Innovative Approaches in Library Service Delivery

Jane Dysart & Rebecca Jones Deane ZeemanDysart & Jones Associates Library and Archives Canada

Outline• Context: general, federal government, federal libraries

• ADM Task Force on the Future of Federal Library Service

• Research Agenda

• Innovation Study Findings

• ADM TF – What Happened Next

Digital Context

Generally…• Information superabundance and digital technologies.

• Increased creation and access directly by users and a decrease in professional mediation.

• New relationships between users, producers and intermediaries.

In the Government of Canada…• Policy requirement to manage the “right” information (Directive on

Recordkeeping).

• A greater focus on “information resources” and blurring of the distinction between published and unpublished information.

• Environment of fiscal restraint: efficiency and effectiveness improvements, not cost-cutting.

• Changing client demands.

• Changing nature and format of information resources.

• Baby-boomer exodus: develop and foster new skills and competencies.

• Government accountability agenda: enterprise-wide collaboration and efficiencies.

Federal Libraries Landscape

• 150 plus departments, statutory and other agencies, agents of Parliament, departmental and Crown Corporations.

• 60 plus federal libraries and library-like entities.

• Varying sizes: range from 1-person operations to cross-Canada networks .

• 3 out of 4 library-related workforce employees work in the National Capital Region.

• Budgets and service offerings vary enormously according to size, profile in department.

ADM Task Force on the Future of Federal Library Service

Vision for Federal Libraries

• By 2015, public servants have seamless access to a “federal library service without borders” through the interconnected network of:

• GC Librarians

• Library services

• All information resources

Librarians are stewards of information resources for the federal government.

Librarians are the bridge to information resources.

Library services are provided using enterprise approaches where most appropriate.

Anticipated OutcomesThe modernization of the federal library service will result in -1. A sustainable and highly relevant federal library service

benefitting all GC knowledge workers and departments;2. Increased efficiency and effectiveness in GC information

management through continued optimization of IM, record keeping and library services;

3. Increased relevancy and use of Federal Library Service through an accelerated transition to digital services and information resources;

4. Cost optimization through leveraging enterprise opportunities in the procurement and delivery of services and information resources.

1. Departments and libraries are operating in a climate of fiscal restraint

2. There is pressure to respond to evolving changes in client demands

3. There are opportunities to achieve greater enterprise-wide collaboration and efficiencies

4. The nature and format of information resources are changing

5. There is a need to develop and foster new skills and competencies

Responding to Departmental Realitiesand Environmental Trends

Three Lines of Evidence

1. Enterprise Intelligence.

2. Environmental Paradigms.

3. Targeted Inquiry

Targeted Inquiry

• State of Health of Federal Libraries (MW

GROUP)

• Annotated Guide to Policy Instruments

Applicable to Federal Libraries

• Research to Identify Innovative Approaches

in Library Service Delivery in Jurisdictions

Outside the Government of Canada Context

(Dysart & Jones).

• Conferences

• Lists, blogs, etcLiterature

Review

• 9 public sector

• 9 private sectorInterviews

2-Pronged Approach

Overall service trends

• Monitors & feeds

• Mobile

• Customized

Enhancing

• Reduce physical collections

• Collaborative or individual

• Workspaces

Reconfiguring

• E-learning

• Services & tools

• Project-specific

Training

• Embedding research & content

• Into workflow

• Face-to-face or with technology

Aligning

• All corporates serve internal markets, and, in most cases,

target specific functions or departments.

– Biotech/pharmaceuticals target researchers.

– Other corporates target revenue-generating or mission-

critical functions.

• Public sectors tend to focus primarily on internal staff, with

limited services or content access for the public.

– Technology allows public to access content easily.

Markets

Organization infrastructure

Service delivery

Licensing

Purchasing

• Partnerships with IT, legal and purchasing are important for

many to license and deploy digital content.

• A few organizations partner to provide other services:

– One corporate partners with Training to provide e-training.

– Another corporate serves on or leads cross-organizational

teams to assess trends, look at future directions, help the

organization go green, create products.

– Law Library of Congress is part of an international co-

operative providing a database of foreign law.

Partnerships

• Many of the libraries in those organizations with formal

KM/IM functions are partnering with them; in a few of these

organizations there is some friction between the libraries

and KM/IM

Relationships with KM, IM, IT

IT LibrariesContent

& Service Delivery

E-Library Libraries are not book museums. Exhibits and more interpretive activities ...valid & important role for libraries,

but not a dominant one.

Federated search

Specialized db’s & e-resources

• Physical collections significantly downsized.

• Buying print only when e-content not available or digital licensing fees are unaffordable or terms and conditions are too complex.

• Working with content providers to deploy digital content widely for use anywhere by employees.

• Corporate libraries working with vendors to allow internal applications to access licensed content on intranet, and to license content usage that fits with how the corporation works rather than the way the vendor wants to structure options.

• Managing copyright.

• Delivering digital content to whatever devices employees are using, from desktops to mobile devices, etc.

E-Library

E-Services “Services are highly integrated with the

organization’s workflow and there is constant partnering with other

people/areas of the firm in providing services.”

•Designing services targeted to needs and highly valued by their organization

- Corporate library and a public sector library create publications or databases with content unique to their organizations; for one this is a revenue generator

- Many provide customized media monitoring daily, weekly &, in some cases, twice-daily

- 2 public sector libraries are internal consultants organizations designing tools & working with employees to exploit content management capabilities

- Several corporates offer media analysis for management

• Training employees both in person and through podcasts and e-learning in use of content tools, library services and project-specific high-end content applications

- USGPO uses online tools and learning aids to train in use of Federal Digital System

- Public sector created a Writing Center for training in scientific writing with editorial instruction and help

E-Services

E-Services

Email or IM

SMS or Texting

Connectors

• Public sector libraries doing more digitization than the

corporate because they have unique materials not available

elsewhere.

– Law Library of Congress has digitized 100,000 volumes,

70,000 with Google.

– USGPO has goal of all “documents of democracy” being

digital; piloting cloud computing.

• Corporate libraries are not doing the same wide-scale

digitization but rather digitize on an as-needed basis to fill

research requests.

– Exception: those corporates that have specialized,

unique physical collections that the organization wants

or needs to preserve such as laboratory notebooks &

other intellectual property.

Digitization

Physical Spaces

Spaces are being downsized and reconfigured as physical

collections are no longer required; spaces are now

configured for clients’ collaborative and individual work

• Some corporates have or will reduce their physical

space by 50%, weeding, digitizing & in some cases

sending physical resources off-site

• Other corporates are using the space for library staff,

and for “hoteling” of the organization’s staff that no

longer have formal offices

• 2 public sector libraries are the exception: they plan

to reconfigure with more places for the public to

work with resources in different ways (including

electronically), and to include green spaces, exhibit

areas, cafes, etc.

• Wide range of technologies in use

Technology

RefTracker - request management for libraries

A few are using technology to manage and direct research requests

to specialists with required expertise and availability.

CloudComputing

Technology

• Focus for most libraries is to exploit technologies to enable

employees to access content and e-services with one sign-

on.

• Wi-fi is a critical enabler for many of those interviewed.

• Several organizations are testing e-books; finding the

adoption is slower than expected but increasing as devices

improve.

• Most feel it is critical, and many have a strong symbiotic

working relationship with IT to move their technology

strategies forward.

Most:

• Are responsible for their own purchasing

• Manage or are regarded as key advisors for licensing and deployment of digital content for the organization or for departments

– In a number of corporate organizations, libraries collaborate with other departments to purchase and use high-cost databases.

– Recognition that negotiation & licensing skills are critical.

– Biggest issue in this area are vendors’ terms and conditions, & pricing models.

• Have established contracts, desktop capabilities and policies/procedures for employees to do their individual book or content purchasing.

Procurement

A wide variety of situations regarding policies

Policy Framework

Some have policies governing:

Social medial tools

•Technical & security reasons

IT

Information, knowledge &

RM compliance

Privacy & confidentiality

Contractor usage of

services & content

Working virtually

• Keep pushing technology boundaries to expand and

enhance:

– Access to content and integration of content directly

into applications;

– Acquiring digital content automatically;

– E-training.

• Embedding and aligning staff more with functional work

teams.

• Reconfiguring physical spaces

• National Library of Australia creating a Treasures

gallery highlighting rare artifacts.

• Another public sector library is opening more public

areas and study spaces.

Future plans

Other examples in corporate libraries:

- More analysis and visualization.

- Functionality in portals for people to interact and active

delivery of content.

- Web-based space in which project team and library team

members “live”.

- Semantic search tools to work with structured and

unstructured data for decision-making research with

biotech/pharmaceutical research teams.

Future plans

Four Areas of Focus

1. Services: Library, Research and Information Management

2. People and Capacity

3. Information Resources

4. Enterprise Infrastructure, Policy and Governance

How was the information used?

1. Enterprise and Clustered Procurement of Information Resources: To rationalize existing digital collections and expand enterprise level and/or clustered approaches to procurement, licensing and acquisition of information resources.

2. Collaboration and Web 2.0: To investigate the issues and opportunities of leveraging Federal Library Service to expand the use of Web 2.0 tools across the GC.

3. Enterprise approaches to GC Digitization: To develop common digitization standards, guidelines and service options accessible to all GC departments.

4. Rationalized storage of GC physical library collections: To develop shared storage solutions for a rationalized physical collection of GC information resources.

5. Virtual reference: To conduct a feasibility study on the issues and opportunities of advancing enterprise wide and/or clustered approaches to virtual reference service.

Five Thematic Priorities

First set of objectives, 2010-2012

• Digitization of Federal Government Publications

• Enterprise Acquisition and Procurement of Electronic Information Resources

• Collaboration : People and Capacity to Deliver Web 2.0

Achieving the Vision

• Medicine & medical research

• Public Libraries

• Academic libraries

• Around the world

Learning from others

Learning from Medical Field

SLA study, Information Outlook, Oct/Nov 2010

• Info pros & medical research

• Bioinformaticists & analysts working in teams

• Understanding the environment, finding gaps & creating new services

• Supportive leaders, no fear of failure, strong reference interview skills

Creative content

• Medpedia, doctor-run wiki in encyclopaedia-style format, Feb 2009. Altho approx 70 medical wikis this is the only one that limits authorship to physicians.

Public Libraries

• QR Code scavenger hunt in Topeka, Kansas led by PL

• Partner with local tech companies to provide adult computer education programs

• Kids reading programs; Tiger Cats in Hamilton

• Gaming programs to draw in teens and create a safe place

• Community book reads & discussions

More

• House of Commons Library in the UK – student education program

• Academic libraries – where the students are– Mobile

– Courses on Facebook

• See the world!

– Curtis Rogers– http://curtisrogers.blogspot.com/2007/06/innovative-public-

library-services.html

– Shanachies from DOK: This Week in Libraries– http://www.thisweekinlibraries.com/