1. Reorganization at the University of Tennessee, 2007-2010 (and beyond) ASERL Webinar April 6, 2010 Barbara I. Dewey

2. 21st Century Research Library Focus on relevant priorities Collections – more digital – priority for unique holdings – build collections differently Repurpose high impact spaces to meet student and faculty needs: – social spaces to create knowledge (The Commons) – quiet spaces to absorb it (Quiet / Group Spaces Study Group) Plans and structure based on current and emerging user needs Emphasis on expertise Connect to scholarship / library resources where creators & users are Partner with OIT, faculty, administrators, others to get the job done Leverage connections for users – mass dig projects, global portals

3. Research Library Relevance depends on our ability to: Lead and support university/college priorities and initiatives Embed scholarly resources, tool, and services from all sources into teaching, learning, and research processes Create compelling intellectual, social, and cultural environments for students, faculty, and scholars Provide intuitive and enduring access to scholarship Embrace multi-institutional approaches Harness redundant and unique networked digital content and spark its creation Provide leadership for diversity and global connections

4. Connecting People With Scholarship Through Any Means Available Requires: Collaboration & Integration – collections/services Selfless attitude towards sharing Aversion towards elitism and prestige Focus on connecting rather than on collecting Adoption of new models of communication

5. Why Reorganize Structured around 19 th /20 th century practices, operations, collection formats Organizations typically hierarchical with information flowing one way Tend to be set up for library success rather than student/faculty success Too concerned about how technology and other forces affect the organization rather than how they change behavior of users.

6. Context for UTK Library Transformations It’s time to move forward (re: comments from staff and faculty, program review, evolution) Academic Program Review Recommendations (will include imperative for reorganization, budget planning changes, refocusing activities based on 21st century needs and realities) Major environmental changes especially related to technology, digitization, and the desires/needs of users which must be incorporated quickly Budget realities

7. Clifford Lynch (2008) “Probably the greatest challenge of cyber infrastructure at the campus level will be the design and staffing of the organizations that will work with the faculty: helping faculty access cyber infrastructure services locally (and, when necessary, globally); assisting faculty in managing their data – including observational data, the construction of research and reference collections, or data from analysis or simulation – and preparing this data for handoff to appropriate data repositories and curators at the appropriate time; and aiding faculty in parallelizing computations or organization data for reuse, mining, and mashups.”

9. Previous Organization

12. Philosophy – Right-size / Right- functions Consolidate oversight of entire budget: collections, personnel, operating, R-funds. Investigate some level of unit-budgeting and accountability. Realign resources, including people, in support of priority functions. For instance, use committees sparingly and differently. Eliminate outmoded functions, spaces, and services Create user and service spaces by moving duplicate and lesser used collections to storage Promote interconnection to campus initiatives by assigning liaison responsibilities to units or individuals

13. Philosophy – How to Change Create a change-oriented organizational structure. Decisions are consultative but timely, firm, and clearly communicated. Create a new leadership council to replace historical LMG. Rethink “team” terminology Create collaborative functions at the AD level to provide sound advice to the Dean Differentiate expectations for leaders (long-term planning & vision) and managers (daily operations). Identify and support emerging leaders Assume that most leadership positions will be filled internally. Assume positions (both faculty and staff) will be reallocated, but there will be no layoffs or reductions in salaries. Assume some funding will be available for external searches to begin in January to meet programmatic needs

14. Challenges of Transformational Change Too quick and too much change to some Alarms segments of user population (i.e. traditional users) Has to be done step by step and affected staff want to have info before it can be made available

15. Benefits of Transformational Change Accomplished quickly Addresses many goals simultaneously Able to address “domino” affects immediately Can present a cohesive strategy for staff and administrators Provides an opportunity to improve communication More strategic approach

16. What’s Next Library structure reorganized for more focused, efficient, and strategic decision making Budget “right sized” to enable more flexibility including deploying funding based on a comprehensive budget view Selected faculty lines filled New library strategic plan developed including choices on directions based on 21st century needs of students and faculty Activities focused on highest needs from the user perspective and the campus perspective Patron space improved, physical collection space, storage of digital collections in consultation/partnership Leadership development and succession planning employed

17. Reorganization at the University of Tennessee, 2007-2010 (and beyond) ASERL Webinar April 5, 2010 Barbara I. Dewey