In order to improve patron access to the library's collection of electronic resources, upgrade staff competencies for working with electronic resources, and enhance workflow efficiencies, both the Technical Services Department of American University’s Pence Law Library and the Information Delivery Services division at American University’s Bender Library implemented reorganizations. These two libraries, however, chose different organizational models. The law library redefined itself through a distributed model using existing staff. In contrast, the Bender Library formed a centralized Electronic Resource Management Unit to better manage access to and discovery of the electronic resource collection. The presenters will examine the successes and challenges of revising workflows, reassigning tasks, and redistributing print-based work to address the growing needs of electronic collections and diminished volume of print materials in both a centralized and distributed model. This program also provides an overview of project management techniques and how these techniques were implemented and supplemented in order to evolve the skills of the staff at both libraries. The program will also provide an overview of how a new vision and new goals were crafted; how workflows were reviewed and revised; and how jobs were rewritten and reassigned. In addition, the presenters will address shared challenges with current workflows and organizational structures. The intended audience is librarians in smaller to mid-sized libraries who do not have a librarian or department dedicated to electronic resources but who need to tackle electronic resources workflows and evolve staff's print-based skills to accommodate the needs of electronic resources.

1. FROM PRINT TO ONLINE:
Revamping Technical Services with a
Distributed Workflow Model
Christine K. Dulaney
Assoc. Law Librarian for Technical & Metadata Services
Pence Law Library
American University

2. Three parts:
1. The pressures of change
2. The process of reorganizing
3. What we learned

3. “You go to war with the army
you have—not the army you
might want or wish to have at
a later time.”
Donald Rumsfeld

4. Lifecycle of print resources
Acquire Describe Shelve

5. Linear organizational structure
Library Director
Head of Technical
Services
Head of
Acquisitions/Serials
Head of
Cataloging/Serials
Head of Library
Systems/ILS/Automation

6. Characteristics
• Groupings by specialty
• Stability
• Controlled
• Handles routine activities
• Handles repetitive activities
• Goal: EFFICIENCY

7. Lifecycle of electronic resources
Acquire
Describe
AccessMaintain
Evaluate

9. Disruptions at all levels
• Collection
• Users
• Expectations
• Library mission

10. Challenges for Technical Services
• Work flow
• Policies and procedures
• Quantity or work
• Changes in technology
• New tasks and responsibilities
• New skills

11. Questions to ask ourselves
• Do we understand all the tasks involved with
managing electronic resources?
• Do we have the necessary skills?
• How do we discover what we don’t know?
• Are we ready to face the next new change?

12. New relationships

13. The goals
• Revise workflows
• Define new e-resource tasks
• Redistribute work evenly

14. Project Management
• A project is a temporary endeavor with a
defined beginning and end.
• Project management is the discipline of
planning, organizing, motivating, and
controlling resources to achieve specific goals.

15. Project stages
• Project initiation
• Planning and design of the project
• Executing the work
• Monitoring and controlling the process
• Completion

16. Phase 1: PROJECT INITIATION
• Established a task force
• Define problem
• Set goals
• Involve staff

17. Phase 2: PROJECT PLANNING AND
DESIGN
• Outcomes
• Limitations
• Timeline
• Assessment of success

18. Phase 3: PROJECT EXECUTION
• Staff involvement via brainstorming:
– What works well?
– What doesn’t work well?
– What do you need?
• Understand the current work
– Who does what?

19. Phase 3: PROJECT EXECUTION
• What’s the new work?
• Monthly themes
– What’s the issue?
– What do we do already?
– What are new tasks?
– Who should do it?
– Did test case work?
– Do we have documentation?

20. Phase 4: MONITORING AND
CONTROLLING
Assessing success:
• New position descriptions
• New procedures manual
• New skills and training
• New relationships

21. Phase 5: COMPLETION
Lessons learned:
• Breaking the mental model
• Change of focus from efficiency to learning
• Teaming
• New leadership model

22. 1. THE MENTAL MODEL

23. Breaking the mental model
• Re-envision who we were and how we worked
• Learning as we were working
• Move away from a linear model of
organization

24. 2. Changing from efficiency to learning
EFFICIENCY LEARNING
WORK PROCESS Stable, routine Tentative, changing
CHANGE Overwhelming Constant
FEEDBACK One- way Two- way
EMPLOYEE JUDGMENT Discouraged Encouraged
FEAR Common Avoided
LEADERS Answer Provide direction

25. 3. Teaming
• Speaking up
• Collaborating
• Experimentation
• Reflection

27. 4. New leadership model
• Identify shared goals
• Model good communication
• Failures are learning opportunities
• Make it safe to speak up
• Encourage difficult conversations
• Expect conflict and learn how to moderate it

28. The Future

29. QUESTIONS?
Kari Schmidt
schmidt@american.edu
Christine Dulaney
cdulaney@wcl.american.edu