College of DuPage Teleconference: Soaring to Excellence (Challenges and Opportunities - Library Transformation: Making it Happen)

Notes from March 23, 2007 session:

• Chandra KcKenzie, Director, Rochester Institute of Technology Libraries

  • "An innovative culture". Be early adopters. "Innovate, not imitate".

  • The importance of customer service.

  • RIT Library provides development assistance to Open Access journals.

  • They have an "idea factory", a configurable space with moveable and reconfigurable furniture.

  • Library hosts annual Open House.

  • Outreach and user (learning / learning styles/outcomes) assessments.

   

• Lucy Hansen, Director of Biblioteca Las Américas, Mercedes, Texas

  • "Library transformation".

  • Library provides flexible checkout to students: books, art prints, laptops. Students get unlimited checkout (this encourages studying).

  • Library is also booked for concerts, tutoring, lecturing.

  • Community outreach, medical/health-information outreach.

  • Students say: "great place to hang out", "feel like part of a family" --> this shows successful branding of library presence.

  • Library receives collaboration and training from area college & university librarians.

  • Library wrote a successful National Library of Medicine (NLM) grant for health literacy and outreach.

  • Impact: One of the poorest counties in the US, over 95% of the students from this rural area now go on to college.

   

• Sandy Puccio, Branch Librarian, San Diego County Library Valley Center Branch (phoned in from off-site)

  • "Problem turned into an asset": Library's transformation began when area students inundated this public library.

    • When asked "why" by the librarians, students said there was nothing to do.

    • Librarians then asked the students "what do you want" --> the students wanted cultural things to do.

  • The area kids like art projects and have organized some events around art (including showcasing their work) and food where the kids buy the ingredients and cook the community meals (tied to a specific purpose decided by the students in consultation with the library). The library has a community room with a commercial kitchen.

  • Community impact: the graffiti problem has gone away because the artistically minded students now have a venue for their art.

  • Outgrowth: one of the high-school students who had volunteered in the library decided to take library technical assistant classes after she graduated from high school.

   

• Jay Schafer, Director of Libraries, University of Massachusetts Amherst (phoned in from off-site)

  • "Transformation out of the ashes".

  • Library was hit with severely slashed budget and staffing losses to massive early retirement incentives.

  • Context: The deep cuts came from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but the campus administration was very supportive of the library.

  • Library revamped its workflow and space.

  • Installed a café called "Procrastination Station" -- one of the hottest study spaces on campus where record volumes of coffee & foods are sold.

  • Change with the times. Ditch the old "no food in the library" mandate. Speaker's rationale: "We let people check out books to take home where they can read them in their bathtub while eating pizza".

  • Interior spaces are flexible spaces, with puzzle partitions and moveable furniture. Open spaces can be used for large classes; spaces can be partitioned for purposes including group / individual studying, computer work stations, lectures etc.

  • Hours are 24 / 5. Provost supported a third shift.

   

• Nancy Tessman, Director, Salt Lake City Public Library

  • "Heart of the city".

  • Organizational development questions were boldly asked and addressed. Redefinition of roles: Learn technologies. Learn & adopt new technologies. "Let go": "Sacred cows" quickly dispelled.

  • New library building: new community relationships.

  • The library as place. Fully integrated in community life & activities. On the city's radar as an important place -- both for information and sense of community.

    • For example, the official community memorial service for local murder victims was held at the library. The library is also booked for happier occasions like weddings.

  • Themes: new roles for staff, outreach, the importance of customer service.

   

• Ed Rivenburgh, Director, SUNY Geneseo Libraries (phoned in from off-site)

  • "Bring back Minerva".

  • Milne Library embarked on a community-building offensive: Intrigued by the unknown fate of the original stone (plaster?) statue of Minerva which had stood in the lobby of the old library building, the library began to research what had happened to that statue. "Wanted: Minerva" ads were run in on- and off-campus media with requests for recollections, leads, information; students were involved in the research and publicity. After a research and following up on all the leads, it turned out that the old Minerva statue had been demolished.

  • The class of 2005 adopted Minerva and raised funds for an exact replica. The statue was placed in a prominent place in the lobby and unveiled with fanfare and involvement from campus, alumni of all ages, and the community.

  • Design note: there is gallery-style track lighting -- unusual for a library.

  • The library space has a disassemblable computer lab --> can be reconfigured as classroom, art gallery etc.

  • Impact: Minerva was adopted as the symbol for the library. It is the logo on all library publications (stationery, website etc). --> Powerful, on-the-sly branding tool. The whole process turned out to be great PR for the library.

   

• Josie Parker, Director, Ann Arbor Public Library

  • "The library as place".

  • The new library maximizes natural daylight. Building has a casual, homey feel.

  • User-driven: revamped library website, incorporated blogging, wikis, chats.

  • Using Lean process to revamp workflow.

    • "Free up talent for meaningful applications".

    • "Let go of old work".

  • Step out of traditional comfort zones.

  • New focus: Librarians interact as project managers, rather than staff service desks.

     

  • (What is "Lean Process"? It's a process that originated in industrial manufacturing. It embodies a mix of techniques to reduce costs & waste and maximize efficiency. Typically, Lean Process involves identifying & eliminating redundant tasks. It means a more direct path to completion, but is not a corner-cutting shortcut. A library example could be eliminating manually keeping statistics on paper when there is a readily available computer system that can be tapped for the same information. Another example is doctors' offices and car shops that operate with portable computers and information is scanned & transmitted from one work station to the next wirelessly. Typical "Lean Process" outcomes in both of these examples: shuffling papers back & forth is eliminated. The processing time of dealing with manual paperwork is shaved off. Preserved is the core task of moving information from start to finish so that the work can be done appropriately, accurately, and completely. Efficiency is enhanced because it's a lot faster, plus more accurate. Implementation costs: bringing in & implementing the new technology, adding new modules to existing technology, or reworking the way existing technology is used & applied, staff training, staff time involved with rethinking & revamping work flows)

   

• Dr. Christina Dorr, Hilliard City School District (Hilliard, Ohio) (phoned in from off-site)

  • "Board of Education: get to know the members" [she meant local school board]

  • School library is embedded in larger picture: local school board meets in the library. Administration gets to know them --> very effective at producing open lines of communication.

  • The school library is a hub for study, lectures, readings, students' group activities.

  • The building is new, with new technologies and flexible spaces.