Deanna Marcum Associate Librarian Library of Congress California State Universities June 8, 2007 Rethinking Library Organization
Library Services is the “Library” Additional service units: Copyright and CRS Law Library Infrastructure: HR, OCFO, ITS Time-defined project: NDIIPP Today’s Library (of Congress)
53 divisions 3,000 staff format-based collections 21 reading rooms Library Services
On-site reference Delivery of materials to the desk On-line access to e- resources Services in Reading Rooms
Bibliographic control is the LC trademark Catalog for other libraries and for publishers Set standards for bibliographic control around the world Cataloging Divisions
Copyright deposits: 23,000 a day/select 12,000 6 overseas offices Purchase of special collections Gifts and exchange Acquisitions
Manuscripts Music Maps Prints and Photographs Rare Books MBRS Special Collections
American Folklife Center National Library Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped National AudioVisual Conservation Center Quasi-Stand Alone Divisions
Humanities and Social Sciences Science, Technology, and Business Microform Reading Room Serials and Government Publications Genealogy and Local History General Collections
African and Middle Eastern Reading Room Hispanic Reading Room European Reading Room Asian Reading Room Area Studies
Preservation Collections Management Interpretative Programs Center for the Book Office of Scholarly Programs Retail Shop and other Business Enterprises In support of collections
Transformation to a 21st Century Library What should we look like 5 years from now? What will it take to move from where we are to where we need to be? Strategic Planning
Streamline/simplify/consolidate the old to make room for the new? Meet needs of today at the expense of the needs of the future? Congress or the American public? Library of last resort or first stop? Universal collections or networked collections Organizational Questions
Goal 1: Collect and preserve the record of America’s creativity and the world’s knowledge. Goal 2: Provide the most effective means of connecting the Library user to our collections. Strategic Plan,
Goal 3: Deepen the the general understanding of American cultural, intellectual, and social life, and of other peoples and nations Goal 4: Provide leadership for the library community Strategic Plan, continued
Goal 5: Manage for results Strategic Plan, continued
An Organizational Case Study
Working Group on the Future of BIbliographic Control ALA ARL SLA
Working Group, cont. NFAIS MLA Google Microsoft 2 at-large members
Conflicting philosophies Different traditions Different responsibilities to users Different incentives to consider money
Three regional meetings Invited speakers and observers Report Public Comment Report to the Library of Congress, November 1, 2007
Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Reorganization
Digital literacy courses for all staff Determination of skills needed for the future Assessment of current staff skills Filling the gaps: education and training Staffing for the New Organization
Points to Ponder Roles and Responsibilities Roles and responsibilities of the library Are libraries organized to be true collaborators with other parts of the university? To what extent does the future of the library depend upon the ability to collaborate in a deep and meaningful way? What is the library's role in civic engagement, international studies, or other areas not so traditional for library support? Are libraries treating web sites created by experts as core library materials? Are librarians actively recommending such web sites to their users?
Points to Ponder Evolving functions of librarians In an era of mass digitization, how are functions of librarians changing? Do our existing consortial models for bibliographic control take into account the power of the web? When resources are online in full-text form, do we need bibliographic records at all? Does the text become the record? Has Google become the primary reference librarian for students?
Education and re-tooling of staff for new organizational structures What skills will the staff need to work in truly collaborative environments? Are librarians prepared to take on distinctly different roles that require marketing and entrepreneurial abilities? How do we prepare the staff to reallocate resources (both time and money) to priority tasks, even if that means giving up some traditional roles? What changes are needed in budget systems, personnel systems, and other infrastructure systems to allow libraries to make the changes we have discussed?