Invited presentation for Library Staff Day at Duquesne University, 3 January 2012. Makes a case for change in academic libraries; recommends changes and a process for enabling change. Cites a 2011 Education Advisory Board report and other evidence to support new strategies and new types of jobs for librarians and staff.

1. Rethinking Our Jobs
Karen Calhoun
Prepared for Library Staff Day
Duquesne University
January 3, 2012
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2. Overview
 The traditional service model for
academic libraries is broken
 Change is necessary if the library is to
continue to be relevant and funded
 Changes that have been successful at
other academic libraries
 A process for enabling change in library
services and jobs
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3. http://www.educationadvisoryboard.com/pdf/23634-EAB-
Redefining-the-Academic-Library.pdf
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4. “They come and go and draw
The Well from the well”
•The Library as a center
of collections
•The Library as a center
of experts and tools to
guide users to
appropriate resources
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5. The Way We Worked
Books
Journals
Newspapers
Gov docs
Maps
Scores
AV
Dissertations Library catalogs
Special
collections
Manuscripts
Papers
Univ records
Special Coll/Archives
Journal
articles
Conference
proceedings
Etc.
Abstracting &
Indexing services
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6. The Way We Worked
Books
Journals
Newspapers
Gov docs
Maps
Scores
AV
Dissertations Library catalogs
Special
collections
Manuscripts
Papers
Univ records
Special Coll/Archives
Journal
articles
Conference
proceedings
Etc.
Abstracting &
Indexing services
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7. Where Do You Begin a Search for
Information on a Topic? (2005)
Starting an Information Search
100 89
80
Percent
60
40
20
2
0
Search engine Library Web site
Where Search Begins
College Students’ Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources: a Report
to the OCLC Membership: http://www.oclc.org/reports/perceptionscollege.htm
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8. Where does search begin? (2009-)
Slide from EAB report p. 11
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9. Print Collections Rarely Used
EAB Report p. 49
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10. The Catalog in Context
•Online catalogs
represent one node in
the student’s and
scholar’s information
universe
•As information
systems, catalogs are
hard to use
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/calhoun-report-final.pdf
Calhoun, Karen. 2006. The changing nature of the catalog and its
integration with other discovery tools.
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11. An Eroding Role for Library-Created Metadata:
2003-2009
Schonfeld, Roger C., and Ross Housewright. 2010. Faculty survey 2009 :key strategic insights
for libraries, publishers, and societies. [United States]: Ithaka S + R, p. 5
Available: http://www.ithaka.org/ithaka-s-r/research/faculty-surveys-2000-2009/faculty-survey-2009
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12. Median Circulation and Reference Transactions in ARL
Libraries 1991-2008, With Five Year Forecast
400000
350000
300000
250000
Circulation
200000 Reference Transactions
Linear (Circulation)
150000 Linear (Reference Transactions)
100000
50000
0 Data source: ARL Statistics 2007-2008
http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/arlstat08.pdf
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13. Circulation and reference trends at
Duquesne
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14. What Did Users Say They Want? (2002)
•Faculty and students do more work
and study away from campus Do you use electronic sources all of the time,
most of the time, some of the time, or none of the
•Loyal to the library, but library is time?
only one element in complex
information structure 60%
50%
•Print still important, but almost 40%
Percent
Faculty/Graduate
half of undergraduates say they rely 30%
Undergrad
exclusively or almost exclusively on 20%
10%
electronic materials 0%
•Seamless linking from one All of the Some of the None of the
time/most of time time
information object to another is the time
expected Responses
•Fast forward to 2012: these
trends many times stronger!
http://www.clir.org/PUBS/reports/pub110/contents.html
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15. Expenditure on E-Resources: 2008
ARL Average
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16. Networked E-Resources at Cornell (2005)
 About 10% of the collection
 36% of the materials budget (2005)
 About 50% of the use
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17. Size and Usage of Physical and E-Resources at
Duquesne (2007-2011)
Volumes 710,571 700,245 715,518 721,569 728,587
Circulation
of Materials
84,945 83,077 81,154 77,544 73,265
E-Journal
Titles
30,525 30,980 31,060 77,747 87,441
E-Articles
Accessed 1,049,728 1,287,560 2,109,457 4,853,275 4,164,211
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18. Some recent news items: Higher education
funding declines are long-term issues
The Washington Post, December 22, 2011.
Guest post: 8 thoughts on higher education in 2012:
“Many of our current challenges are long-term and will,
if anything, become more serious”—
• Funding cuts
• Practical cap on tuition hikes
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 17, 2011.
“Duquesne University has offered voluntary buyouts to
nearly a fifth of its faculty and staff in the face of expected
revenue declines from decreasing enrollment.”
There is ample reason to expect HE funding shortfalls
to affect library budgets unfavorably.
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19. Change is necessary
 Less money to support the library
 Search starts elsewhere; many substitutes for
what the library offers
 Of what does get used:
 Seemingly unquenchable demand for e-resources
 Physical collections rarely used
 Use of traditional collection-based services in
decline (the catalog, reference services)
 Traditional academic library service model is
less relevant every day and has a dim future
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20. Meanwhile …
 People are still doing the jobs called for
by the traditional service model
 The service model needs to change
 The jobs need to change
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21. At the Crossroads
Alice:
'Would you tell me,
please, which way I
ought to go from
here?‘
'That depends a
good deal on where
you want to get to,'
said the Cat.
Illustration: John Tenniel, Alice in Wonderland. Public domain.
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22. Net Geners and Library Services: A
Disconnect
 They like  We offer
 Multimedia  Text-based
environments environments
 Figuring things out for  Systems that require
themselves prior understanding (or
 Working in groups librarian help)
 Multitasking  Services for individual
 Learning directly use
related to courses  Focus, logical
sequence
 Catalogs, databases,
Joan Lippincott, Coalition for Networked Information. In subject guides and
Educating the Net Generation
pathfinders
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23. Michael Habib’s Library 2.0
“Academic Library 2.0 Concept Model,” p. 35.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/habibmi/318027173/in/set-72157594247454511
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24. A multidimensional framework for academic support: a final report submitted to the
Mellon Foundation from the University of Minnesota Libraries, June 2006, p. 47.
http://www.lib.umn.edu/about/mellon/docs.phtml
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25. Everywhere, the library: Reaching out with
its people AND its data
Library as Place Place as Library
Gumberg Library
Photo: Public domain
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26. Exposing Your Collections Where Your Users
Live and Work on the Web
Find in a library
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27. Linking systems together to increase
discoverability and use
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28. A New Kind of Library
 Build a vision of a new
kind of library
 Be more involved with
research and learning
materials and systems
 Be more engaged with
campus communities
 Make library collections
and librarians more visible
 Move to next generation
systems and services
Embedding the library in the
knowledge community
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29. Changes that have been successful
elsewhere
 Library space redesign
 Liaison librarian model (the “embedded
librarian”)
 Streamlining operations
 Combining public service points
 Technical services workflow redesign
 Collaboration and partnerships
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30. Library Space Redesign
EAB report p. 48
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31. “Box of books” to “learning commons”
EAB report p. 63
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32. Liaison librarian model
EAB report p. 66
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33. Position Description Framework
http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/rli-265-williams.pdf
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34. EAB report p. 71
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35. EAB report p. 75
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36. Streamlining operations
EAB report p. 67
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37. Some Technical Services Workflow
Redesign Principles
 Look at the whole process (e.g., selection to ordering
to receipt to cataloging to shelf-ready)
 To the greatest extent possible, handle items and
records only once
 Capture bibliographic data as far upstream as possible
(at point of selection/ordering if you can)
 Perform work where it makes the most sense
 Maximize acquisitions/cataloging collaboration
 Maximize use of support staff and students
 Wholly manual processes do not scale; integrate
automated and manual operations
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38. Collaboration and Consolidating
Systems
Orbis Cascade: 37 academic libraries in
Oregon, Washington and Idaho
Strategies:
• Combined collections
• Shared library system, shared discovery
system
• Cooperative collection development
• Collaborative technical services
• Combined digital archives
• Shared expertise
• Professional development
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39. Cooperatively Managing Print Collections
EAB report p. 59
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40. A Process for Enabling Change
 Inclusive planning process
 Design team
 Environmental scan
 Stakeholder analysis
 Recommendations
 Review; build support
 Implement
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41. What is a design team and what do
they do?
• A group of people responsible for translating a vision into
operational (actionable) terms
• They articulate a clear picture of a desired future state – what it is
really going to look like – by providing a blueprint for the organization
• Members are selected for their expertise, ability to influence
and work with others, knowledge of the organization and its
processes
• Concerned with (1) getting from ideas to actual, specific
activities and (2) questions like:
• What new services should be delivered?
• What will changed processes look like?
• What will our new organizational structures look like?
• How will technology be used?
• What roles or responsibilities with people have?
• How will people relate to the communities that we serve?
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42. A process for developing strategic
recommendations
1. Review your long range plan, vision, mission
2. Consider: What are the most important problems to be solved or barriers
to be removed at your library?
3. Conduct environmental scan – what are your peers doing? What is the
current professional thinking? What are best practices?
4. Review any local constraints or ‘givens’
5. Conduct a stakeholder analysis
6. Conduct something like a “Future Search” conference
7. Define an ideal future state by asking (for example):
 What new or changed services need to be provided?
 What should renovated spaces look like?
 What will new or changed organizational structures look like?
 What types of key roles or responsibilities will people have?
 How will people relate to the communities that the library serves?
 What new or changed technologies will be used?
8. Re-evaluate constraints, givens, stakeholder analysis
9. Recommend strategic actions for making progress toward the ideal
future state in operational, executable terms
Throughout the process: COMMUNICATE COMMUNICATE COMMUNICATE
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43. To get started, consider a possible
scenario, for example:
 What would you do if the library was
asked to reduce staffing levels by 20% in
two years?
 In four years?
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44. Thank You!
 Karen Calhoun
 AUL Organizational Development and
Strategic Initiatives
 ULS, University of Pittsburgh
 ksc34@pitt.edu
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