ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries February 1 9 9 3 / 8 9 Take charge of the future The W a y now I See It B y J o a n n e R. E u ster Librarians m u st prepare f o r the fu tu r e despite cu rren t fis c a l woes T h e n ex t few years will b e ro u g h financially; o u r jo b n o w is to h u n k e r d o w n a n d w ait it o u t.” So a university p re sid e n t said to m e re­ cently. W hile I a p p la u d th e p a rt o f this sen ti­ m ent th at im plies “first o f all, d o n o h a rm ,” I believe th a t it w o u ld b e a m istake to allow ourselves to b e c o m e im m obilized b y fiscal a d ­ versity fo r a n e x te n d e d tim e. D oing m inim al d am ag e (a n d s h o u ld n ’t th at alw ays b e th e first principle?) d o e s n o t p re c lu d e b uilding for th e future. W h e n th e c u rren t fiscal crisis th at so m uch o f h ig h e r e d u c a tio n is d ealin g w ith ends, w e will em phatically n o t b e lifting o u r h ead s from o u r foxholes into th e sam e environm ent; tim es will h av e ch an g ed , tech n o lo g y will have c o n tin u e d to d ev elo p , ex p ectatio n s fo r h ig h er ed u catio n a n d for libraries will h av e ch an g ed , w e w ill h av e ch an g ed . Y et w e are in d a n g e r o f b eco m in g captives o f a state o f m in d th at o n e n e w library d irecto r d e scrib ed to m e, o f a n institution so tra u m a ­ tized b y b u d g e t issues (a n d w h atev er their m ag­ n itu d e o r n atu re, th ere is scarcely an y seg m en t am ong academ ic libraries that is n o t u n d e r p res­ sure to m ak e difficult b u d g e ta ry choices), th at constructive thinking w as alm ost im possible. C ertainly th e cu rre n t state o f affairs is not p erm anent. U ndoubtedly, the n ational a n d state e co n o m ies w ill im prove. U n d o u b ted ly , society will value a n d s u p p o rt ed u catio n al, social, a n d env iro n m en tal n eed s. Will this m e a n a retu rn to a p a tte rn o f ever-grow ing s u p p o rt fo r h igher education? A retu rn to th e g ro w th o f th e last th ree d e c a d e s is highly unlikely. C om petition from K-12 e d u c a tio n a n d social u rg en cies will increase; th e suspicions o f h ig h e r e d u c a tio n ’s accountability, badly dam ag e d by indirect costs, ex ecu tiv e p erk s, tuition increases, p ercep tio n s o f acad em ic w o rk lo ad s, th e g ro w th o f n o n ­ teac h in g staffs h av e all, regardless o f th eir m erit o r b la m e , c o n tr ib u te d to a n a tm o s p h e re in w h ic h tax p ay ers e x p e c t to se e th e h ig h est lev­ els o f organizational efficiency for m oney expended. Furthermore, even if som e sort of stasis in time w ere possible, w e w ould miss opportunities. There are critical issues th at sh o u ld b e ad d ressed now. At th e risk o f o n ce again p ro p o sin g m aking lem ­ o n a d e o u t of m ore lem ons th an seem really fair at this juncture, I w o u ld like to p ro p o s e som e co n cern s th at have elevated urgency. C ritical issues to a d d re s s n o w • C o n tin u o u s str a te g ic p la n n in g . O ver th e last d e c a d e m o st o f u s h av e b e c o m e very fam iliar w ith th e c o n c e p t o f strategic p lanning, a n d are aw are o f th e principle calling for co n ­ tin u o u s planning. 1 d o u b t seriously, ho w ev er, th a t w e en g a g e in d e e p fu n d am en tal ex am in a­ tio n o f o u r libraries (o r th e e n v iro n m e n t in w h ic h th ey o p e ra te ) o n a n an n u al basis. Since m u ch o f the ch an g e that occurs in libraries takes p lace in so m eth in g ap p ro a c h in g geologic time (a n d th e re are g o o d reaso n s fo r this), su ch fre­ q u e n t review s, let alo n e truly co n tin u o u s re­ view , seem u n d u ly b u rd en so m e. Y et acceler­ ated a n d co ntinuous review an d plan n in g is the first step in rap id ad ap ta tio n to changing cir­ cum stances. O rganized plan n in g processes ten d to involve large num bers o f staff, m yriad m eet­ ings, an d extensive consultation. P erhaps it is tim e to think o f strategic plan n in g as a m o d e of th o u g h t th at all staff sh o u ld share, a n d a tool fo r p lan s m a d e at th e u n it lev el as w ell as libraryw ide. • D r a m a tic r e c o n s id e r a t io n o f p u b lic s e r v ic e s. Public services activities have escap ed the reconceptualizations that have affected o th er areas. T h e tech n ical services rev o lu tio n w as e n a b le d a n d sp u rre d o n b y th e d e v e lo p m e n t J oanne R. Euster is university librarian a t the University o f California, Irvine o f the large national netw orks an d local sys­ tems. Collection developm ent policies, the RLG Conspectus, approval plans and profiles, indeed th e entire concept of collection m anagem ent has re p la c e d biblio g rap h y an d acquisitions. A dm inistrative o p e ra tio n s n o w d e p e n d o n LANs, electronic mail, electronic forms (in the m ore fortunate organizations), and electronic m anagem ent information. Yet these operations exist only as the underpinnings for public ser­ vices, w here n ew activities an d technologies have b een added. Except for the grow th o f li­ brary instruction, there has b een little change We need to take the risk o f ques­ tioning old values . . . not in light o f constraints, but in the context o f . . . changes in higher education. from decades-old m odes o f service delivery. T he questions that should b e asked address public services organization, but also reach b ey o n d to consider the relation an d priority of public services to other units. • A c r itic a l lo o k at h is t o r ic artifacts. H ow m eaningful are th e professional values w e profess? “Free vs. fee” an d “freedom o f in­ form ation,” for exam ple, m ay retain their value for us, b u t m ay also contain the seeds o f their o w n destruction if w e d o not define w h at w e m ean in a m ore sophisticated manner. In an e n v iro n m e n t o f trade-offs, are w e h o ld in g u nexam ined sacred cows? C ould the reference desk, for instance, b e replaced by som e mix of instructional offerings, an information desk, and consultation by appointment? What about a tele­ p h o n e and e-mail reference center that o p e r­ ates in a high-volum e production m ode as an alterative to in-person assistance? W hat o f our em p h asis o n o n e -o n -o n e p e rso n a l services? Might n o t patrons prefer to check out, renew , an d place interlibrary loan requests an d holds electronically an d independently? And w h at of o u r internal organizations? D oes our reliance o n layers o f organization an d extensive com ­ m ittees w aste time and resources? Might w e accom plish the sam e o r better results b y plac­ ing m ore trust an d confidence in one another to get the job done intelligently? • P la n n in g in e a r n e st fo r th e non-tra- d itio n a l stu d en t. According to the Pew Higher E ducation Research Program, by the mid-1990s a decided majority of students will wot be full-time enrollees entering directly from high school. We should plan for services to nontraditional students now; in fact, present undergraduates may also ben­ efit from these changes. • R eth in k in g th e to ta l se r v ic e a n d e c o ­ n o m ic im p act. W hat w o u ld the effects b e of actively organizing th e library to discourage in­ building traffic via greater reliance o n cam pus netw orks, telephone, an d voice-response sys­ tems? Might enabling p atrons to stay out o f the library actually result in cost shifting (printing at hom e or office instead o f in the library, re­ d u ced cleaning an d w ear an d tear, less stack m ain ten an ce, for ex am p le) th at w o u ld also benefit an d please them? W hat are relative pri­ orities b etw een direct service to patrons and the library infrastructure? For exam ple, could minimal-level cataloging (by w hatever defini­ tion) serve patrons adequately an d free more of the library’s bu d g et to increase collections, ad d to electronic resources, or provide higher levels of bibliographic instruction? If informa­ tion technology calls for increased com m itm ent to library instruction, m ight it no t be time to adm it that the charge is broader, encom pass­ ing real inform ation m anagem ent education, and that the responsibility' belongs jointly to the library an d the faculty? W hat priority, re­ source com m itm ent, an d organizational rela­ tionships w ould th en b e required? True paradigm shifts are difficult to bring about intentionally; by their very nature they have som ething o f th e uncontrollable about them . And as som e w ag has noted, paradigm - busters are rarely rew arded— at least in their lifetimes! N evertheless, w e do have th e ability an d th e responsibility to bring about serious an d dram atic change. A few colleges an d uni­ versities require an annual budget reduction of a small percentage in all departm ents, result­ ing in a pool o f funds that m ay b e given back to the unit, b u t only to fund new initiatives. he n e t result is m andatory pruning of current activities an d incentives to introduce n ew ones. N um erous college an d university libraries are already engaged in some aspects of the ideas and activities I have listed. They represent a philosophic shift that is at odds with much of our tradition. Yet here is no reason to expect that the n eed to reconceptualize will diminish or disappear. We need o take the risk of questioning old values and sys­ tematically applying our knowledge, experience, and understanding to define the problems, not in light of constraints, but in the context of the mo­ mentous changes in higher education. ■ T t t 90/C & R LN ew s