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Library Managers • Minutes

Library Managers/LBPC June 17, 2003
9:00 a.m. LIB 428

Present: Lorraine Beattie, Eric Boyd, Jane Forgay, Betty Graf, Mark Haslett (Chair), Sharon Lamont, Richard Pinnell, Susan Routliffe, Linda Teather, Debbie Tytko, Annette Dandyk (Recorder)

Regrets: Susan Bellingham, Christine Jewell, Mary Stanley

  1. Business Arising from May 13, 2003
    #1. Ontarians with Disabilities Act: Janet Wason will attend the July 15 meeting.

  2. Organizational Structure of the Library
    Managers have met with some or all of their staff, and some units have engaged in brainstorming sessions. Many common issues were raised in more than one department/unit. Managers shared what they had heard, including the following suggestions, comments and questions, noting that there are often conflicting opinions and little consensus:

    Communication Issues

    • Ensure that a mechanism is in place that enables discussion before decisions are made to implement changes;
    • Groups/committees/teams should provide interim reports to ensure that all staff are aware of how initiatives are progressing;
    • Increase interaction and communication among departments;
    • Managers do most of the sharing of information at the joint Managers/LBPC meetings. Not enough information is being reported from LBPC;
    • There are insufficient linkages between User Services managers and their counterparts in other departments;
    • There is a lack of coordination of workflow between departments (perhaps because of the need for more cross training, or too few staff?).

    Staffing Issues

    • Create an electronic resources librarian position;
    • Create an information literacy librarian position;
    • The Library requires a webmaster;
    • Keep/replace the government documents/data librarian;
    • Keep/replace the undergraduate services librarian;
    • Have an overseer of projects;
    • Replace librarians before they retire to help with bridging;
    • Maintain relationship/liaison with LT3;
    • Review job descriptions of support staff - do we have an adequate number of staff to do all the work ?;
    • Ensure that cataloguing staff is aware of methods of treating non-traditional items, e.g. metadata and learning objects;
    • Uncertainty exists in UMD with respect to future staffing needs pending the School of Architecture's move to Cambridge;
    • There is concern about upcoming retirements in the Cataloguing department;
    • More and more electronic materials are being purchased; processing them is labour intensive;
    • A lot of cataloguing is done TUG wide; alternative ways are being looked at; there are concerns about outsourcing;
    • Systems discussed revisiting the concept of a team approach, similar to management teams in User Services and ISR;
    • Systems will conduct a brainstorming session to identify things they might be able to stop doing; to make best use of limited resources.

    Structural Issues

    • Ensure that the structure enhances/promotes the role of liaison librarians;
    • Create a Library/librarians' Council to ensure input by librarians/staff on issues such as strategic planning, operating budget, staff planning and allocations and position redundancy;
    • Review an adopted organizational structure periodically - treat as a prototype;
    • Review the Library Office structure;
    • Make managerial positions term appointments;
    • Ensure that the Library has a strategic plan and that staff goals mesh with it;
    • Create a formal committee of Library users on campus to assist in some planning;
    • Provide a forum where fresh ideas can be heard and explored;
    • Reduce the role of standing committees in favor of teams/ad hoc committees which would deal with projects and then disband;
    • Disband ISMC and replace with special project teams that can work simultaneously and be staffed with those who have the appropriate skills and interests. ISMC met and evaluated whether it should continue as it is or whether the work it does could be carried out more efficiently in some other way. It was agreed that the committee should carry on, however, reducing the membership by two will be considered;
    • Should the current ISR management team model remain as it is?
    • Some universities have brought common resources such as maps, government documents together. Would a MADGIC (maps, data, government information center) model work equally well at UW?
    • Review the reporting structure of small units such as UMD. There could be merit in cooperating with other departments where similar tasks are carried out, e.g. Circulation Desk duty - departments could help each other out during staff absences due to vacation and illness;
    • Is LBPC too exclusive (small) a body?;
    • Collections do not receive enough attention. Strategic planning is needed to deal with the expanding print collection. The Annex is filling up quickly; Annex processing is labour intensive. All projects concerning collections, weeding, and space need to be reviewed collectively, not individually;
    • There is a need for someone to fill the role of a "David Emery", to oversee acquisitions, IR, and cataloguing matters;
    • The Library needs to focus on the future (it's too easy to get caught up in day to day minutia);
    • There is strong support for long range planning;
    • UW needs to remain on the digital forefront. While much has been done with Web Ops, the lines of authority and communication aren't always clear. An Assistant/Associate Librarian or Digital Delivery Librarian could assume the overall coordination and authority for these matters;
    • Systems sometimes seems caught in the bureaucracy; they will be exploring ways of becoming more responsive to staff requests;
    • More Information Services staff may need training to provide service related to data resources;
    • The staffing needs, reporting structure, and integration of some LAU staff with Cataloguing to create better workflow require further review;
    • There needs to be a connection between IR and Acquisitions, perhaps in the form of an IR Head;

    Miscellaneous Issues

    • There is a need for greater transparency during the hiring process of staff at all levels;
    • Provide cross-training for staff between areas/units so that workflows can continue during absences and workload imbalances;
    • Review the acquisition budget allocations;
    • Make the library budgets (especially operating and travel) more transparent;
    • Ensure that desk and other services are adequately staffed;
    • Confusion about the UL's role - "what does he do"?;
    • Confusion about job titles, for example, what is the difference between and Associate and Assistant University Librarian?;
    • TUG involvement needs to be prioritized. Issues such as the time spent driving to and from meetings and finding more efficient ways to meet should be examined.

    Four organizational models were brought forward:
    Model 1

    • the University Librarian;
    • four Associate or Assistant ULs or equivalent (Public Services; Collections; Systems; Facilities, HR and Accounts) reporting to the UL;
    • a Library/Librarians' Council.

    Model 2

    • the University Librarian (Library Administration and Development report to the UL);
    • one Associate UL with all units reporting to that position;
    • a Library/Librarians' Council.

    Model 3

    • the University Librarian with all units reporting to the UL.

    Model 4

    • the University Librarian;
    • one Associate or Assistant UL;
    • Heads of different branches.

  3. Other Agenda
    Recognition and Commendation

    • The tremendous efforts of the BBQ committee were recog nized. The organizing committee included: Ted Harms, Laurie Kaufman, Martha Lauzon, Esther Pinnock, Heather Schaaf, Derek Scoular, Debbie Tytko, and Lesley Wade.
    • Five staff anniversaries occur in June: June 1 - Carl Nagel (20 years), June 6 - Linda Hastings (20 years), June 11 - Alice Clair (30 years), June 15 - Benny Colussi (15 years), and June 19 - Richard Pinnell (25). The University's 25 year reception is this evening.
    • VDX will go live tomorrow (June 18). Mark acknowledged the hard work of Christine Jewell, Alex McCulloch, John Sitler, Connie Shuttleworth, Marlene Laurence, Charles Woods, and Dan Sich, and of course, Carol Stephenson.
    • Jim Parrott was married on the weekend.
    • The library-wide retirement reception for Murray is June 26.
    • The status of the operating budget is becoming clearer and the outlook is more positive. Mark has nothing to announce yet, but anticipates that he may be able to do so soon.
    • Mark updated the group on conference activities: ten library staff will attend the ALA/CLA conference this weekend; Richard Pinnell and Amy Chan recently returned from ACMLA; and Sandra Keys just returned from CAPDU.
    • Susan R convened a group to prepare a response to a SPEC survey on library patron privacy that required input from staff in several Library departments; once the results are available, a privacy audit may be carried out in the Library.
    • A big issue in Libraries currently is staff retention and retirements. The Library recently received a survey being conducted by the 8Rs research team, with support from four partners of the Canadian heritage community. The study will establish basic statistical data on staffing, in order to address industry-wide concerns about the impending retirement of senior staff and about the changing human resource demands within the Library sector. The results will be presented in a preliminary report at a national workshop in the fall of 2003.
    • Mark is still sorting through information from meetings that he attended recently (CARL, OCUL, ARL), and determining how best to disseminate it. He learned about two new CFI (Canada Foundation for Innovation) initiatives in the works. The Resource Knowledge Network (RKN) to create a digital library in social sciences and humanities areas builds on the success of the CNSLP project. 63 Universities are signatories to the proposal for this four-year project. A second proposal called SYNERGIES will help Canadian humanities and social sciences journals convert to an electronic format and then collect the digital products into one massive, searchable database. Both projects are in the process of CFI adjudication in the ongoing competition for infrastructure grants, for which the results are expected to be announced in February. For additional information refer to the following URL: http://www.fedcan.ca/english/
      policyandadvocacy/perspectives/
      daysix2003.cfm
    • The Library has received a $1M donation for the Davis Information Commons project. An official announcement will likely occur in October. Mark hopes to have more details to announce at the Library staff meetings scheduled for June 24.
    • Herb Schneider, who donated the Schneider family papers to the Library, spoke favorably about the UW Library and Archives on the CBC Radio recently.
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March 23, 2006