Background
This paper grows out of profound and positive changes that are transforming the overall environment for library services within universities at large and within the University of Maryland in particular. The UM Libraries have human resources with specialized knowledge of various disciplines and of various service capabilities distributed among a number of physical locations. The academic interests of faculty and students alike often require access to materials located throughout the collections of the Libraries on campus, to electronic content drawn from a variety of publications and other sources, and to physical library materials located beyond the campus. Specialized and detailed knowledge of how best to invoke these resources on behalf of users likely rests with library faculty and staff in any of a number of locations. The Libraries have determined the importance of creating a service oriented structure that assigns the responsibility for acquiring, organizing, interpreting, and delivering resources on behalf of faculty and students with the Libraries and its employees, instead of placing the responsibility of navigating these resources exclusively with users.
This document is not intended to elaborate a complete and detailed organizational structure, replete with specifics about particular job assignments and working relationships among staff. Much will remain to be worked out as part of the implementation of the changes described herein. Within the context of our evolving team-based organization, affected staff will share in the responsibility and the important work of elaborating the details.
The Services Task Force in its report of 1998 underscored the critical need for a "different, innovative, and organizationally integrated model . . . for the Libraries to be more fully responsive to the needs of its campus and other users, in keeping with the letter and the spirit of a service philosophy." Three subject-based teams were recommended and subsequently established to provide a service-centered model. In the two years that have passed, team members, program and operational managers, and coordinators have learned much about the organizational dynamic of team building and the role of creative collaborative work in the team context. This process has been challenging, difficult, confronting, and, in short, not without its own trials and tribulations. These are all inherent to change and growth, especially in large and complex organizations like research libraries.
We have seen positive results of the work of the teams. Teams have established a strong presence outside the Libraries. For example, to identify only a few, the selector/liaison system within the teams has begun to address the needs of academic departments not well served in our previous organization; hours of public service have increased; and librarians within one of the teams have begun to provide reference service across physical library locations.
Yet much remains to be done in designing and defining the work of the teams and in detailing the relationships that exist among team members, including team leaders, and with library staff outside the formal team structure. This working paper is intended to identify areas where further change and growth are needed in order to advance the work of the subject teams and expand our team-based organization. Some of the areas identified below speak to changes of varying magnitude within the already established subject team structure. Others point directly to the creation of new teams. The guiding principles of all these developments are largely articulated in Working Paper #1 and are similarly grounded in the service philosophy of the Libraries which now occupies an important place together with the stated mission, values, vision, and strategic plan.
Throughout all of our discussions, service to our campus constituencies is paramount and constantly needs to be up front and center in everything that we plan, the decisions that we make, and the actions that we take. This is not a passive engagement or rhetorical nod to an abstract concept. We are a service organization and proactively support the larger institution of which we are a part in truly vital and significant ways.
Issues
A number of issues related to the subject team structure have arisen that prompt attention and further reorganization. The following four points capture major areas of concern:
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Physical Geography of the Libraries. The programs and functions of the Libraries and of the subject teams in particular run throughout our organization which is a large and complex system that includes staff located in seven physically separate buildings, including the new Performing Arts Library facility. While the realities of physical space and the manner in which buildings can define that space are not readily altered, the organization of our most precious resource, our staff, does not have to be bound by the limitations of physical geography. As the teaching and research faculty are engaged in increasingly interdisciplinary activities and projects with colleagues in other departments, colleges and schools, their collection and service related needs are no longer easily defined (and served) by a single place or single self-contained set of resources. Our electronic collections will help to bridge the gap, but for some time to come there will continue to be strong reliance on print and other physical collections. Subject teams and the services they configure are a critical vehicle for overcoming the difficulties imposed on our users by the geography of our library system.
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Seamless Service. Faculty and students are accustomed to the personal service they receive in specific library locations, including the branch libraries. However, many faculty are dependent on more than one library service location because of multi-disciplinarity or the fragmentation of collections associated with a large library system. Moreover, students (particularly undergraduates who are the least experienced users) must often navigate multiple libraries. Our efforts to bridge some of the barriers represented by our physical geography notwithstanding, we will need to work within a multi-library environment. We will continue to ensure the highest quality service. Our efforts to overcome barriers of physical geography and to strive towards close integration of programs and services are accomplished to sustain good service where it already exists and to improve it elsewhere. Our users deserve no less. What we do organizationally must be seamless and transparent to the public. The quality of the service that follows will be more directly noticed and experienced. Change must never be done for the benefit of change alone. Our efforts in this regard are to be constantly focussed on work that meets customer needs and expectations.
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Reporting Relationships. Since the creation of the subject teams, questions have surfaced regarding reporting relationships between team leaders and team members who reside in a branch library. Similar questions have been raised about the relationship between team members and program and operational managers and coordinators (i.e., Collection Management, User Education, Branch Services, Service Plus). These relationships are addressed more directly in the specific team context described below.
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Role of Managers as Leaders. The managerial function will continue to have a necessary practical place within our team-based organization. Within the teams, the currently designated team managers exercise important roles as leaders and coaches and as facilitators of the change process. The term "leader" embodies more fully the role that is envisioned for the individuals who facilitate the work of the teams and provide leadership at that level. This goes beyond the more narrowly defined and perceived role of manager as supervisor or unit administrator. Team managers will henceforth be designated team leaders. "Leaders" will be designated for new teams that are formed. This is integral to the full realization of self-managed teams within our organization and the role of all managers must be understood and practiced within this definition of leadership.
Questions have been raised about the direct participation and involvement of currently designated non-team managers and coordinators in the life of the teams. This has also raised questions related to the previous point of reporting relationships. The expanded team structure described below, especially as it speaks to program and operational managers, including the branch libraries, is intended to clarify those roles and help overcome some of the problems that have developed.
Adjusted and Expanded Team Structure
Specific changes need to be made within the existing structure of subject teams and programs/operations. These changes are critical to the success of the team structure.
Subject Teams
The role and importance of the three self-managed subject teams are affirmed. They embody an important locus of the integrated work of library faculty who bring a combination of experience, training, and subject expertise to the core areas of collection management, library instruction, and reference service. Other characteristics and areas of attention are:
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The portfolio of activities and programs undertaken by the subject teams represent the distinctive work undertaken by library faculty in close support and in collaboration with the university’s teaching and research faculty.
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Each of the subject teams is led by a Team Leader who also has a faculty appointment.
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The Team Leader engages members of the subject team in the design and delivery of the work and programs of the team.
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Library faculty assigned to a subject team commit the majority of their time and effort to the team. This is a primary assignment and locus of responsibility.
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The responsibilities of team members are: provide direct support for student learning and faculty research; reference; instruction; collection building and analysis; scholarly communication; preservation selection and planning; participate in the shared development and management of the team.
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Team building has been a major focus of the subject teams for the past two years. This critical work will continue and needs to intensify. At the same time the teams will also need to begin to forge closer relationships with other divisions and areas of the Libraries that have a significant and direct impact on their work. The Services Task Force noted the importance of establishing such links with Information Technology, Nonprint Media Services, Special Collections, and Technical Services. Progress in this arena needs to be incorporated in team planning. The subject teams are herewith charged to prepare recommendations that support this goal.
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Team members will be assigned to one or more program teams in addition to their primary subject team assignment.
Access Services Team
Access services are integral to the work of McKeldin and the branch libraries. (Nonprint Media Services is defined as a branch in this context.) Some committees (e.g., Circulation Coordinating Committee) have attempted to address commonly shared concerns and issues. This effort needs to be much more systematic and inclusive of all the areas involving access services. The team structure will best incorporate the work in this area and better insure consistency in policy and procedures and above all quality of service across all locations.
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The team is responsible for the following: circulation of materials, interlibrary loan/document delivery, shelving/stacks management, storage, and reserves. Sub-teams will be created to deal with any number of these specific areas (e.g., stacks maintenance). Staff responsible for this work in McKeldin Library and the branches will also be organized in site-specific teams that will work collaboratively to implement the recommendations of the Access Services Team. The Access Services Team is a cross-functional team.
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Members of this team are drawn from staff in EPSL/Chemistry, McKeldin, Art/Architecture, and PAL. Upon formation of the team, the involvement of ITD will also be engaged.
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The currently designated Access Services Manager becomes the Access Services Team Leader.
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Determining initial team member assignments will be the shared responsibility of the Director of Public Services, Director of Collection Management & Special Collections, Access Services Team Leader, and CCC.
Program Teams
Subject teams were envisioned to develop close working relationships with the currently designated User Education Services Manager, the Service Plus Coordinator, and the Collection Management Coordinator. The inevitable tensions between the teams and some of the program areas developed because of lack of clarity concerning the distinct decision-making responsibilities of both. Cross-functional program teams will be formed in order to establish strong decision-making structures and to overcome tensions, with the clear understanding that some staff will be assigned to more than one team. It is the shared responsibility of subject team members and members of the new program teams alike to work harmoniously, collaboratively, and with a clear sense of common purpose and mission.
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The Service Plus Team is comprised of one or more members from each of the subject teams, Special Collections, Government Documents/Maps, and Nonprint Media Services and the "rovers" group, and other staff (including non-library faculty) as appropriate. Staff from all of these areas have formal responsibility for providing user assistance at designated service desks. The mission of this team is to plan front-end delivery of reference services, develop policy, determine who delivers service, ensure inter-team communication, and coordinate training for service providers. Staff responsibile for this work at all service sites will also be organized in teams that will work collaboratively to implement the recommendations of the Service Plus Team. The ongoing and special needs of our large and diverse user population, including undergraduates, warrant close attention. The currently designated Service Plus Coordinator becomes the Service Plus Team Leader. Determining initial team member assignments will be the shared responsibility of the Director of Public Services, Director of Collection Management & Special Collections, Service Plus Team Leader, and teams/units noted above.
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The Information Literacy Team is constituted as above for the Service Plus Team, with additional members from Technical Services. ITD will also be engaged on an ad hoc as needed. The team is charged with developing the framework of the library instructional program as it cuts across all disciplines and special areas, including undergraduate honors and designated living-learning programs under the aegis of the Office of Undergraduate Studies. The team also coordinates library instructional support provided the university’s general service courses: ENGL 101, ENGL 390 series, UNIV 101, and EDCP. The currently designated User Education Services Manager becomes the Information Literacy Team Leader. Initial team member assignments will be the shared responsibility of the Director of Public Services, Director of Collection Management & Special Collections, Information Literacy Team Leader, and teams/units noted above.
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The Collection Management & Resource Allocation Team will be formed from the existing Collection Management & Resource Allocation Committee, which deals with a broad spectrum of collection development and management issues and concerns that cut across the three subject teams. The prospect has already been raised of expanding membership of the group to include one or more additional members from the subject teams, beyond the team leaders. The team is herewith charged to prepare recommendations that support this reconstituted membership. In addition, the interface with Technical Services generally is an important area warranting examination, especially in the context of translating collection development priorities to cataloging and other technical services priorities. The currently designated Collection Management Coordinator becomes the Collection Management Team Leader.
Library faculty contribute as members of the new program teams along with their "primary" team assignment (e.g., a subject team). The Service Plus Team and the Information Literacy Team will be charged initially to work with the recently appointed Assistant to the Dean of Libraries for Organizational Development and others to conduct a CQI study of reference services and user education, respectively.
Branch Services
The integration of the major functions of collection management, reference service, and library instruction was acknowledged as critical and subsequently became the combined core of activities of the three subject teams that were created. Participation of branch librarians in the work of the teams was considered vital. At the same time, however, structural and reporting relationships between branch libraries, within those libraries, and with the subject teams, including the designated team managers, was left undefined. Consequently the manner in which branch libraries organized themselves remained fundamentally unchanged. The heads of the branch libraries report to the Branch Services Manager not to the subject team manager. While the identity of the branch libraries as a group is a working reality, it has generated lack of clarity about roles and relationships within the two subject teams that have members from the branches. The following general changes will occur in response to this situation:
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Branch heads will continue to have responsibility for the daily operations of their respective libraries and will also continue to be regarded as the primary points of contact in this area. Operations are understood to encompass the full range of issues, problems, and concerns relevant to the facilities and physical environment of the library. Staff responsible for daily branch operations will also be organized as teams, with branch heads as leaders for individual branch operations teams. Branch heads will report to the Director of Public Services on operational matters. The position of Branch Services Manager will be eliminated.
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As stated previously, it is most critical that the core functions of collection management, library instruction, and reference services be fully integrated with the work of the subject teams, under the leadership of the designated team leader. In order to ensure the success of our coordinated and collaborative programmatic efforts and to simplify reporting relationships at the same time, all team members, including those from the branches, will report to the subject team leader in activities related to these three functional areas. The teams will engage in the important work of developing strategies and programs for serving their faculty and student constituencies at all levels and within all library locations served by teams. One of the desired outcomes of this process is to bridge as much as possible the current separation represented by the physical geography of our print collections and on-site services.
Performance Evaluation
Multiple reporting relationships will neccessitate review of the PRD process for both faculty and staff. Because of the distribution of the work of subject teams across the Libraries, subject team leaders need to receive some assistance in the PRD process from the new team leaders previously described and from the branch heads. Non-subject team leaders and branch heads will be "secondary" contributors to the PRDs of subject team members who spend their principal time in the branches and/or serve on the Collection Management & Resource Allocation Team, the Information Literacy Team, or the Service Plus Team. They will assist the subject team leaders by suggesting goals and objectives and will be asked to contribute a "secondary" evaluation to the PRDs that will be used by the subject team leaders in the formal evaluation process. The leaders of the three subject teams are the "primary" evaluators of all subject team members. Reporting relationships involving non-subject team members will also be examined to ensure effective performance review within the context of our matrix organization.
© 2000 University of Maryland Libraries
Last Revised: October 13, 2000
