Reg MuSung

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Reg Mu-Sung
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Challenging ideas

• and there is no new thing under the sun
• Ecclesiastes 19
• Reg Mu Sung

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Overview

• If we were designing an information service now
• Physical building
• Access to information or virtual library
• Finding information

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People, Networks, Books New Strategies For
University Academic Information and Service
Delivery
Eric Wainwright
http//conferences.alia.org.au/alia2004/pdfs/wainw
right.e.paper.pdf
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Wainwright

• Meeting the smart service challenge
• PVC Information Services Technologies
• If we established a new university now, how
  would we organise our information services?

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1. Physical building

• Landmark design
• Highly visible location
• Range of services
• Other facilities to use

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Maximise use of building

• Highly visible inquiry service interaction zone
• Computer interaction zones
• Stimulation zones
• Reflection zones
• Group interaction zones
• Teaching zones
• Collection zones

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2. Access to information or virtual library

• People want what they want when they want it.
  They dont want something else, they dont want
  less than they want, and they certainly dont
  want it at some other time
• (Forsha 1992)

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• Convenience and speed of online or remote access
• On campus only for clear advantage
• Electronically initiated self service
• Visible entry to one stop help
• Contextualised help

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3. Finding information

• In an information intensive society, the
  critical divide is between those who have the
  understandings and capabilities to operate
  effectively in that society and those who do not
  
• Bundy 2004

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Information literacy

• Historically information scarcity
• Able to recognise their need for information and
  then to identify, locate, access, synthesise,
  evaluate and apply the needed information
• Learning how to learn

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Conclusion

• The best services give more than the customer
  expects - through stimulation of the unexpected
  learning that comes through serendipity, and
  unplanned beneficial interactions with services,
  people and resources.

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Claire Hill
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The
University of New South Wales Sydney
Australia

• Meeting the smart service challenge
• State Library of Queensland
• Seattle Public Library images
• University of Queensland

Challenging idea our profession and UNSW Library
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The
University of New South Wales Sydney
Australia

• Challenging culture tradition
• UTS
• Brisbane City Council QUT

Challenging idea our profession and UNSW Library
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Julie Williams
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Rebuilding from the Inside Out - The State
Library of South Australias Organisational
Redevelopment Project.

• Presenter
• Margaret Allen
• Associate Director - Resources and Information
  Management, State Library of South Australia

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View the original paper on the ALIA 2004
Biennial Conference website athttp//conferenc
es.alia.org.au/alia2004/conference.papers.html
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Catalyst for change

• The need to refurbish, renovate and integrate
  three separate buildings into one unified State
  Library.

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• It became obvious we could not simply transplant
  the old organisation into the new physical space.

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Before

• Library housed in dysfunctional and outmoded
  buildings
• The organisation had evolved along traditional
  service lines
• General Reference and South Australiana
• 11 service points in 3 separate buildings
• many separate collections and nests
• difficult to negotiate and confusing, especially
  for new customers
• uneconomic

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Essential elements in the redesign

• High standard of customer service
• Focus on storage and stacks management
• Opening up access to collections
• High IT focus
• Better use of space

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Transition

• Redesign of the buildings, organisational
  structure, service model and collection
  management.
• Redundancy
• New Graduate recruitment

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Consultation

• Broad organisation structure developed and open
  to staff consultation
• Staff working groups formed to look at specific
  issues
• Staff to nominate for new positions
• 83 of staff received first preference
• 98 received top 5 preference

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Outcomes

• We know we have achieved much of what we
  originally set out to do, both in physical and
  organisational terms.

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Outcomes and Achievements

• high standard of customer service
• focus on storage, preservation and stacks of the
  collection
• organisational collection development and
  management strategy
• improved I.T. focus
• opening up access to collections

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Outcomes - Customer Service

• All enquiries including South Australiana and
  general reference enquiries are handled via a
  single desk with rostered staff having a mixture
  of subject strengths and expertise
• A referral process is used for detailed and
  complex enquiries to go to a Collection
  Specialist.

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Customer Service

• The roving reference model
• One of the key elements of the service model was
  to move staff out from behind the desk and
  provide support to customers where it was needed
  out in the collection and at P.C.s.

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Parallels with UNSW Library

• Need for change/review of how we do things
• Big Day Out/Library Futures Group, all aimed at
  re-engineering our organisation
• Holistic approach
• Fundamental change
• An opportunity.

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• The State Library of South Australia was very
  fortunate to be able to start from scratch - to
  rethink every aspect of our physical and
  organisational arrangements

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Julie Sweeten
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Generational Change in Australian
LibrarianshipViewpoints from Generation X

• Perspectives from Generation X
• Sue Huntley and Terena Solomons
• Panel of Generation Y librarians
• Report on ALIA session by Julie Sweeten

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(No Transcript)
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• Australian Librarianship faces age demographic
  and generational changes
• Retirements (mass) job opportunities/gaps
• Effect of Brain Drain
• Who will take up these positions esp managers?
• Characteristics of Generation X and Y
• How should library industry attract and retain
  young people?

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• A generation is defined not only by age but by
  the common attitudes, experiences and events that
  take place during key times in their formative
  lives
• Each generation may view the world differently
  and may look at workplace issues slightly
  differently work ethics, rewards, etiquette,
  expectations, working conditions etc

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The Generations in libraries

• Veterans (1922-1943)
• Baby Boomers (1943-1960)
• Generation X (1961-1980)
• Generation Y (1980-2000)
• 52 of Australian librarians are over the age of
  45.
• In next 10-15 years 40-60 are expected to retire

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When large numbers of retirements
occurBRAIN-DRAIN
EXPERIENCE DEFICIT

• Some positions will not be re-filled
• Positions will be filled at paraprofessional
  level or by unqualified staff
• Positions will be downgraded to part-time
• Other professionals IT, business graduates will
  take up library positions

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Strategies(Succession Planning)

• Replace the develop by accident of high
  potential managers with a structured and
  strategic approach
• Increase the levels of loyalty, commitment and
  enthusiasm of best people
• Capitalise on senior managers as coaches/mentors
  sharing skills, knowledge and experience
  (Holden, 2002)

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What other initiatives are possible

• Older workers could be partnered with younger
  workers to combat organisational knowledge loss -
  encourage mentoring, knowledge transfer
• Greater use of job sharing as older workers move
  to part-time arrangements (also work-life balance
  - Gen X goal)
• Those organisations that recognise that each
  generation has different motivations will create
  cultures which attract and retain employers

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Generation X the options generationflexible,
resourceful, survivalistic, adapt to change,
self-reliantGeneration X are the innovative,
information savvy new professionals who will come
to manage.Urgo 2000Generation X will need
mentoring, encouragement to see the long term and
not give in to impatience to move on quickly to
other organisations or other careers.
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• What about Generation Y?
• Gen X could have the insights to recruit enough
  new librarians to fill the void
• How to obtain new entrants proactively recruit
  the best and brightest from Gen Y?
• The kids will be alright as long as there are
  enough of themmake librarianship a more
  attractive choice for young people Wilder 2003

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• New generation librarians Panel
• Need for mentors, should not need to fear
  experienced, older librarians
• Forget image Get over it concentrate on
  contribution
• Passion, interest lights ON librarians doing
  work you love

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• Inward focus of profession at forefront of
  information Age but why do others not understand
  what we do?
• Need to look outside to design new services
  service expectations have been raised by
• Amazon, Google
• Library education ensure professionals of the
  future have the relevant skills - leadership,
  marketing (practitioners/leaders dichotomy)

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Way forwardWork together - understand
each other Not us and themUtilise varied
talents of generation X and YCapitalise on
their abilities, motivations effectively
respond to evolving needs of society.