Powering up

for change

FROM IDEAS TO INNOVATION:

Karen Calhoun

AUL for Organizational Development

and Assessment

University of Pittsburgh

University Library System

October 2012

This work is licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

INTERACTIONS 1

• Look at the corner of your badge:

what letter is there?

• Go to the table with that letter on it.

• Sit down and say hello to the

people sitting at that table.

2

• Started late July 2011

• Work for Rush Miller, University Librarian

• FY13 assignments:

• Guide process to collaboratively develop the

library’s FY14 strategic plan

• Guide ULS Leadership Development

Program

• Guide assessment processes (e.g., user

needs, newly introduced user services, ULS

committee structure)

• Change management, project management

MY ROLE AT PITT

3

Definition and response Non-incremental change

that threatens existing structures because it drastically alters the way things are currently done or have been done for years (businessdictionary.com)

Displaced service models and traditional values don’t/can’t adjust quickly enough; thinking reflects what has been, not what is or will be

Examples Automobiles and highways

disrupted railroads

Netflix disrupted video stores

Google disrupts traditional information services and systems

DISCONTINUOUS CHANGE AND THE NEED

FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL THINKING

Libraries have entered an era of discontinuous change—a time

when the cumulated assets of the past do not guarantee future success.

4

BUDGET AND STAFFING IN ACLCP

LIBRARIES

…budget cuts,

personnel losses,

reorganization,

shifting work

patterns, and

innovative ideas

5

Based on data from biennial surveys of academic libraries by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

NCES Library Statistics Program ―Compare Academic Libraries‖ service

Data was consistently available for 17 of the ACLCP libraries – these are the ―comparison group‖

Examined NCES data on ACLCP library expenditures, staffing, collections, and services from 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010 data sets

My investigation completed before I discovered John J. Regazzi research findings (published September 2012)

A STUDY OF BUDGETS, STAFFING,

COLLECTIONS AND USE OF ACLCP LIBRARIES,

2002-2010

6

ACLCP FINDINGS: MEDIAN ENROLLMENT

UP

7

ACLCP FINDINGS: MEDIAN EXPENDITURES,

ADJUSTED TO 2010 DOLLARS

Average ACLCP libs.: Up 13%

Minimum: Down 21%

Maximum: Up 69%

62.5% had increases

12.5% budgets flat

25% had decreases

8

Regazzi 2012 findings:

Nationally, academic libraries

up 12% 1998-2008

ACLCP FINDINGS – MEDIAN

EXPENDITURES PER STUDENT

9

ACLCP FINDINGS: MEDIAN STAFFING Percent Change 2002 to 2010 National median librarian/other prof staffing 12.5% National median total staffing 2.6% State median librarian/other prof staffing 37.0% State median total staffing 14.8% ACLCP median librarian/other prof staffing 12.5% ACLCP median total staffing 18.4%

BUT…

STAFFING GROWTH

LAGGED

ENROLLMENT

GROWTH

10

ACLCP FINDINGS – COLLECTIONS

TRENDS

11

ACLCP FINDINGS – CIRCULATIONS PER

STUDENT

12

ACLCP FINDINGS – MEDIAN REFERENCE

AND GATE COUNTS PER STUDENT

13

ACLCP FINDINGS – PRESENTATIONS AND

INFORMATION LITERACY

Information Literacy in

Institution's Mission?

% ACLCP Libraries

responding yes:

2006: 41.2%

2008: 47.1%

2010: 47.1%

2010 National: 32.7%*

2010 State: 38.8%*

*Data source: Table 13, supplemental tables to NCES academic libraries 2010 report 14

ENROLLMENT is up at ACLCP institutions

BUDGET:

As a group, the ACLCP libraries received a median budget

increase of about 37% above inflation over the period 2002 -

2010 (average budget increase of 13%)

As a group, median total salary expenditures increased 22%

above inflation

ACLCP libraries’ median expenditures per student are up,

especially for e-content

STAFFING:

As a group, ACLCP median library staffing is up 18% over the

period 2002-2010, but it has not kept pace with rising

enrollments at ACLCP institutions

ACLCP total staffing is trending ahead of national and state

levels

SUMMARY ACLCP FINDINGS FOR THE

COMPARISON GROUP -1-

15

COLLECTIONS:

Investment in print collections is down

Holdings of e-books is up 5-fold since 2006; current serials have

more than doubled since 2002

As a group, ACLCP libraries appear to have embraced e -books,

more so than academic l ibraries nationally or at the state level

SERVICES:

Circulation and reference per student at ACLCP libraries are

down; gate count is up

The number of presentations given in ACLCP libraries is behind

national and state trends 2006-2010

ACLCP libraries appear to be ahead of national and state trends

to include information l iteracy as a mission of the institution

SUMMARY ACLCP FINDINGS FOR THE

COMPARISON GROUP -2-

16

Per NCES data, in general, the source is not

constrained budgets and staffing…

More likely it is the hybrid nature (bifurcation) of the

library, moving through a transition between past

and future service models …

WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THE STRAIN

THAT LIBRARIANS AND STAFF FEEL?

―It may well be that managing both the print collections with the

requisite staff, while also investing in the electronic future and

the skills to drive these initiatives, is what is beginning to strain

library resources.‖ (Regazzi 2012, 467)

17

INTERACTIONS 2: WRITE

DOWN ONE IDEA 1. Silently, take an index card and write

an answer to the question: What is

one specific external threat OR

internal limitation facing your library

over the next two years?

2. Silently, put your completed card in

the middle of the table. Take

somebody else’s card from the middle

of the table.

3. As a group, read your cards aloud,

then discuss what is written on them.

10 minutes

18

―It’s not the changes that do you

in, it’s the transitions‖ –William

Bridges Change = something in the external

environment changes (e.g., a new

director is hired; a new system is

introduced; a reorganization occurs)

Transition = an internal reorientation

process

I t is cr i t ical to

manage

transit ions

inclusively by

engaging staff

in the

process.

THREE

PHASES OF

TRANSITION

Bridges, William. 1991. Managing transitions: making the most of change.

Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley. 19

• People don’t resist the change; they

resist the transition, particularly its

losses and endings.

• ―Before you can begin something new,

you have to end what used to be. Before

you can learn a new way of doing

things, you have to unlearn the old way.‖

MORE FROM BRIDGES

20

What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning

The end is where we start from

--T.S. Eliot

ENDINGS

21

INTERACTIONS 3: WRITE

DOWN ONE IDEA 1. Silently, take an index card and write

an answer to the question: What is

ending or could end at your library, or

what could be done differently to free

up time for new initiatives?

2. Silently, put your completed card in

the middle of the table. Take

somebody else’s card from the middle

of the table.

3. As a group, read your cards aloud,

then discuss what is written on them.

10 minutes

22

Understanding those we serve – faculty and student behaviors and preferences

Space – virtual (discoverability; easy off -campus authentication)

Space – physical – the library as meeting place (―come to the place where everyone is getting their work done!‖)

Collections – ebooks, PDA, consortia

Engagement – outreach, partnerships, contributions to student and faculty success

Demonstrating value – assessment

OPPORTUNITIES

23

HOW

DO

THEY

WORK

?

WHAT

DO

THEY

NEED?

Faculty

• World class collections• Seamless access on and off campus• Personalized help when I need it• More time to focus on my research,

writing and teaching

Grad Students & Researchers

• World class collections• Seamless access on and off campus• Quiet space in library to work • Research consultations and

workshops

Undergraduates

• Places to get my work done, day & night• Places for group work, great wireless, lots

of computers and outlets• Quick, friendly help when I need it • Help honing my research skills

24

EVERYWHERE, THE LIBRARY

Library as Place Place as Library

Oakland

campus

libraries

Thomas Boulevard Archives Service Center

Storage Facility

Seamless

off-campus

access

Engagement:

We’re where

you are

25

SOME OF OUR IDEAS FOR SPACE REDESIGN

Sample floor plan

Knowledge Commons

Service Desk

User-centered—

but we still have books! Instruction space

Glass offices for staff

Qu

iet

stu

dy

sp

ace

Collaboration

rooms (group study)

Flexible open

seating Research

consultations

26

COLLECTIONS: THE RIGHT STUFF

27

Add value through high-impact practices, for example:

Participation/direct contributions to first-year seminars and experiences

Set up learning communities

Interventions in writing-intensive courses, collaborative assignments and projects

Establish undergraduate research programs

Offer and promote services around internships, capstone courses and projects

Integrate library resources into course materials on a massive scale

28

NOT WHAT YOU DO:

NOT measures of internal library processes such as input and output measures, external perceptions of quality, and satisfaction with library services

BUT WHY YOU MATTER TO THOSE YOU SERVE! (the “So what?” question)

How does the library help student enrollment, student retention and graduation rates?

What impact does the library have on student success, student achievement, student learning, student engagement?

What impact does the library have on faculty research productivity, faculty teaching, service?

In what ways does the library add to overarching institutional quality?

HOW DOES YOUR LIBRARY ADVANCE THE

MISSIONS OF YOUR INSTITUTION?

See Oakleaf 2010 29

INTERACTIONS 4: WRITE

DOWN ONE IDEA 1. Silently, take an index card and write

an answer to the question: What is

ONE specific key opportunity for your

library over the next two years?

2. Silently, put your completed card in

the middle of the table. Take

somebody else’s card from the middle

of the table.

3. As a group, read your cards aloud,

then discuss what is written on them.

10 minutes

30

• Build a vision of a new kind of library

• Be more involved with research and learning materials and systems

• Be more engaged with campus communities

• Make library collections, services, and librarians more visible in academic communities of practice

• Build on and for the web

• Culture of assessment

A NEW KIND OF LIBRARY

Image:

By The Opte Project [CC-BY-2.5 ]

via Wikimedia Commons

Internet_map_1024.jpg

The library in the community

(in virtual space) 31

THANK YOU!

ksc34@pitt.edu

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsofan/6166986907/

By mtsofan

CC-BY-NC-SA

32

Phan, Tai, L. Hardesty, J. Hug, and C. Sheckells. 2011. Academic Libraries: 2010 . Washington DC: National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012365

Documentation for the 2010 survey data: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011367

See also NCES Academic Libraries biennial reports and documentation for 2008, 2006, 2004, and 2002 -- Start here: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/getpubcats.asp?sid=041#050

National Center for Education Statistics. 2012. ―Library Statistics Program: Compare Academic Libraries.‖ NCES Library Comparison . http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/compare/

DATA SOURCES AND DOCUMENTATION

33

1. Albright College

2. Alvernia College

3. Dickinson College

4. Elizabethtown College

5. Franklin and Marshall College

6. Gettysburg College

7. Harrisburg Area Community College

8. Juniata College

9. Kutztown University

10. Lebanon Valley College

11. Lycoming College

12. Messiah College

13. Millersville University

14. Shippensburg University

15. Susquehanna University

16. Wilson College

17. York College

ACLCP COMPARISON GROUP FOR THIS

STUDY*

*using NCES data for 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010 34

Oakleaf, Megan. 2010. The Value of Academic

Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and

Report. American Library Association. Association of

College and Research Libraries.

Regazzi, John J. 2012. ―Constrained? An Analysis of

US Academic Library Shifts in Spending, Staffing,

and Utilization, 1998–2008.‖ College & Research

Libraries 73 (5): 449–468.

SOME SUGGESTED READING

35