Documenting and Managing Projects

For our migration project, I have committed the Support Services team to documenting our decisions on a wiki. I hope this will prove a worthy task in the future when we (or someone following us) wants to know why or when a decision was made regarding cataloging and ILS management.

I have also asked the two other people in Support Services to provide me with quarterly reports including projects tackled, statistics accumulated, and continuing education opportunities attended. This will provide me with "snapshots" of everyone's work from which to manage priorities and create strategies for accomplishing our mission to provide access to the resources provided by the library.

We have a number of clean up projects to tackle before we send the final bibliographic load to Innovative in June. Reports of lost, missing, and overdue materials have been run and decisions on each title are being made after the shelves are checked for the items. We have incorrectly tagged call numbers to fix. Weeding of the collection is ongoing.

Since we will be implementing electronic serials check-in, we have made the updating of all serials holdings a priority. A new manual check-in procedure was started in the fall. Each print title is being evaluated for retention and correct holdings data is being collected. Once this is complete, a title by title evaluation of the cataloging will begin. Most of our library's cataloging for serial titles has not been updated regularly. Our holdings will be updated on OCLC as the cataloging is updated. Once we have migrated to Innovative, we will add the holdings data in our catalog. This is a very time consuming, labor-intensive project, but one that will add value to our catalog. Once the titles are updated, a regular schedule of title evaluation will be implemented.

A Busy New Year

It has been almost 2 months since my last post, but rest assured, I have been busy. Not only did the usual holiday preparations and festivities consume my time away from work, but I have been busy at work with the beginnings of migrating our library's catalog to Innovative Interfaces Inc.'s Millennium integrated library system (ILS). At Medaille, we are not using a full ILS; we use TLC's catalog and circulation products, but acquisitions is not integrated. We will be using Millennium for acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, and serials check-in. We will be starting our training at the end of January and hope to go live with the catalog and circulation early in June. In the meantime, we in technical services are busy evaluating workflows as they exist with an eye towards making positive changes to keep the library running smoothly.

Serials control is a big issue for us. We are evaluating all serial titles and updating cataloging, which has not been done regularly for some time. Also, tracking and checking-in of serial subscriptions (print and online) has now become a function of technical services, bringing all bibliographic control for serials to the technical services department.

Introduction to Second Life

On November 6, 2007, I attended the Introduction to Second Life demonstration given by Jill Hurst-Wahl of Hurst Associates, Ltd. at WNYLRC. Jill discussed what librarians are doing in Second Life (SL): providing reference and reader advisory services, networking, supporting virtual communities, learning to use virtual space for education. It is possible to use Second Life for free; Jill has been doing this for more than a year now. I attended this class to get a better sense of how librarians can provide different service to patrons via SL and what the benefits of such an endeavor are. I definitely came away with a better sense of what the SL world can provide for librarians.

In Their Face

I just read a blog post by Karen Coombs about re-thinking the approach we librarians take in developing our library websites. I agree with her thoughts. My mission is to make sure the library is visible where our community is looking for information. One of the first things I did was request that the library's website be added as a link in the "Campus Bookmark" section in the College's course management product. Likewise for the Banner site for student and employee services. These were simple first steps to reducing the number of clicks a patron needs to do to get to the library's resources. I hope to work with my colleagues to conduct focus groups to determine how our students and faculty are able not only to use our website, but also to determine how and where they start looking for information. As Karen points out, a product to give consideration to may be LibX. Linking the College Library to the wider Web enivronment is key to easing the patron's ability to discover information.

Change or Die

Pam Sandlian-Smith referred to Change or Die: the three keys to change at work and in life by Alan Deutschman (Los Angeles : Regan, c2007) in her talk at ALA on transformation of staff, so I decided to read it. Why won't people make changes when their lives are at risk? For example, why do most heart attack survivors not make permanent lifestyle changes to insure a longer life? Deutschman believes it is because death is too hard to think about, so it is pushed aside. Doctors don't create relationships with patients that will help the patient reframe how they live to make change viable. Deutschman uses three scenarios to explain the three keys he sees as essential to making lasting change: heart patients, Delaney Street ex-convicts, and Toyota Corporation.

The three keys to change:

1. Relate. Relationship building and community can restore hope to a hopeless situtation. Mentors, partners, or leaders can make you believe you have the ability to change and encourage you to do it.
2. Repeat. You need to learn and practice new skills over time.
3. Reframe. The new relationships will help you look at yourself differently.

In conclusion, Deutschman states that instead of thinking about change as change or die, thinks about change as change and thrive. In working with staff, I see that this idea can be essential to changing a mindset about trying new services. Change can be positive. A good leader will build goodwill and give staff ownership of their work, giving them the latitude to try new programs or services. As the staff becomes more confident that they will not be undermined, the library will evolve (change). Sandlian-Smith's library has evolved in the past decade from a rules-oriented, underutilized public library to a vibrant community center.

Transforming with Technology (ALA)

The session Transforming your Library, and Your Library's Future, with Technology was part of the Libraries Transform CommunitiesTrack organized by ALA President Leslie Berger. The speakers were Lori Ayre, Galecia Group; Casey Bisson, Plymouth State University; and Roy Tennant, OCLC.

Lori Ayre:

• Use physical spaces differently; use physical technology to create the best environment for our patrons
• Take advantage of technology whenever possible
• Different spaces for different people (e.g., teens, seniors)
• Build the Library IT department--no more "accidental systems librarians"--become tech savvy from within the library in order to get things done.
• Good ideas for physical technology: central sorting systems; self check kiosks; automated check-in; compact shelving for staff access storage areas (now available with automated retrieval systems); University of Chicago compared costs of storage options and publicly accessible shelves--public shelving is the most expensive; adequate space for staff with ergonomically designed furniture.
• Strive to provide the patron a productive (convenient) experience: home delivery of materials.; more library outlets: kiosks in malls, bookmobiles with computers for public use, book drops around town (not just at the library), option to return materials through the mail.

Casey Bisson:

• Challenges to catalogs: usability, findability, remixability.
• Google calendar can be used for events listings
• The library website is NOT a marketing tool, it is a service point. The patron is looking for information, often self-service resources.
• Commenting is essential in digitized, online collections and in the catalog.
• Don't let the library staff size stop you from trying to change things to benefit the patron experience.

Roy Tennant:

• Technology is a tool used by people to accomplish goals.
• Decision-making for application of technology: understand the needs of your users; consider your mission & priorities; get advice; how new is the technology? is it proven yet?; pilot or prototype is a good way to test something new.
• Hire the right people: ability to learn constantly (self-learners); flexible; project management experience; excellent communication skills; critical thinking skills about technology.
• Project: institutional support is essential to succeed; training and documentation; market new services.
• Every technology (except toilet paper) eventually dies. Run the numbers to analyze if it is time to end something.
• Create agile organizations: use standing committees for communication--use task forces to get work done.
• Be a change agent: being knowledgeable and connected is essential; read outside the profession; strategic partnerships (like with IT); exploit and create opportunities.
• Good characteristics for change agents: ability to think cautiously and critically about technologies; ability to listen and to empathize; ability to communicate simply and well; work to find solutions to valid objections; great sense of humor.
• Strategic learning: learn enough to get by; learn when you have a problem to solve--learn it just in time, not just in case; find someone experienced to show you 3 important things; find and use a good reference book or website.

The presenters offered some excellent advice. Technology can provide libraries with opportunities to present the communtites we serve with better service by instituting more self-service points and removing barriers from our traditional methods of service. Use Netflix as a model for delivery--I think this is a fantastic idea. I like the idea of being a change agent to implement technology and to provide the best service to our community. The bottom line is that our patrons are becoming more and more self-service oriented and the more libraries adapt to this change, the more viable we will remain as a source of information.

ALA Annual Conference

On Friday, June 22, I set off for Washington, D.C. with my colleague, Liz Evans, to attend the American Library Association's (ALA) Annual Conference. Now, this is a BIG conference--there were 28,635 people in attendance according to a press release from ALA. We had all day Saturday and Sunday to attend programs and visit the vendor exhibits. The weather was fantastic, making it a pleasure to walk between venues.

I attended the ALCTS (Association of Library Collections and Technical Services) division's Reflections on Cataloging Leadership. The speakers reflected on their own careers and made suggestions for mentoring new librarians in cataloging and technical services jobs.

• Sheila Intner, Simmons College: love your job; be a good role model; need skills beyond cataloging (budgeting, writing); work on leadership skills: teaching training; master cataloger to mentor new librarian; earn credentials that make you effective in your job; never lie; always look for the win-win--put yourself in the other's shoes; praise others; never lie; research and write about things that better your work skills.


• William Garrison, Syracuse University: To be a good cataloger, be a good reference librarian (Definitely!); take advantage of opportunities that come your way--even if you are afraid to make that presentation or attend that meeting; understanding the catalog is key to understanding how the library (and its data) is organized; teaching and mentoring is very important.


• Regina Reynolds, National Serials Data Program: Learn, volunteer, stretch, grow; be visual: interfaces, presentations, manuals, etc.; you need a vision to communicate information (inspire); accountability is essential, but values should be beneficial to the public good, not beneficial to the bottom line; organizing information ahould be fun and satisfying--be creative & enjoy your work.


• Matthew Beacom, Yale: New graduates need direction and help to become master catalogers; take advantage of "growth opportunities"; mentor and pay it forward.
• Janet Swan Hill, University of Colorado at Boulder: Take advantage of opportunitites available to you; be willing to speak up in public; publish, write, speak; volunteer to do something & get it done; care about the work, not the status.

I agree with their suggestions for mentoring new technical services librarians. I have benefitted greatly from my mentors, and I hope I have proved to be a good mentor to the interns I have helped over the past decade.