Library and Information Science Commons^™

Rethinking Organizational Structures To Support Digital Innovation, Lindsey Wharton, Devin Soper

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

This paper presents a vision for supporting the growth and development of innovative digital services in research libraries. While libraries have been undergoing digital transformation for decades, we have seen a flowering of new digital services in recent years, from research support services related to data and digital publishing to learning support services that seek to make our pedagogy more accessible, engaging, and suited to the needs of 21st-century learners. The question of how best to support these services structurally within an organization remains an open one, however, and there is little consistency in how this is accomplished across different …

Migration As Catalyst For Organizational Change In Technical Services, Geraldine Rinna, Marianne Swierenga

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

This article describes the changes within the Western Michigan University Libraries Technical Services Department during a five-year period from 2012 to 2017, which involved a reorganization of staff and the migration to Alma/Primo, Ex Libris’ next-generation library management system and discovery solution. The aim of this case study is to understand the role these two significant events played in the transformation of the department.

Exploratory Evolution: Using Participatory Change To Rethink And Reorganize Digital Collections Services, Annie Benefiel, Jacklyn A. Rander, Matt Ruen, Leigh Rupinski

Scholarly Papers and Articles

Change is the only constant in digital collections work. Evolving technologies, resources, and needs require a constant flexibility in not only what work is done, but how and by whom. Over the course of the 2017-2018 academic year, Grand Valley State University Libraries held a series of facilitated conversations to analyze the workflows, organizational structure, and overall support for the management of digital collections and repositories. This article summarizes the facilitation process and highlights areas of opportunity, aspirations, and future directions.

Picking Up The Pieces: Managing People During And After A Reorganization, Catherine B. Soehner

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Libraries need to change rapidly in response to advances in technology, expectations of users, funding, and other pressures from both inside and outside the library. Often library administration/management reorganizes personnel, duties, and departments to accomplish new goals and to shift focus of library services. Both during and after a reorganization, employees respond to the changes in a wide variety of ways, ranging from acceptance and positivity to anger and resistance. Fortunately, administrators and managers have a variety of tools available to help employees deal with change and to move them toward success. There are many books and articles on the …

Re: Structuring, Organizing, Inventing, And Imagining Technical Services, Geraldine Rinna, Marianne Swierenga, Emily Gross

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Presentations

Western Michigan University Libraries migrated to the cloud in 2015 with a new integrated library system (ILS) and discovery layer. In 2016, the Libraries began discussing a complete reorganization. This presentation will outline the changes that occurred in WMU's Technical Services Department as a result of the ILS migration and new overall organizational structure in the Libraries, and how technical services faculty and staff have adapted and seized the opportunity to reinvent the department.

Establishing A Shared Vision For An Integrated Approach To Collections And Scholarly Communications, Annie Bélanger, Sarah Beaubien, Annie Benefiel, Jacklyn A. Rander, Matt Ruen, Leigh Rupinski, Matt Schultz

Library Reports and Communication

Over the past decade, the University Libraries' Digital Collections have grown from an assemblage of discrete projects into two distinct programs that curate, manage, and publish digitized and born-digital materials online for educational and scholarly uses by Grand Valley State University's community and the wider public.

As these collections have grown, the support for creating, sharing, and preserving these materials has expanded from the Special Collections & University Archives into Systems and Technology Services, Knowledge Access and Resource Management Services, and Scholarly Communications, which manages the Libraries' other Digital Collection program, consisting of the Institutional Repository (IR) and a suite …

Sturdy Bones: Reframing The Small Academic Library, Cadence Atchinson

ACRL New England Chapter Annual Conference

In July 2014, a small group of UNE Libraries staff called the “New Library Models Task Force” was created to reframe the academic library for the 21st century, including internal structure, positions, services, and cross-departmental collaborations. The new model had to work within the existing skeleton of the library with no changes in budget or number of staff positions. Throughout the last two years the Task Force and the UNE Libraries staff have been working toward creating a structure that is flattened, forward-thinking and student centered. This has involved de-siloing, fostering greater communication and encouraging cross training. Throughout the process, …

The Libraries They Are A-Changin’: How Libraries Reorganize, John Novak, Annette Day

Library Faculty Publications

This paper will report on the results of a study of library reorganizations in the literature. The authors identified five steps common to all library reorganizations, and this paper describes those steps as well as two management change theories most mentioned in the literature--the eight-step process of change by John Kotter and Reframing Organizations by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal. The paper will draw conclusions formed by a comparison of these theoretical models to the practice and real life experience of reorganizations as described by libraries in the literature.

Building Your Program By Building Your Team Acrl Poster 2015, Bruce Keisling, Robert E. Fox Jr.

Bruce L. Keisling

Positioning Academic Libraries For The Future: A Process And Strategy For Organizational Transformation, Erin L. Ellis, Brian Rosenblum, John Stratton, Kathleen Ames-Stratton

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

Seeking to more effectively respond to campus initiatives and user expectations, the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries underwent a process of significant organizational review and transformation. Guided by a purposeful, open process, a diverse and representative group was elected to serve on the Libraries Organizational Review Team (ORT) to assess the existing organizational structure, determine major functions and cross-functional areas therein, and identify new and vital activities and positions essential for achieving our strategic priorities. Recognizing, too, the trends and challenges occurring within higher education and academic libraries, ORT sought to redefine professional roles and functions to strategically position the …

Deconstructing Reorganizations In Libraries, Steven W. Staninger

Copley Library: Faculty Scholarship

This article deconstructs the motivations and outcomes of library reorganizations. Deconstructive analysis can be applied to help library administrators be aware of the consequences of their decisions while planning reorganizations.

Management Of Content Development And Subject Engagement Through An Arts Matrix Model: A Case Study, Casey D. Hoeve, Ellen R. Urton, Thomas W. Bell

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

From 2007 - 2009, Kansas State University Libraries (K-State Libraries) committed to strategically assess and redevelop their organizational structure. The Libraries’ Strategic Plan and position redistributions commenced in 2007 and 2009 respectively, with adjustments in 2010 to accommodate the university’s “K-State 2025” Strategic Plan. Together, these plans changed the roles of former subject librarians, dividing and transferring responsibilities for outreach, reference, instruction, and collection development. Among the more significant changes was the creation of departments devoted to patron groups, rather than specific academic disciplines. Illustrating how the reorganization changed the roles of traditional library services, this chapter will outline the …

Reorganizing The College Library: Colby's Foray Into The Future, Clem Guthro

Clem Guthro

No abstract provided.

Reorganization At The University Of Tennessee, 2007-2010 (And Beyond), Barbara I. Dewey

Barbara I. Dewey

No abstract provided.

Abolish The Periodicals Department!, Bob Schoofs

Scholarly Papers and Articles

As academic libraries strive to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we need to examine new ways to fulfill our educational mission. Simply continuing to do things the same way we always have is no longer an option. On the one hand, technology is rapidly changing how we go about our work. On the other hand, competition among institutions of higher learning is such that only those who provide the best educational experience for their students will thrive. Faced with these challenges, college and university libraries have implemented a variety of reorganizational strategies. A review of the literature provides …