LTS Integration: FAQ
Why are we integrating technical services at CUL? There are two principal forces driving technical services integration. First, technical services departments everywhere are facing a defining moment. Staff are being asked to do more work with the same or fewer resources at a time when they must also find ways to become involved in new library initiatives. To achieve the results they need, technical services departments need breakthrough, double-digit improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. Taking a fresh look at technical services operations and reducing duplicative work will open new possibilities for productivity improvements at CUL. Second, for the past three years, Cornell University has been involved in a workforce planning effort designed to streamline operations, clarify roles and responsibilities, and reduce administrative costs. In keeping with this effort, the Workforce Planning Committee of the University recommended in May 2004 that the Library integrate its technical services operations into a unified function. The goal is to develop an organizational structure that establishes clear leadership and accountability for Library Technical Services (LTS) within a physically distributed operation. How will individuals' jobs be changing? Of the approximately 95 people who are part of the new LTS group, about 30 are affected in a substantive way by the reorganization. In many cases, individuals' jobs will change little or not at all. Of those whose jobs are changing in some way, some have changes in who they report to, some have changes to what they do, some have people joining or leaving their units, and a few (6 people) are changing the location of their office. For an overview of the new organization and the people in it, please see the LTS organizational charts. Over the summer, many details of the reorganization remain to be worked out. Among the issues are arrangements for workspaces and the preparation of new job descriptions for individuals whose jobs or reporting relationships are changing. Those affected by these changes will be involved in the discussions and decision making process. For a sense of the LTS implementation timeline, please see the project plan. How can I learn more about the TS integration and reorganization, and how will the information be communicated? Throughout the reorganization process, the TS integration and new LTS senior management teams will supply information continuously in a variety of formats—e-mails, individual and group conversations, updates on the TSWeb and Technical Services Integration project Web site, presentations, and so on. What opportunities will I have to provide input, feedback, and suggestions on the reorganization? Will there be another survey? Probably. The TS integration team anticipates a second all-TS staff survey, once the reorganization is further along (perhaps in late fall 2005). An initial survey provided feedback on the tentative organizational model for an integrated Library Technical Services, the results of which provided the planning team with valuable information in determining how the model would be implemented. As the implementation of LTS moves forward, technical services staff will have additional opportunities to provide input. In the staff moves, will an effort be made to keep staff members in contact with the user community they serve in their work? Yes, there will be ongoing (and we hope, expanding) opportunities for staff throughout Library Technical Services to maintain contacts with individual user communities. For example, in the move for five staff members from Kroch to Olin 110, not only did Asia collections technical services staff remain in the Olin/Kroch complex, but they continue to have responsibilities specifically tied to the Asia collections. Many LTS staff at Olin and Mann will continue to have multi-functional roles that keep the connections strong between individual user communities and technical services. Only six staff members will move from Olin to Mann to join the new E-Resources and Serials Management group. “Hoteling” and maintaining strong communication between the units will also lessen the impact of the move of staff in the system. What is “hoteling”? Hoteling is an alternative workspace concept in which a staff member has an assigned workspace in one location as well as access to a workspace in another location(s). In the other location(s), the workspace is shared with others on an as needed or scheduled basis. For LTS staff members, hoteling will provide a “home away from home” to work and closer physical connections with colleagues in other buildings. Isn’t "hoteling" (commuting between libraries) inefficient, given all the travel time involved? Managed effectively, hoteling should be just as efficient as having one base in one location. Meetings and work activities taking place in another building can be scheduled to avoid the loss of much time for travel wherever possible. For example, a staff member based in Mann but with multiple, non-consecutive meetings in Olin on a given day may elect to spend the time between meetings in an Olin hoteling space. On days when there may be only one meeting or none in Olin, the staff member would use his/her regular workspace in Mann. Another example in which hoteling will be used is in the case of a supervisor or manager with staff in more than one location. We anticipate that such supervisors and managers will have regularly scheduled time in both locations. Hoteling spaces at both Mann and Olin are planned. Won’t having distributed groups create communication challenges and different cultures within the scattered group? There is no contiguous physical space in CUL large enough to seat everyone in LTS in one room or even in one building. The Technical Services Integration Team has taken a physically distributed organization as a given since the onset of the project. It is true that having staff in separate physical locations will be challenging. However, we are exploring ways to address the potential difficulties that a unified but distributed workforce may present. Besides hoteling, possible solutions include:
Some staff members play many roles in their jobs. How will multi-functional jobs be handled in the new organization? Multi-functional roles will continue to exist. Some jobs will include multiple functions within technical services, and some will combine functions inside and outside technical services—for example, some jobs will continue to have public services or collection development aspects, just as they do now. Job descriptions will be re-written as needed to document and clarify these roles. Will staff members get training to help them adapt to their new job assignments? The reorganization adds new support specifically for training. Some training programs have already begun—for example, the new LTS supervisors have begun a series of classes offered by the university for new supervisors. Others have received training in managing transitions through a class offered by the Library’s Training Opportunities program. A component of preparing new or changed job descriptions is to assess the staff member’s training needs and then develop and implement an appropriate training program. A staff member who has an interest in developing new skills or in career planning should not hesitate to discuss his/her goals with his/her supervisor, department head, or Library Human Resources. What will the new senior management team do? The new LTS senior management team is Karen Calhoun (AUL for Technical Services), Scott Wicks, David Banush, and Anna Korhonen (Acquisitions and Information Organization), Jim LeBlanc (Database Management), Marty Kurth (Metadata Services), and Bill Kara (E-Resources and Serials Management). The team is responsible for financial, strategic, operational and organizational planning; project management; oversight and coordination of outreach and liaison work with colleagues in the Library; communications including the TSWeb; technical services research and statistics; technical services contributions to user studies and assessment; technical services policies and best practices, training, documentation; and IT support. Why are acquisitions and cataloging in the same group? Acquisitions and cataloging activities are intimately related. Having these two activities in a single operation allows for a continuous flow of materials from ordering to cataloging. A number of technical services’ recent workflows innovations, such as ITSO CUL, make the connection even more important for workflow management. This practice has been in place in Olin for some time and has proved its value in faster turnaround times, better cooperation and coordination, and increased efficiencies. Why are cataloging and metadata production combined in the Acquisitions and Information Organization group? Why isn't metadata production in the Metadata Consulting, Design and Development group? The Technical Services Integration team wants to break down the division between analog and electronic or digital collections so that technical services staff members can flexibly shift skills and resources between analog and digital collections. Therefore as the team planned the new LTS organization, they put a piece of the digital library into every group. What is the relationship of e-resources and serials management to the check-in of paper serials? Serials management has changed considerably during the last decade. During the last few years serials orders, subscription maintenance and payments for CUL’s print serials collections have become increasingly intertwined with those for our e-resources, many bound together for various contractual obligations and price considerations. Combining the management of these subscriptions in one unit will improve problem resolution, the handling of access questions, and other matters. After an analysis of serials receipt and processing several years ago, distributed on-site check-in of journal issues was initiated for libraries throughout the CUL system. This has proven to be an effective policy and will not change. The receipt and processing of serials will remain in the individual unit libraries. How will IT support be provided? This is currently under discussion. Some support will come from the new Service Innovations unit, headed by Adam Chandler. More information will be announced as soon as it is known. What is happening with the remaining CUL processing centers (RMC, Music, and Law)? The TSI team will be turning its attention to the analysis of technical services functions performed in RMC and Music in the late summer and fall of this year. At this time, there are no plans to integrate Law processing into the new Library Technical Services organization. | |