FROM PRINT TO ONLINE: Revamping Technical Services with a Distributed Workflow Model Christine K. Dulaney Assoc. Law Librarian for Technical & Metadata Services Pence Law Library American University

Three parts: 1.The pressures of change 2.The process of reorganizing 3.What we learned

“You go to war with the army you have—not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” Donald Rumsfeld

Lifecycle of print resources AcquireDescribeShelve

Linear organizational structure Library Director Head of Technical Services Head of Acquisitions/Serials Head of Cataloging/Serials Head of Library Systems/ILS/Automation

Characteristics Groupings by specialty Stability Controlled Handles routine activities Handles repetitive activities Goal: EFFICIENCY

Lifecycle of electronic resources Acquire Describe AccessMaintain Evaluate

Disruptions at all levels Collection Users Expectations Library mission

Challenges for Technical Services Work flow Policies and procedures Quantity or work Changes in technology New tasks and responsibilities New skills

Questions to ask ourselves Do we understand all the tasks involved with managing electronic resources? Do we have the necessary skills? How do we discover what we don’t know? Are we ready to face the next new change?

New relationships

The goals Revise workflows Define new e-resource tasks Redistribute work evenly

Project Management A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end. Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals.

Project stages Project initiation Planning and design of the project Executing the work Monitoring and controlling the process Completion

Phase 1: PROJECT INITIATION Established a task force Define problem Set goals Involve staff

Phase 2: PROJECT PLANNING AND DESIGN Outcomes Limitations Timeline Assessment of success

Phase 3: PROJECT EXECUTION Staff involvement via brainstorming: – What works well? – What doesn’t work well? – What do you need? Understand the current work – Who does what?

Phase 3: PROJECT EXECUTION What’s the new work? Monthly themes – What’s the issue? – What do we do already? – What are new tasks? – Who should do it? – Did test case work? – Do we have documentation?

Phase 4: MONITORING AND CONTROLLING Assessing success: New position descriptions New procedures manual New skills and training New relationships

Phase 5: COMPLETION Lessons learned: Breaking the mental model Change of focus from efficiency to learning Teaming New leadership model

1. THE MENTAL MODEL

Breaking the mental model Re-envision who we were and how we worked Learning as we were working Move away from a linear model of organization

2. Changing from efficiency to learning EFFICIENCYLEARNING WORK PROCESSStable, routineTentative, changing CHANGEOverwhelmingConstant FEEDBACKOne- wayTwo- way EMPLOYEE JUDGMENTDiscouragedEncouraged FEARCommonAvoided LEADERSAnswerProvide direction

3. Teaming Speaking up Collaborating Experimentation Reflection

4. New leadership model Identify shared goals Model good communication Failures are learning opportunities Make it safe to speak up Encourage difficult conversations Expect conflict and learn how to moderate it

The Future

QUESTIONS? Kari Schmidt Christine Dulaney