Reorganizing the College Library Colby’s Foray into the Future Dr. Clem Guthro, Director of the Colby Libraries Maine Academic Libraries Day, June 14, 2013

The Way We Were An organizational model that evolved over time Traditional organization – Public Services – Technical Services – Branch Libraries People played multiple roles Management Team (2 Assistant Directors and 2 branch librarians)

Our Organization up to June 30, 2012 Director (Clem) Assistant Director for Technical Services (Toni K) Electronic Resources Librarian (Karen) Cataloger (Toni B) Library Assistant- Processing (Jo) Serials Coordiantor (Linda) Acquistions Coordinator (Claire) Assistant Director for Public Services (Peggy) Reference Head of Instructional Services (Marilyn) Reference and Instruction Librarian (Sara) Reference and Instruction Librarian (Darylyne) Access Services Circulation Supervisor (Eileen) Reserves Coordinator (Bob) ILL Asistant (Robin) ILL Assistant (Candice) Stacks Supervisor (Lorie) Special Collections Librarian (Pat) Finding Aids/Catalogier (Jim) Visual Curator (Maggie) Digital Projects (Erin) Art and Music Librarian (Margaret) Art and Music Library Assistant (Penny) Science Librarian (Suzi) Science Library Assistant (Vacant) Systems Librarian (Mike) Computer Support Specialist (Larry) Visual Resources Librarian (Marty) Management Team Administrative Assistant (Lorie)

Reasons for Change Libraries had changed – we had not Some elements of our work were being ignored or fell through the cracks Staff were feeling “fractured” in their work assignments Formal strategic planning process – Some goals could not be accomplished – Promised to focus on people/staff organization

The Change Process Hired Maureen Sullivan- Organizational development consultant Maureen helped us design a process Reorg group chosen (3 librarians-3 support staff) – Toni Katz, Assistant Director for Technical Services – Suzi Cole, Science Librarian – Darylyne Provost, Reference and Instruction Librarian – Bob Heath – Reserves Coordinator – Maggie Libby – Visual Resources Curator – Eileen Richards – Circulation Supervisor

Marching Orders Focus on the new work of libraries Focus on faculty and students as primary customers Input from all staff Input from faculty Input from other libraries who were reorganizing Rethink management of the branch libraries Consider giving computer support back to IT Three month time frame

The Work Reorg Group had many meetings- about 200 hundred hours over three months Provided a variety of opportunities for staff input Several check-ins with the Director for input Several meetings with Maureen

The New Model – January 2012 Graphic RepresentationNew Work Groups Group A – Physical Presence Group B – Engagement Group C – Virtual Presence Group E – Processing Group E – Digital and Special Collections

Presenting the New Model Presented to the Director Vetted with the VP of Academic Affairs Vetted with Human Resources Presented to all staff – December 2011 Feedback – two weeks Signoff – December 19, 2011

Moving People 26 people plus the Director Everyone given three weeks to choose where they saw themselves in the model Director provided an opportunity for people to change assignments Seven people made major moves Job descriptions need to be written for every job Compensation needed to be addressed

Walking to the Edge of the New Group leaders were chosen by the Director New groups met to define their work Groups decided on official group names Every job description was re-written Struggle/conflict between existing and emerging Soft rollout- June 1, 2012 Official new model – July 1, 2012

New Model Redux

Leadership New Leadership Team (6 Assistant Directors) Choosing job titles Weekly meetings with Regular minutes that are shared with all staff More strategic focus

Year One Everyone worked to find their role and voice Two new staff were hired Librarians on sabbatical – One librarian on sabbatical during planning process – One librarian on sabbatical during first 6months of the new organization Everyone was in learning mode

Challenges Some tasks were lost in the reorg Some roles were fuzzy/or conflicted Some workloads were increased We needed to let go of old habits/patterns New people were hired. External review - 6 months into the reorg Construction of storage building and library renovation moved up by 2 years

Lessons Learned Get Human Resources involved early Staff want more communication Communication patterns need to change - be patient A reorganization is a culture change It takes at least a year to understand how things are supposed to work Organizations need to grow/evolve

Good Things Transition from old to new went smoothly People seemed to be open to the possibilities Significant increase in outreach to faculty Increase in interaction with students Increase in digitization and Digital Commons External review validated the reorganization

Looking forward Assessment of parts of the reorganization after end of first year Re-examine the Strategic Plan for priorities Staffing Renovation will change the way we work New partnerships with Writer’s Center, Academic ITS, and Center for Teaching and Learning in renovated library