ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries September 1995/541 Every Librarian a Leader St. Petersburg Jr. College reorganizes for the '9 0 s By Susan Anderson and Joyce Burkhart Library leadership succeeds with cooperation and support A t St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC), each librarian became a leader in the li­ brary, on campus, and at the college through a restructuring o f the library staff and implemen­ tation o f a statewide automated library system. The college, founded in 1927, is one o f the oldest junior/community colleges in the coun­ try. For years it had one campus served by a growing library. When the community college movement flourished in the 1960s, the college expanded to a second campus, then a third. By 1990 the college had four independent librar­ ies and a separate library Technical Processing Department, each organized and administrated as different units. Leadership was from the top down in the traditional fashion with a library director or head librarian at each site. On the larger campuses, departments such as circula­ tion or serials were headed by a librarian who was at the top o f a second pyramid o f manage­ ment. Leadership focused on departmental is­ sues. Units operated in isolation and intercam­ pus relationships were competitive. Flattening the organization The change from manual systems to an auto­ mated statewide library system serving 28 col­ leges, as well as the retirement o f several key librarians at SPJC, presented an opportunity to organize the libraries into one unit and to offer library staff new avenues for leadership through a “flattened" organizational model. The move from campus library directors or managers to one director and a central library administration came at a time when technol­ ogy was available to simplify procedures and reduce duplication. Budgeting, purchasing, and related record keeping became the responsi­ bility o f one office instead o f many. Instead of five separate budgets, there is one collegewide library budget. Instead o f six separate payroll certifications there is one, and the information for that one is communicated electronically from the campuses to the library administrative of­ fice. Long-range planning is a major activity of the library director, who must view all o f the libraries as a whole and yet maintain the unique characteristics and strengths o f each one. Co­ ordination o f the efforts o f all library staff to improve library services throughout the college is the primary task o f the director. This transition from several decentralized libraries to a unified system necessitated pa­ tience, good humor, and staff cooperation. The project had some early failures, such as a team­ building workshop that left some library staff, who had never met each other before, puz­ zling over spending a day together playing games. Nevertheless, other staff worked dili­ gently examining periodical holdings’ lists for duplication, developing a collegewide library handbook, writing a collegewide library policy and procedure manual, and sharing ideas that were once jealously guarded. During this transitional phase, a represen­ tative from each campus library and the library director met as a team on a regular basis. These “librarians-in-charge” made the decisions that resulted in coordinated and consistent library services collegewide. Each success built trust, and the promise o f automated libraries was the carrot that kept all o f the staff progressing. Library automation seldom means that fewer staff are needed, rather the type o f staff and the experience and training required change. Susan Anderson is director o f libraries at St. Petersburg Jr. College; e-mail: andersons@email.spjc.cc.fl.us. Joyce Burkhart manages the St. Petersburg/Gibbs campus library and leads the south county library team; e-mail: burkhartj@email.spjc.cc.f l .us mailto:andersons@email.spjc.ccfl.us 5 4 2 /C&RL News As frequently happens during automation, no new staff, with the exception o f a collegewide library director, were hired. When the libraries at SPJC w ere automated and reorganized, the tasks ahead had to be assumed by the librar­ ians and staff already there. Leadership opportunities abound O pportunities for library leadership w ere abun­ dant as automation becam e a reality. Without a systems librarian to coordinate activities, a cam­ pus librarian was selected to supervise each automation subsystem as it was implemented collegewide. The success o f each part of the automation project depends on the leadership o f an individual librarian. O ne librarian became the “leader” of the circulation system, another the “leader” of the serials module, still another took the “lead” for organizing the barcoding project. Library staff now depend on the deci sions of a librarian w ho might not be on their campus and w ho is not even the traditional head of the library. A management theory with significance for libraries is the reengineering concept presented by Michael Hamm er and Jam es Champy in Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto fo r Business Revolution (HarperCollins, 1993). They build on the ideas of quality management and customer service: “It means forgetting how work was done in the age of the mass market. . . . old job titles and old organizational arrange­ ments— departments, divisions, groups, and so on—cease to matter. . . . What matters . . . is how w e w ant to organize w ork today, given the dem ands of today’s markets and the pow er of today’s technologies.” Reengineering rewards creativity, flexibility, individualism, and a will­ ingness to change, w hich should be the hall­ marks o f today’s libraries. Leading the team The next transition in library management was to align the college libraries into two teams. Instead of a “lead” librarian at each campus library, a librarian was selected to lead a North County team and a second to lead a South County team. The reasons that led to the de­ velopm ent of these teams w ere 1) a need to provide college trained library staff at all sites at all times, and 2) a need to further reduce the m anagem ent responsibilities o f staff at the smaller libraries. A large library was paired with one or more smaller libraries so staff could be cross-trained and staff substitutions could be more efficiently September 1 9 9 5 /5 4 3 made. Automation provided consistency o f pro­ cedures, bu t familiarity with layout and users o f each library was still needed. Cross-training involves reassigning staff to different campuses for days, w eeks, o r even sessions. During this time, the num ber of librarians at SPJC was fur­ ther reduced as a result o f retirements and res­ ignations. Budget constraints placed these p o ­ sitions o n hold. Reducing th e m anagem ent responsibilities of campus librarians to focus their work on reference service and instruction was a long-term goal of the reorganization. With the long-term goal and the short-term neces­ sity in mind, m anagem ent duties such as staff scheduling and adjunct librarian recruitment for all campuses w ere assigned to the North and South County team leaders. These tw o leaders also assum ed mentoring duties for new librar­ ians as they were hired. Librarians on the smaller cam puses are regularly assigned time on larger campuses to reduce isolation and to em pha­ size the idea o f a collegewide library system. The success o f the new SPJC library rests on teamwork, w hich operates on all levels. For example, the m anagem ent responsibilities of the librarian w ho is in charge o f day-to-day operations o f a site library will vary depending on the size o f the facility. However, at each site this librarian spends the majority of time involved in areas o f public service, w hich in­ clude reference work, instruction, and circula­ tion. As a result, the librarian is not solely be­ hind the scenes and is able to stay in direct contact w ith all aspects o f library o perations, aw are o f p ro b lem s first-hand an d b o th vis­ ible an d accessible to every p atron. Librar­ ians n o t involved in site m an ag em en t have varied responsibilities as well. With at least half their time devoted to public services, they also provide the leadership for behind-the-scenes activities like serials and collection develop­ ment. Am bassadors of the library Each librarian is a library liaison to several aca­ demic programs, takes part in book and jour­ nal selection, and delivers library instruction as part of ongoing duties. O n campus, librarians are encouraged to serve o n committees, act as club sponsors, and take advantage o f opportu­ nities to interact with faculty from other de­ partments. Not constrained by the library walls or the exclusive assignment of one department, they move about their cam puses as ambassa­ dors o f the library and its services. Leadership does not end with librarians. The talents and skills of support staff also surface during times of m anagem ent change. Early in the reorganization process, each support staff m em ber com pleted a job analysis and op p o r­ tunities for increased efficiency w ere identified. (Still to be accom plished is a restructuring of these staff positions.) Like the librarians, all support staff have public contact through work at the circulation desk or other public service areas. Each works in one or more other areas in the library like acquisitions, serials, audiovi­ suals, and book repair, an d at some sites are cross-trained in all, enabling them to serve as backups in case o f sickness o r vacations. Reassessing the skills of support staff Support staff have assum ed new roles and re­ sponsibilities that cut across and diminish the traditional chain o f command. As cutbacks re­ duced the num ber of budgeted professional li­ brarians, there was a significant shift upw ard in the level o f responsibility assum ed by sup­ port staff. Paraprofessionals took on jobs for­ merly perform ed by librarians. Notably, the li­ b rary a ssista n t, a t o n e lo c atio n , m a n ag e s classroom and library audiovisual equipm ent selection, maintenance, and repair collegewide. As part of his work, this paraprofessional over­ sees the contracts to repair vendors, schedules the pickup and return o f equipm ent for repair at all campuses, and makes certain the equip­ ment is returned to the classroom—all accom­ plished from one site by one paraprofessional providing collegewide leadership for two au­ diovisual technicians who, in turn, serve all sites. Acquisitions clerks on the two largest cam­ puses are now charged with inputting orders from smaller campuses. All library materials arrive at campus libraries completely processed, cataloged, and ready for shelving because these services are now centralized through technical services (the Library Processing Center or LPC). Also, LPC staff print an d distribute overdue notices for all campuses. Because support staff are encouraged to define their ow n jobs, it is not surprising that the idea to eliminate a backup CD-ROM catalog and to streamline printing of labels came from support staff at LPC. At their request, the shelflist closed July 1, 1995, and all card production ceased. Because the ability to use com puters does n o t necessarily d ep e n d o n prior education, some library support staff members are more adept at com puter skills than librarians. And, 5 4 4 /C&RL News b ecau se only a small num ber o f staff could re­ ceive state-provided training as each autom a­ tion subsystem was implemented, support staff w ho had to have the training to operate the circulation system or input serials records are now m ore know ledgeable about certain parts o f the autom ation system than librarians. Consolidation leads to greater efficiency Support staff also identified areas w here effi­ ciency needed to increase. For exam ple, one campus library operated two circulation areas— on e for audiovisuals and reserves and another for circulating books. Complaints from support staff about lack o f student workers to serve these desks led to group meetings and the eventual com bination o f the two areas into o n e stream­ lined circulation area. Interlibrary loan (ILL) was formerly done at ea ch campus with librarians accessing OCLC and fulfilling requests. T he Circulation Team suggested centralizing the service at o n e library, and assigning the duties to support staff w ho could com m unicate via e-mail with the other cam puses, maintain all records at on e site, ac­ cess and respond to OCLC requests, and mail materials. T he experim ent has reduced dupli­ cation and time involved in ILL and is a direct result o f collegew ide library staff w orking to­ gether to solve a problem creatively. Circulation clerks simplified receipts and record keeping, elim inated many forms, devel­ oped e-mail procedures, and identified materi­ als that could b e self-serve rather than reserve. For exam ple, all videotapes for telecourses had b e e n handled individually by circulation staff. Loss did not increase significantly w hen staff suggested moving videotapes to the circulat­ ing collection. In each case, the success o f these changes resulted from the involvement, ow n­ ership, and leadership o f the library staff. Sec­ retaries have expanded their roles from key­ boarders and telep h one answerers to those o f com puter troubleshooters and circulation man­ agers. Even entry-level clerical staff are em pow ­ ered to take charge o f clearly defined areas o f responsibility, with an end product o f personal jo b satisfaction and a feeling o f involvement. A n ew form of evaluation Reorganizing library managem ent and chang­ ing the roles o f librarians and support staff in­ validates old methods o f evaluation. Until last year, the librarian evaluation was a b rief ch eck ­ list, so generic it was used by the college for both librarians and counselors, and so brief and limited in sco p e that it was virtually useless. September 1 9 9 5 /5 4 5 In contrast, the perform ance appraisal tool designed in 1994 (see next page) by the librar­ ians themselves provides opportunities for both self and supervisory evaluations and goal-set­ ting in specific areas of responsibility. The evalu­ ation is broken dow n into four categories: 1) E ffe c tiv e n e ss as a Librarian. Areas evaluated include delivery of instruction, prepa­ ration of pathfinders and other written materi­ als, public service, supervision, material selec­ tion, and com munication with other faculty in and outside the library. 2) Attitude Toward Students, Faculty, and Staff. This category includes the ability to use tact an d sensitivity, w ork effectively, follow through on research requests, facilitate use of library resources, and provide service helpfully, positively, an d enthusiastically to all users. 3 ) P r o fe s s io n a l G row th an d D e v e lo p ­ m en t. In this section are appraisals o f profes­ sional ability to follow rules and procedures; k eep current with new developm ents in the profession, the college, and the community; at­ tend conferences and workshops; use all ap ­ propriate tools an d technologies in the deliv­ ery o f services; an d display w illingness to undertake new assignments. 4) C ontribution to Institutional Effective­ n e ss. The last heading covers the areas o f con­ tributions tow ard developing an d achieving annual library objectives, demonstrations of pro­ f e s s io n a l b e h a v io r , a n d p a r tic ip a tio n in collegewide committees and projects. All categories include an evaluation of goals se t in th e p re v io u s year, self-assessm en t, supervisor’s rating, goals for the upcom ing year, an d comments. A lthough th e form h as only b e e n in u se for a year, it has already afforded so m e n o tab le o p p o rtu n ities for self-scrutiny an d in teractio n b e tw e e n su p erv iso rs a n d li­ brarians. Expanding instructional roles Within the last five years o f library restructur­ ing, librarians have greatly expanded their in­ structional role at the college. At the largest cam pus alone, the num ber o f one-time biblio­ graphic instructions has doubled from fewer than 100 to nearly 200 annually. The library developed an active cam paign to interest and involve faculty in th e library. A conscious deci­ sion w as m ade to bring the library to the atten­ tion o f administration and staff. W hen librar ia n -lia is o n s a re a p p o in te d to th e v a rio u s a c a d e m ic p r o g ra m s , th e ir m is s io n is to strengthen ties by attending departmental meet­ ings, to w o rk w ith faculty o n b o o k an d jo u r­ nal selection, an d to p ro m o te th e usefulness o f b ib lio g rap h ic instruction, n o m atter the discipline. The library developed a “m enu” o f instruc­ tional options that reflect the latest technolo­ gies and teaching methods. For many years, instruction in the library consisted exclusively o f straggling pilgrimages through the building k n o w n eu p h em istically as “to u rs ” an d dry m onologues (accom panied by yellowing trans­ parencies) know n as research instructions. Tak­ ing advantage o f online and CD-ROM services, and a required course in m ethods o f college teaching for all new faculty, bibliographic in­ struction has becom e the most visible example of the instructional leadership of libraries. With a com puter an d an LCD panel, campus librar­ ians present dynamic, customized, interactive instructions that can cover as many o f the elec­ tronic databases as an assignment requires, as well as look at all aspects o f the library’s exten­ sive online catalog. An addition to library ser­ vice that has solidified the librarian as leader has b ee n the developm ent and success o f a credit course in the u se of electronic databases in doing research. LIS 1002, “Electronic Access to Information,” has b een offered on several campuses, team-taught to show case the vary­ ing strengths and interests of different librar­ ians. The course has b ee n so well received by students and faculty that at least one com posi­ tion instructor offers extra credit for students w ho com plete this eight-week course. The ultimate goal is service Library leadership can be an uncomfortable role because the leader must m ake public ideas, plans, and projects and take responsibility for them. Giving librarians and library support staff the opportunity for leadership is not enough. Individuals must be encouraged, self-confidence must b e built, and trust must be established. At SPJC, restructuring library management and ser­ vices an d implementing an autom ated system w ere the impetus and opportunity for increased leadership by individual staff members. In the n ew SPJC libraries, traditional job descriptions and areas o f responsibility break dow n as all staff w ork to m eet the goals o f service to users. Library leadership succeeds at SPJC because li­ brary staff em brace change, realize the need for cooperation and support, an d give each other the courage to lead. 5 4 6 /C&RL News