Making the Library More A high performing team = A high performing Library Chandra McKenzie Rochester Institute of Technology Visions of Change: Academic Libraries.
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Making the Library More A high performing team = A high performing Library Chandra McKenzie Rochester Institute of Technology Visions of Change: Academic Libraries in Transition Friday January 26, 2007 Photo: Jen Freer RIT Libraries – Our Culture • We’re accustomed to change • We prefer innovation • Early adaptors of new technology • Please big emphasis on accessible services • Responsiveness is important to us • Strive to provide quality resources • Effective staff recruitment is a staff-wide activity & a priority • We do active user Assessment Photos: Jen Freer The Melbert B. Cary Graphic Arts Collection Press Room & Reading Room (below) RIT Libraries – Our Mission As an active partner in quality education, focusing on curricular support and enrichment of the academic experience, RIT Libraries will offer quality services to meet our community's needs by: • • A interactive instruction session conducted in sign language. Providing current technologies to access onsite collections and global networks. Delivering innovative instruction and responsive help services. • Maintaining a welcoming environment that is comfortable, secure and accessible for our community. Factors Influencing Change The new RIT Museum (space under construction) (Opens March 2007 The old imposing Reference Desk (Now called The Re:Search Zone Photo: Jen Freer • Align w/ RIT’s new Strategic Direction • Emerging need for more graduate services and assisting faculty scholarship • Make better use of our facility • Make Better use of our Staffing Resources • Improve partnering • Emphasis on marketing the library And… Reorganization was necessary Circulation Acquisitions/ Serials Reference Marketing ILL Administration Director Cataloging Cary E-resources Technology Archives Step 1: Strategic Planning Preliminary Groundwork –May ‘04 • Conducted Critical Review of RIT’s new Strategic Plan • Introduced Library Staff discussions about the “future” • Created Graduate Libraries Team (6mth review) • Reviewed our Existing Services The Library (left) building is at the center of the academic side of campus Our Existing Services User Education E-Resources Access to Technology Circulation Cary Library Staff Training Telecom IM Wireless Digital Media OPAC Cataloging Practical Info Special Collections Lab Maintenance Open House RIT Archives Info Literacy Photo: Jen Freer Freshman w/ face painted during the Library’s annual Fall open house Hardware Support Java Wally’s Instruction sessions Info Delivery Metadata Serials Exhibits Print Holdings Courseware Support CNY Facility Mgmt Building Security Acquisitions Curriculum Support Network support/liaison Web Development Systems security Step 2: Strategic Planning Process Began - June 2004 • Set big focus ideas • Established 4 library teams each w/ 2 person Co Leads Support for Undergrad Education Support for Graduate Research Support for Faculty Scholarship Culture & Information Services Working goes better w/ food • Established one Library Transition Team - 3 staff persons Step 3: Strategic Planning Teamwork – July to Sept 2004 • Conducted Team Leaders Training (group dynamics & leadership) • Hosted ‘New Information Horizon’ workshops for staff • Gathered and analyzed internal data • Reviewed library and RIT benchmark information • Conducted hundreds of campus interviews Photo: Jen Freer Spreading the Library ‘word’ around campus Define Transformed Library Services GOOD • Assesses student learning outcomes • Transforms organizational systems (what we count, reward, allocate, provide, how we are structured and who we serve). • Technology infrastructure supports the delivery of digital content • Redirects dollars to future priorities • Allows access to be self determining • Makes revolutionary changes • Buys materials just in time • Acknowledges that digital is not just another format BETTER • Streamlines existing process, outsource what can be, stop doing what can be. • Consolidates units, reallocates staff • Joins campus curricular design and delivery conversations • Integrates services across campus • Works to create repositories and libraries of record • Reduces cost for processing collections • Educates staff about change, trends and new directions • Communicates vision of the future • Allow staff input into developing response to change. BEST • Work environment allows staff to be flexible and responsive - serving the mission. • Continually assesses our contribution to learning and other institutional outcomes. • Partners with others • Provides physical and virtual spaces to access information • Serves as a change agent due to connections, values and cooperative ventures. • Provides community spaces for inquiry-based learning and out of classroom activities • Includes creation and design of products by students • Develops robust collaborative frameworks for management, access and preservation of information resources in all formats • Manages broad range of materials, traditional and nontraditional • Is Active and influential… helps bring about change… Brewer, Joseph M, et al.. “ARL Bimonthly Report 234”. Libraries Dealing with the Future Now. June 2004. University of Arizona Library. <http://www.arl.org/newsltr/234/dealing.html> Merge, Realign & Refocus Digital Assets Support for Graduate Research • Facilitate the creation and presentation of new digital information including: Creation and design of products by liaisons, students and faculty. • familiarize students with the scope and breadth of discourse within their discipline. Support for Undergraduate Education • Organize and maintain traditional and non traditional materials (e-resources, preprints, instructional objects and datasets…) continue the shift to digital from paper Service Points • Use new technologies to allow users to create personal profiles, annotations, contribute comments and store results • Use D-space to house learning objects and valuable institutional data •Explore new digital services Technology Services • Provide network and system security • Create enterprise wide knowledge management systems • Compare, purchase and install new technology • Implement new technologies to allow users to select and search across systems • Partner w/ other campus agencies to achieve collective university goals • Explore new networks and services that support user needs and primarily invest in access systems • Build partnerships to offer open access to material through campus networks, federated networks and institutional repositories Education Service • primary responsibility as knowledge manager • Provide excellence in information and customer services just enough, just in time and just for me • Implement less costly alternatives to staffing service points and outsource work that can be • Cross-utilize service point staffing w/ processing services • provide educational assistance to students with recognizing and developing good writing skills • synthesize information or create new information • developing information fluency skills, particularly proficiency assessing one’s information needs • competency locating and retrieving information and efficiency evaluating retrieved information. • Use virtual ref and digital assets to answer questions about campus service not just library service Support for Faculty Scholarship • Spend less on adding to print collections/continue shift to digital from paper • Create and maintain community spaces for collaboration and inquiry- based learning as well as out of class activities • Create student leadership opportunities, internship positions, and effectively manage, utilize all student employees. • Provide historical, practical and Cultural information programming of appeal to RIT Community. • Provide opportunities for employee post graduate connections. •Maintain, acquire and promote unique special collections. Include creation and design of products by students Culture and community • Outreach to faculty regarding scholarly communication issues RIT Culture and Information Services •Create a Faculty Commons w/in the facility that connects the Colleges and provides scholarship support •Outreach to Student Government, WITR, TV, Reporter and ESPN2, 140 Clubs, 24 Teams, 28 Greeks Step 4: Strategic Planning Definition – Oct 2004 • Clarify and maintain our vision: With a staff committed to excellence, RIT Libraries will be essential to our community by being the first place to go when RIT needs to know. • Restate our process • Prepare Recommendations for change Photo: Jen Freer RIT Library Staff member reading to children from RIT’s daycare center, “Margaret’s House” – one of many annual public events. • Presentation of Ideas • Select proposed initiatives Step 5: Strategic Planning Closure: Nov - Dec 2004 • Solicit Campus Feedback • Critique our Process • Finalize Goals • Prioritize Initiatives • Celebrate our process • Reorganization Campus Blog – one of the ways we solicited feedback To Realize the Vision - New Goals Transform the library to become the Center For RIT Culture and Information Services Photos: Jen Freer Enhance Information Access Improve Library Service The Re:Search Zone New Organization Director Points of Service Circulation Administrative Operations Finance Library Technology Publishing & Scholarship Support Events Inter-Library Loan Services Instruction & Education Marketing Network Research Assistance Facilities mgmt Instruction/Pedagogy Hardware Cultural Collections Collection Development Digital Assets Software Reference Services Cary Collection Cataloging/Metadata CNY support RIT Archives Acquisitions & Serials E - Resource Mgmt CGAP/University Press Satellite Libraries Special Collections Web Development RIT Museum January 2005 – Implement New • • • • • • Lectures, Events, Book Talks and Studying in the Idea Factory. Goals Organization Management team Library Initiatives Job descriptions HR review of all jobs • Suspend staff appraisals for 18mths Photos: Jen Freer Accomplishments 05/06 Publishing and Scholarship Support Center RIT Digital Media Library (institutional repository) RIT Gallery of History and Art RIT Museum – Opens 3/07 Alexander P. Lawson Center (university press) – Opens 5/07 Photos: Jen Freer Open Book@ RIT- first online university publishing community the Lulu/RIT Alliance Scholarship at RIT newsletter Created Global Resource Area (news) and Business and Entrepreneurial Resource Area Expanded Library Hours to 3am Campus delivery service The Publishing and Scholarship Support Center Accomplishments 05/06 Provided technology & training support as Connect NY consortia expanded from 5 to 14 libraries. Cataloged the Gravure Satellite Library Collection ILL/Document Delivery services expanded & Turnaround aver. 3days Integrated Library resources w/ Courseware Tools Technologist position created Electronic Resource Management implemented Millennium Acquisitions implemented OCLC Connexion Client migration Metalib 3.0 - an extensive upgrade Started send/receive fax service Photo: Jen Freer Enhanced loan periods for Grads The Library’s Java Wally’s cafe Accomplishments 05/06 Expanded library events schedule and introduced the RIT Faculty Scholars series Borrowing for RIT family members and RIT’s senior living community Customized (U. of Minn) design for The Assignment Calculator and The Dissertation calculator Info Services: Book Crossing station, VIA lab printing, online study room booking, Blogging, converted virtual reference to IM and expanded Internally: Organization Climate Survey conducted 9/06 2 retirements, 5 voluntary terminations & added 2 newly funded positions Our ACRL 2006 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award Implemented the four FISH Principles: 1. Choose Your Attitude, 2. Be Present 3. Engage Your Customers and… …PLAY! Photos: Jen Freer Still Work To Do… • Develop special orientation and instruction services for Graduate Students and Assistants. • Partner to digitize RIT 1,000 Archival video collection (and add to the institutional repository) • Advocate for financial support to subsidize free copying and printing in the library • Advocate for financial support to build a high density storage facility on campus • Advocate for donor support to enhance collections, furniture and facilities - website created • Expand support for creation of more campus open access journals – one done • Renovate 14 Group Study rooms and create more special purpose collaboration spaces • Establish Expert Applied Research Services for Faculty and Grads • Install new signage system – building wide • Implement a Comprehensive Customer Service Plan • Implement a Content Management System • Customize Web Services Based on User Status • Create a digital Campus Mentoring Website • Create a digital campus Tutoring Partners Website… • Explore external circulation of all library print periodicals Photo: Jen Freer RIT mascot, Ritchie spreads the library word! AND • Position the library to address the sweeping impact of mass book digitization on acquisitions, circulation and retention. Chandra V. McKenzie Assistant Provost and Director, RIT Libraries Rochester Institute of Technology [email protected] 585-475-2566