for such things? And why, as managers, would we encourage our staff to do the same?

Opportunity<\/strong>

\u2022 We do them primarily because it\u2019s a way to keep the fun in our work. C\u2019mon, imagine getting paid to be an ice-skating chipmunk. <\/em>
\u2022 Fun in our work feels like play, and play is known to stimulate parts of the brain not always used during routine tasks such as ordering materials or creating schedules. Staff can learn a new task better when work is fun.
\u2022 As a manger, participating in these \u201cother duties\u201d demonstrates leadership, not asking staff to do anything you wouldn\u2019t do yourself, thus encouraging them to follow your lead.
\u2022 Staff can demonstrate skills they haven\u2019t had opportunities to show in their daily work, including problem solving, budgeting and physical project management. These qualities can help staff showcase their potential and advance their careers.
\u2022 \u201cOther duties\u201d usually spring from staff\u2019s ideas for new projects and services, fostering a work environment of creativity and empowerment.
\u2022 One of the most satisfying takeaways \u201cother duties\u201d offer is a genuine team-building experience, working with staff from departments all across the library in an unconventional setting.

Keys to Success<\/strong>

\u2022 It\u2019s important that staff is asked, not required, to participate in \u201cother duties\u201d and aren\u2019t penalized if they do not volunteer.
\u2022 Staff buy-in increases when they\u2019re part of the planning process and boosts any effort\u2019s success.
\u2022 Staff isn\u2019t expected to sign up for everything; they choose what their workload allows and piques their interest.
\u2022 Projects are vetted from inception to implementation so staff members understand what\u2019s expected of them.

Could an employer\u2019s expectations for staff to comply with \u201cother duties as assigned\u201d become a burden? Yes, it\u2019s possible, and the solution is likely very situational, individual…and a topic for a future blog post if there\u2019s interest. In the meantime, participation in \u201cother duties\u201d is, for each of us, an avenue to dream big and ask, \u201cwhy not?\u201d. For your staff, it demonstrates both leadership and the satisfaction of bringing your very best to your work.

In the comments, please share your stories of the unusual, \u201cother duties as assigned\u201d jobs you\u2019ve found yourself doing.

This blog post was written by Marybeth Kozikowski on behalf of the Managing Children\u2019s Services Committee.

This post relates to ALSC Core Competencies I: Commitment to Client Group, II: Reference and User Services and IV: Collection Knowledge and Management.
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That quote, \u201cother duties as assigned\u201d has become a catchphrase in my library. It refers to the things we find ourselves doing as part of our work that aren\u2019t in the job description and not what our MLS degree education (where required) prepared us for. It could be ice skating in a chipmunk costume, building life-size people from chicken wire, or playing with mud. Why would we volunteer for such things? And why, as managers, would we encourage our staff to do the same? Opportunity \u2022 We do them primarily because it\u2019s a way to keep the fun in our work. C\u2019mon, imagine getting paid to be an ice-skating chipmunk. \u2022 Fun in our work feels like play, and play is known to stimulate parts of the brain not always used during routine tasks such as ordering materials or creating schedules. Staff can learn a new task better when work…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1612,692,89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-administrative-and-management-skills","category-managing-childrens-services-committee","category-what-i-wasnt-taught-in-library-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35134\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}