scaling organizational capacity to meet e-resources needs: centralize or decentralize?

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Copyright Denise Pan and Rick Lugg 2010. This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors.

ER&L February 1-3, 2010 Scaling Organizational Capacity to Meet E-Resources Needs: Centralize or Decentralize?

Scaling Organizational Capacity to Meet E-Resources NeedsCentralize or Decentralize?

Denise PanUniversity of Colorado Denver Auraria Library

Rick LuggR2 Consulting LLC

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Presentation Outline• Organizational Capacity– How has e-resources changed technical services?– What skills are needed?– What tools are needed?

• Organizational Realities– How do you change workflows with a

static workforce? – What organizational structure is needed?– How do you create your own knowledge?


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About R2

• Selection-to-access workflows• Organizational redesign• Helping libraries shift priorities and activities

• From print to electronic• From commonly-held to unique

• Strategies for legacy print collections


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R2 Experience Libraries• University of Cincinnati• University of Lethbridge• Auraria Library• USMA West Point• UC-Riverside• UC-Santa Cruz• University of Oxford• University of North Carolina• Wellesley College• Colorado State University• University of Michigan• Oberlin College• MIT Libraries• University of Utah• Wesleyan University• Colby College• East Carolina University• George Washington University

Vendors• ABC-CLIO• Blackwell Book Services• Casalini Libri• CAVAL Collaborative Solutions• Common Ground Publishing• Eastern Book Company• Ebook Library (EBL)• Follett Library Resources• HARRASSOWITZ• Innovative Interfaces• Ingram Digital Group• OCLC• RR Bowker• Sage Reference• University of California Press• Xrefer (now Credo Reference)• YBP Library Services


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Organizational Capacity

• In most libraries, an obvious imbalance


Staff Level

PrintElectronic

Budget Level

PrintElectronic

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Trends in E-R Workflows & Workloads• It is the mainstream activity, but mostly

organizations and priorities don’t reflect this reality

• In a rational world, library managers would:• Accord E-R the highest priority in staffing and support• Make certain this work gets done first and well• Train as many people in this work as needed• Let other tasks slide correspondingly


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Changing work in Technical Services

• Quantity – size and variety of “batches”• Erosion of consolidated workflows• Profession and industry won’t stop changing• Complexity of deals, resources, packages• Cross-departmental tasks• Invisible workloads and workflows• Timing and task tracking: can be months between

steps• Work cycles and patterns changeER&L February 1-3, 2010 Scaling Organizational Capacity to Meet E-Resources Needs:

Centralize or Decentralize?

E-Resource Life-cyle

Oliver PeschEBSCO

(Influenced by work by Ivy Anderson)

ClaimingClaiming

User IDsUser IDs

Admin module information

Admin module information

Preferences (store)

Preferences (store)

Holdings listsHoldings lists

Access restrictions

Access restrictions

View rights for use

View rights for use

Provide Support

EvaluateMonitor

Problem logProblem log

Hardware needs

Hardware needs

Software needs

Software needs

Contact infoContact info

Troubleshoot/ triage

Troubleshoot/ triage

Usage statsUsage stats

Downtime analysis

Downtime analysis

Review problemsReview

problems

User feedback

User feedback

Administer

New processes introduced

Trial useTrial use

Assess need/budget

Assess need/budget

License terms

License terms OrderOrder

PayPayPricePrice

EvaluateEvaluate IP AddressesIP Addresses

RegisterRegister

Proxy ServersProxy Servers

CatalogCatalog

Portals/Access lists

Portals/Access lists

Campus authentication

Campus authentication

Holdings listsHoldings lists

Acquire

Provide Access

E-resource life cycleLibraries

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Many Variables Affect Workloads

• Serial/Not Serial• To Catalog/Or Not to Catalog• ERMS/No ERMS• Dynamic update/Batch update• Knowledgebase/No Knowledgebase• Dependencies with print counterparts


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What are the pain points?• Complexity of processes• Need for new skills• New systems• New vendors, agents, kbase providers• Same players returning in new roles• Print/Electronic interdependencies• Serial holdings updates• Multiple access paths to maintain


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What skills are needed?• Legal and negotiating skills (and authority)• Communication and collaboration• Big picture: how decisions and actions

propagate throughout the workflow• Small picture: details matter at every stage• Multi-tasking:

implementing/maintaining/troubleshooting and evaluating


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What tools are needed?• A way to make the process visible to all• Access to selection, acquisitions, and other

metadata• Automatic notification upon completion of

specific steps • Shared knowledge of resources, status, and

issues—for staff and users both• KBART – UKSG/NISO Recommended Practice


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What structure is needed?

• Centralized model• Advantages• Disadvantage

• Distributed model• Advantages• Disadvantages


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Spectrum of E-R Control

High Moderate Minimal

Less Formal Moderately Formal

Very Formal

Minimally Scalable

Moderately Scalable

Highly Scalable


Specialists Only Integrated into Mainstream

Hub Factor

Process Requirement

Scalability

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E-R staffing: Stage One• Find or build an expert• Centralize processes around scarce expertise

• License review and negotiation• Central repository of signed licenses/signing authority • Trials, activation, A-Z lists, proxy, trouble-shooting,

knowledgebase maintenance

• Requires knowledge of• Consortial relationships, deals• Package composition and overlap• Serials holdings• Discovery layer capabilities


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E-R staffing: Stage One• Strong bias toward control • A sort of priesthood/elite• Small, self-contained, highly-trained

• Issue: this “hub” model is very hard to scale, even when supported by third-party services, ERMS, and other tools.


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E-R staffing: Stage Two• Wailing and gnashing of teeth• Integrate E-R tasks into mainstream workflows

• Some specialized tasks remain (e.g., licensing, t-shooting)• Selectors select; Acquisitions acquires; Catalogers catalog• Staff capacity transferred from analagous print tasks• Emphasize similarities, but also expand skills – it’s just another

format

• Requires• Training, re-training, persuasion, overcoming fear• De-mystification and relinquishing some control• Reliance on systems and procedures rather than individual expertise• A transition from expert to manager


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E-R Staffing: Stage Two

• Increased capacity – highly scalable• De-centralization, dispersion of tasks• Corresponding loss of direct control• A mainstream operation for a mainstream

activity

• Issue: the best individual contributors are not necessarily the best managers


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E-R Staffing: Stage Three?• Expand the yield of the specialist group• Broader resource base- more titles under

management• More libraries benefit from scarce expertise• Consortial/Collaborative management of

e-resources (CDL/UC Model)• E-Resource workloads are easier to share than

print workloads


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Recommendations• Treat E-Resources as the mainstream• Explore alternate policy choices

• Stop cataloging e-journals; rely on links and A-Z list (look at how users find this material now)

• Move to e-only for current subscriptions wherever possible – to eliminate confusion, complexity

• Focus on timely maintenance of preferred access paths—make those work first, fast, and well

• Minimize customization of batch loads• Get the e-resources work done first;

manage print with what’s left


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About Auraria Library


• Located in downtown Denver, Colorado

• Academic library for – University of Colorado

Denver– Metropolitan State College

of Denver– Community College of

Denver• FTE 28,000 undergraduate

& 2,000 graduate students

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R2 Report• E-Resources and Serials:

– “E-Resources needs to be recognized as the mainstream workflow, and staffed accordingly”

– “needing more staff hours and experience with serials and eresources”

• Staffing and Organization: – “Auraria has been managed as a

topdown, hierarchical organization”– “opportune time to realign the

organizational structure and staffing levels to support those changes”


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Reorganization Recommendations


Original Structure – Functional View

Recommended Structure – Functional View

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Organizational Realities


N.Y. Playground (Library of Congress)

How do you.. recognize e-resources as the library’s mainstream and expand e-resources staff in both number & level with a static workplace?

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.14007

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Re-framing the Organization


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Appreciative Inquiry is a strategy for change that begins with the identification

of the “best of what is” to enable stakeholders to pursue their dreams and

visions of “what could be.”4-D Cycle: Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny


Sullivan, M. (2004), “The Promise of Appreciative Inquiry in Library Organizations”, Library Trends, Vol. 53 No. 1, p. 219.

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Becoming a Learning Organization• Reasons for Change

– New technology & formats altering established processes

– Limited library materials budget & staffing

• New Opportunities – Break down traditional silos– Work collaboratively &

cross-functionally– Create more efficient

workflow processes– Backup training for continuous service– Greater communication within

Technical Services and with Library and patrons


N.Y. Playground (Library of Congress)

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.14004

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Technical Services Today• 1 Full-time Staff• With help from

2 full-time staff

• 2 Full-time Staff• 1 Part-time Staff

• 2 Full-time Librarians

• 3 Full-time Staff• 1 Part-time Staff

• 1 Full-time Librarian

• 2 Full-time Staff

Systems Acquisitions

E-ResourcesCataloging & Metadata


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E-Resources Hybrid Organizational Structure

Centralized Administration& Distributed

Decision Making

DecentralizedCentralized


32ER&L February 1-3, 2010 Scaling Organizational Capacity to Meet E-Resources Needs: Centralize or Decentralize?

Shared Leadership Moves beyond hierarchies and creates leaders throughout the organization.

Staff are able to flexibly move in and out of leader and follower roles as required.

Deiss, K. and Sullivan, M. (1998), “The Shared Leadership Principle: Creating Leaders Throughout the Organisation”, Issues and Trends in Diversity, Leadership and Career Development, Vol. 2, pp. 2-6.

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E-Resources Workflow & Staffing


Acquisitions•Journals – 1 part-time staff•Direct Databases & Licenses – 1 full-time staff•Consortia Publisher Packages – 1 librarian

Access •Serials Solutions (360 Marc Updates & Link)•1 Librarian + help from full-time staff & MLIS grad student

Discovery •Batch loading (WCCP & Serials Solutions) – 1 full-time staff•Original Cataloging & WorldCat Sets – 1 full-time librarian

Assessment •Usage Statistics (Scholarly Stats) – 1 full-time staff

Subj

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peci

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Bib

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aphe

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34ER&L February 1-3, 2010 Scaling Organizational Capacity to Meet E-Resources Needs: Centralize or Decentralize?

Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning. It is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables learners to master content and extend their investigations, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over

their own learning.ACRL (2000). “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education”, available at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm (accessed 31 December 2009).

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Creating a Learning Organization


• Reorganize with appreciative inquiry • Encourage dialogue at routine and

ad hoc meetings• Trust in the abilities of

colleagues to participate in shared leadership

• Promote lifelong learning

Questions?Contact Us

[email protected]@r2consulting.org

scaling organizational capacity to meet e-resources needs: centralize or decentralize?

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