From support to mission critical: United Nations libraries in transition UKSG 2006, University of Warwick Linda Stoddart, United Nations

Moving from a “nice to have service” to a “essential resource”: Impacting on daily work Becoming an ubiquitous service Transforming internal messages Demonstrating technology competency

Incremental approach Communicating the vision Developing a strategy Launching new activities Creating a core group of change agents Involving staff at all levels Celebrating successes Learning from mistakes

From collections to connections: Emphasizing people to people Changing skill sets required Streamlining process Creating partnerships

Learning what’s important for senior management Supporting core work (UN Reform) Creating trust between management and staff Providing ideas for internal messages Assisting use of all new technological tools Partnering with other organizational units

Learning to influence decision-making Identifying crucial information and knowledge staff require to do their jobs Determining who needs what, when… Demonstrating how applications and tools can be used effectively

Political considerations Low use of print publications Medium use of electronic data High use of news sources and direct contacts Use of information in decision- making: UN Secretariat

Are international organizations different? Hierarchy culture: decisions taken at senior levels Junior staff not part of the decision- making channel – resulting in lack of a sense of responsibility

How are they different? No “bottom line” culture Formalized and structural Rewards based on rank Little change or risk-taking

BureaucraticEnabling staff to take initiatives MultileveledMobility in functions and amongst sections Policies and procedures that focus on process Policies and procedures that facilitate meeting client requirements Organized in “silos”Team-oriented Structure Moving from “Collections to connections”

CentralizedEmpowering IntrovertedExtroverted Focus on activities in library space Focus on networking and coaching Slow decision-makingQuicker decision-making TraditionalInnovative DefensiveOpen to feedback InsecureConfident Culture Moving from “Collections to connections”

Emphasis on library processing technique Focus on inter-personal skills (i.e., interviewing and coaching techniques) Learning new library management systems Understanding content management tools Training and Development Moving from “Collections to connections”

Asking questions, interviewing: What information/knowledge do staff need ? What information/knowledge should be shared? When is information needed and in what form? How should information be organized, stored, accessed and communicated?

Changes in outlook and attitude Embracing opportunities and new roles Accepting a new world of complexity and a role as interpreter and networker Influencing the decision-making process by identifying new, approaches to knowledge sharing and organizational learning

Staff understand the need to change but remain boxed in Difficult to breakdown section loyalties and short term vision Bureaucratic procedures make it difficult to take decisions New skills required/few training opportunities Recruitment process slow and arduous OBSTACLES

Staff has new challenges Team approach promotes networking and partnering Increased flexibility helps quicker decision-making New skills lead to new roles and responsibilities Experimentation and innovation lead to new activities and services OPPORTUNITIES

Changing perceptions New signals and symbols and symbols