ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 4 / C&RL N ews Every Librarian a Leader Leadership in the wild blue yonder By M aryh elen Jo n e s Academic librarians partner with Air Force educators an d librarians O ne o f the most challenging “librarian-cum- leader” situations each o f us may profes­ sionally face is the use o f our particular experi­ ence and knowledge in another organizational culture. A small number o f academic librarians, now numbering about 15, have b een involved in such expertise portability with United States Air Force educators and librarians since Jan u ­ ary 1992 through the Air Force’s Quality Edu­ cation System (QES) process. Quality initiatives are being implemented in many organizational cultures including higher education, business, government, and, not sur­ prisingly, the military. The literature o f our own profession continually reflects the impact the quality movement has had on many o f our own operations. In the Air Force, the QES process focuses on off-duty voluntary education pro­ grams at the installation (base) level. “Off-duty voluntary education” is not a familiar term to most academic librarians; however, it simply refers to any post-secondary, credit-bearing education program (undergraduate through doctoral) in which enlisted or officer-level mili­ tary personnel participate by choice, not as­ signment. Unless you are an academic librar­ ian involved with a collegiate institution offering courses and programs to the military, this whole area o f higher education as “provider” to the military may be largely invisible to you. Partners in education At the heart o f the QES process is the concept o f using a defined group of educational part­ ners who will m ake continuous improvements specific to their own base-level situation. In this model, the voluntary education activities o f each installation are viewed holistically (hence the “partnership” concept) rather than having each collegiate program operating without regard to the other institutions that are also offering pro­ grams on the base. The QES process identifies, involves, and assists the individuals and orga­ nizations responsible for delivering a quality education experience to all students. In doing so, QES seeks to foster a culture for continu­ ous improvement opportunities in education programs, staff, and facilities on the base, in­ cluding library support and services. Realistically, the partnership functions when a base’s education services officer, his or her guidance counselors, all institutional program administrators, the base librarian, and selected others representing such areas as telecomm u­ nications meet regularly and formally to dis­ cuss com m on concerns, tackle problems, and develop initiatives which improve the quality o f the education experience at the base. For the Air Force, QES is a structured aca­ demic review process. It is not an accreditation process nor a military inspection. However, it both complements and goes beyond regional accreditation agency standards in its utilization o f a specific set o f Air Force-developed stan­ dards tied to quantified measurements. These standards deal with faculty, course and pro­ gram effectiveness, counseling, student services, computers, and library support to name a few. B eginning w ith self-study O ne o f the critical elem ents o f the QES review process is a set o f self-study documents pre­ pared at the beginning o f the process by the installation’s Education Center, each college and/or university operating on the base, and Maryhelen Jones is director o f Off-Campus Library Services at Central Michigan University; e-mail: maryhelen.jones@cmich.edu. She has been involved with QES since it began and has participated in fou r base visits to date. mailto:maryhelen.jones@cmich.edu Ja n u a ry 1 9 9 6 /2 5 the base librarian. Collectively, these documents form the “B ase Self-Study.” Preparation o f these reports is guided by the use o f a QES “Assess­ ment Guide” containing guidance on partner­ ship formation and activities, expectations as to partnership cooperation, and a num ber o f specific standards for k ey installation and insti­ tution educational functions and areas. T he “Base Self-Study” plus additional information and data such as course schedules, faculty re­ sumes, student enrollm ent, and com p letion rates, as well as institutional bulletins and re­ ports prepares the QES Site Team for an on­ site visit to access the strengths and w eaknesses o f the b ase’s educational environment and of­ ferings. Enter the academ ic librarian team mem ber; he or she joins other preselected academ ics for the on-site visit. Depending on the num ber o f institutions serving the installation bein g vis­ ited, the team may consist o f b etw een five and seven individuals representing both higher education and the Air Force. Typically, the team However, the academic librarian crosscuts the various groups forming the partnership and has a much more complex and logistically challenging assignment. has a chair, an administrator or faculty m em ber from a col­ legiate in stitu tion w h o has gained exp erience with QES by serving on a previous team; three professional collegiate educators and/or administra­ tors representing the three levels (associate, bac­ calaureate, and graduate d egrees) normally of­ fered on a base; an academ ic librarian; an Air Force education services officer from a previ­ ously QES-reviewed base; and a representative from the “Major Com mand” under which the base organizationally falls due to its primary mission (e .g ., Air Com bat Command, Air Force Space Command, Air Education and Training Command, etc.). T he com m and representative helps the civilian team m em bers understand Air F orce term inology, p olicies, procedures, funding, organizational reporting relationships, and military culture as they relate to higher education. T he length o f time a team spends visiting the base depends on the num ber o f collegiate institutions that may offer programs on base. A small base usually has three or four institutions; a large base, five to seven. Typically, a team will spend no m ore than a maxim um o f four days on site. During this time, each o f the aca­ demics is assigned either on e or two institu­ tions to review as their p r i m a r y assignment. The a c a d e m ic lib r a r ia n ’s a ss ig n m e n t However, the academ ic librarian crosscuts the various groups forming the partnership and has a m uch m ore com p lex and logistically chal­ lenging assignment. In the QES process, the team librarian has p r i m a r y responsibility for reviewing library resources and services offered by the B a s e L ib ra r y and e a c h in s titu tio n ’s li­ b r a r y as they are used to support voluntary education at the base. During the stay, the librarian team m em ber will visit the base library and have at least one in-depth appointm ent with the base librarian and possibly the reference specialist; will speak with each institutional representative, as well as faculty and students affiliated with the insti­ tution; will talk either in person or by telephone with each institution’s off-cam pus librarian; and will discuss library support with Education Cen­ ter personnel. Depending on the particular in­ terview, the academ ic librarian generally will b e discussing five broad categories o f library resources and services: • Collections: books, journals, CD-ROMs, software, etc. • Services: reference assistance, ILL, access to online public access catalogs, online and CD- ROM databases, library instruction, etc. • Personnel: staffing levels, vacancies, train­ ing, professional developm ent • Equipment: photocopiers, fax machines, personal com puters • Facilities: proximity to classroom s, oper­ ating hours/space/study areas, etc. T he academ ic librarian is also interested in the organizational interface the base and insti­ tutional libraries have established with the stu­ dents and faculty they are serving and with each other. Depending on the individual interviewed, the team librarian will ask such questions as: • How does the library determine w hat ser­ vices and materials students and faculty need? • How does the library provide services and materials to faculty and students? 2 6 / C&RL News • How does the library com municate the nature, scope, and availability o f library ser­ vices and materials to students and faculty? • How does the library contribute as a part­ ner to the educational partnership? • How does the library evaluate the effi­ cacy o f its instruction, services, outreach, etc.? M a k in g a te a m re p o rt As the team librarian conducts on-site interviews and reflects on the information previously pro­ vided in the self-study materials, he or she b e ­ gins to formulate a series of library-related “com­ m e n d a tio n s ” and “r e c o m m e n d a tio n s ” for discussion with other team members. These will b e directed to both the Base Library and each institution in the final, writ­ ten team report. In the re­ . . . all o f us . . . can u n d ertake leadership w ith confidence to cross org an izatio n al cultures and be advocates. port, base and institution li­ brary commendations will reflect areas o f strength such as bibliographic in­ struction, com puter c o n ­ nectivity, or rapid d o cu ­ m e n t-d e liv e ry s e r v ic e s . Recommendations will ad­ dress areas in which the team thinks either short- or long-term improve­ ments need to be made in areas such as facili­ ties, collection gaps or datedness in subject ma­ terials to support specific curricular offerings, or staffing deficiencies. Throughout the visit, team members con ­ sult intensively with each other on their find­ ings. They share areas where they believe more information is needed and try to analyze dis­ crepancies betw een what has b een provided in self-study documents and what they have learned through personal meetings. The team librarian is involved in all these meetings and is a full discussant on all commendations and recommendations that are being considered in all review areas. During the visit, each member also is writing/revising a draft of the report sec­ tions for which they have responsibility. For the librarian, this includes sections on the Base Library, each institution’s library programs, and a cooperative efforts section addressing the over­ all level and use o f library resources at the base. At the conclusion o f the visit, the team con­ ducts a series o f verbal out briefings to the base’s senior leadership, the institutions, the Base Li­ brary staff, and Education Center personnel. These briefings cover the team’s findings, es­ pecially commendations and recommendations. The installation’s senior leadership will then receive a final written QES Team Report which subsequently will b e shared with partnership members. Recommendations in the final report will b e used to help define and guide the imple­ mentation o f educational quality improvements for the base over the next several years. Crossing o rg a n iz a tio n a l cultures From January 1992 through July 1995, 24 QES visits have b een conducted, each with an aca­ demic librarian as a team member. More im­ portantly, the changes recommended to both base libraries and institution libraries have had demonstrable results. For exam ple, in Air Com­ bat Command alone, where the QES process began, base library automa­ tion enhancements have to­ talled approxim ately $2.4 million and institutional in­ creases supporting base li­ braries have reached half a million dollars. How does the Air Force QES p ro c e ss fit P atricia Senn B reivik’s “Every Li­ brarian a Leader” them e, especially w hen such a small group o f academic librarians has b een involved? In answering this, I am reminded o f part o f the exchange that appeared in the O ctober “Every Librarian a Leader” column. In it, Melvin R. George asked Karyle Butcher, “Do Librarians have knowledge that might be appropriate to share with col­ leagues elsew here on campus?” Butcher an­ swered, “Clearly w e do.” George w ent on to say, “On a more subtle level, but one which, in the long run, will prove imminently useful as we form partnerships across campus, is that as a profession we advocate for all.” Even though that e x c h a n g e fo cu sed on broadening cam pus impact, all o f us experi­ enced in serving higher education— academic librarians, Air Force librarians, and unnamed others– can undertake leadership with confi­ dence to cross organizational cultures and be advocates. This is exactly what happens every time a librarian participates in a team enter­ prise consisting o f nonlibrarians. The Air Force QES process, exciting and expanding as it is for those o f us who have b een involved in it, is but one exam ple o f the professional capabili­ ties w e can bring to other academic-related settings. For every librarian there can be a lead­ ership context. QES is but one o f them. ■ January 1996 2 7 Subscribe to this unprecedented reference if you seek to take advantage of the Internet for your library's needs! Internet Reference Services Q uarterly the journal of innovative information practice, technologies, and resources Editor: lyn Elizabeth M. Martin. MLS S en io r A ssista n t L ib rarian a n d G sU loger, L e a rn in g R eso u rces C enter. S ta te U niversity of New York ISUNY). Coblesk.il Book Review Editor: heather Blenkinsopp. MLS. MS Contributions Welcome . . . “AT LAST. A P R IN T MAP FOR EXPLOR­ ING THE REFERENCE QUADRANT O F P o te n tia l a u t h o r s s h o u ld c o n t a c t t h e e d ito r via THE INTERNET UNIVERSE. This j o u r n a l E-m ail fo r a d e ta ile d " I n s t r u c t i o n s for A u th o rs " w ill serve a s a guide for those lib ra rian s a n d b ro c h u re : m a r lin lm # s n y c o b .c o b le s k il l.e d u . o r via m ail o r te le p h o n e : Lyn E liz a b e th M M a rtin .in form atio n sc ien tists who a re redefining lib ra ries a n d lib ra ry services. M LS. S e n io r A s s is ta n t L ib ra ria n a n d C a ta lo g e r, ” Jam e s W. Calloway, P h D . A ssista n t D irector L R C / J a r e d Van W a g e n e n H all, SUNY CoblesfciU, o f L ib raries for R esea rc h S erv ices, C o b le sk ill, NY 1 2 0 4 3 : Tel: (5 1 8 1 2 3 4 - 5 8 8 7 . Texas Woman's University A Breadth of Topics . . . T h is n e w j o u r n a l will h e t h e key to S e le c te d C o n te n ts fro m Volum e t: p r a c tic a l a n d th e o r e tic a l a p p lic a ti o n s a n d Using th e I n te r n e t for D ocu m en t Delivery r e s o u r c e s o f t h e I n t e r n e t for all a s p e c t s o f Use o f th e In te r n e t via Universal Inform ation Access W ork statio n lib ra ria n s h ip : a d m in is tr a tiv e se r v ic e s , re fe re n c e W irin g th e Trenches: T each in g F aculty and s e r v ic e s , i n te r lib r a r y lo a n , a c q u i s itio n s , c o lle c tio n L ibrarian s W orking T o g eth er o n th e In te rn e t d e v e lo p m e n t, b ib lio g r a p h ic in s tr u c tio n , Using World W ide Web S oftw are for Reference c a t a lo g in g , e tc .. a s p r a c tic e d in all ty p e s an d In s tru c tio n (r e s e a r c h , a c a d e m ic , p u b lic , sc h o o l, s p ec ia l, a n d R are B ook C atalo g e rs an d th e I n te rn e t c o r p o r a t e ) a n d all s iz e s (la r g e t o sm all, e v e n o n e The Im pact o n R eference S e rv ices of N etw orking p e r s o n ) o f lib r a r ie s . 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