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Form Follows Function
Paul Kobulnicky
Director, University of Connecticut Libraries
Last year at this time the library distributed its strategic plan--Strategic Initiatives, in which we identified ten key challenges that must be addressed for the Libraries to maintain a high level of effectiveness. These challenges arise directly from dramatic economic and technological changes affecting libraries and higher education. As we considered how to respond to them, it became clear that our first step needed to be an examination of our use of human resources; organizational structure had to reflect our new initiatives.
Accordingly, we have adopted a new organizational structure and are in the early stages of putting it into place. The new organization is characterized by less hierarchy, with more staff assigned to direct public service and to information technology, and fewer individuals assigned to technical processing services. These changes are intended to prepare us to address new initiatives and to begin to shift our attention away from areas where we want to reduce local effort. With limited, and declining, numbers of staff, we plan to focus on services that faculty and students find valuable today as well as those that will be in demand tomorrow.
The Libraries' new organizational structure is focused on seven functional areas:
Access Services
Led by Nancy Orth, this area includes the functions of
circulation, course reserves, and interlibrary loan; and will
eventually assume responsibility for exit control. Access
services will be active in developing electronic
course reserves, self service book charge-out and renewal,
and improved methods for both physical and electronic document
delivery.
Collections Services
This area, led by Richard Fyffe, includes the functions
of selection and acquisition of library materials, cataloging and
database maintenance, preservation and conservation, stack
maintenance, and management of the Current Journals Room.
Collections Services will seek to increase the efficiency of
processing functions using new technologies and vendor-supplied
services. To the extent practical, we plan to consolidate these
activities for the entire library system in the Babbidge Library.
An important new focus for Collections Services will be the
organization of emerging Internet-based information resources for
our clientele.
Director's Office & Administrative
Services
I will continue to direct library administrative operations,
devoting much of my attention to external relationships and
fund-raising. Brinley Franklin, associate director for
administrative services is responsible for the functions of
financial management, personnel, staff development, student
employment, travel, facilities management, security, and mail
services. David Kapp, associate director for library
advancement, is responsible for library
development, the library liaison
program, facilities planning, library promotion and public
relations, communications and publications, and exhibitions.
Dodd Research Center
Tom Wilsted directs the activities of the Dodd Center, which include the acquisition,
organization, and provision of access to archives and special
collections, as well as a broad array of activities
associated with university programs.
Information Technology Services
Led by Fritzi Batchelor, staff in this area provide the
technical systems and services that support information storage
and dissemination including: the library management system
(HOMER), our World
Wide Web services (SPIRIT and SuperHomers), the CD-ROM server,
the Culpeper microcomputer lab
and media services, copying/printing services, network
management, and support for staff hardware,software, and
training. This area is charged to develop and provide enhanced
electronic services for the library's clients on all university
campuses, and to the extent possible, in offices and
residences.
Research and Information Services
Scott Kennedy leads this area, which is responsible for
Babbidge Library information and reference desk services;
reference, microtext, and documents collections; the library's
educational program; and the special collections and services of
the Art and Design Library, the
Cookson Music Library, the Map and Geographic Information
Center, and the Pharmacy
Library. This area has received increased staffing to allow
greater latitude for staff to spend more time in liaison activity
and teaching while maintaining high-demand service desk
operations.
Regional Campus Libraries
Staff in these five libraries, led by James Estrada,
will begin to shift their attention more exclusively to direct
public services and away from technical processing services.
Increased emphasis is being placed on the delivery of networked
information resources to these campuses, as well as more
efficient sharing of collections system-wide.
These changes in our organizational structure may appear to you, the reader, to be insignificant, perhaps even incomprehensible. The extent to which they are transparent to you as library users is probably a measure of their success. What we hope you will begin to see are improved library services . . .our functions, rather than our form.
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