Annual Report 1993/94

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Following on a review of our use of statistics for management information and decision-making, we are proceeding with the development and implementation of a formal management information system (MIS). A coordinator will be appointed for this service to:

Develop and maintain it, with the goal of enhancing the ability of staff to understand, control, and use management information
Coordinate activities relating to performance measurement and quality control
Guarantee the accuracy and timeliness of data reported to external agencies
Ensure that the MIS continues to meet changing needs, and promote links with other agencies within and external to the University

photo of a Study area in the Davis Centre Library

STAFF EMPOWERMENT

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

The Library staff participation in training and development increased significantly and took the following forms:

108 staff members (up from 27 last year) registered for work-related courses and programs
74 staff attended off-campus conferences, workshops and seminars
18 people participated in the Library's job awareness program and 65 people attended (47 last year) programs offered through the University's Staff Training and Development Program
Several in-house training programs were also developed, the most significant being computer training and team building
The Library Systems Department coordinated six two-day computing skills "Boot Camps" taught by the Department of Computing Services. Sixty staff attended these sessions; 45 attended two "Windows" workshops and 12 were given a one-day introduction to the Macintosh

TEAM-BUILDING

Managers and supervisors met weekly for several months to review and discuss a series of videos on team building and management. Using examples from their experiences at Waterloo, they have:

Developed a sense of the potential applications and benefits to be realized from the introduction of teams
Started a practical experiment in team building, with the Reserve Reading collections and function as a focus. Members of the team will include library staff, faculty members, and students.

STAFF REORGANIZATION AND RELOCATION

The Cataloguing Department has been reorganized physically and administratively to take account of the assignment of the former librarian cataloguers to the Reference and Collections Development Departments responsibilities in the Information Services Division. Assistant cataloguers are also being trained to provide reference desk assistance. Work assignments in the department are more diverse than in the past, and provide staff with new challenges and opportunities.

Changes were also made to the physical layout of the Materials Acquisitions Department to provide for more efficient use of space and improvements in the flow of materials.

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