Check out the new “Virtual World Guidelines” by IBM. Aren’t these really “rules to live by” in general?
Incidentally, I do dress differently in SL if I’m presenting or if I’m there casually on my own. Below is my “informal Jeff” (Jeffrey Temin in SL)
I’m pleased to announce our sixth new appointment, Janice Adlington. Janice will be starting her position as E-Resources Librarian on October 1, 2007.
Janice graduated from the University of Toronto in 1991 with an MLS. She has been working as the Electronic Resources Librarian at Vanderbilt University (Nashville) since July 2006. She chaired the SFX Management Group to identify and implement new services. With a team of six, activated portfolios, maintained thresholds, and responded to user problem reports. Worked with the Serials Coordinator, serials vendors (Ebsco, Swets, Harrassowitz), and publishers to activate new online subscriptions and resolve access problems. Chaired the ERMS Investigation Project Team. Established process and criteria for ERMS selection. Evaluated and recommended e-resources as a member of the system-wide Collections Committee and the Central Library’s Electronic Resources Committee. Work with the AUL Collections to store and analyze licenses. From October 2000 - June 2006 was the Bibliographer for Classics, Philosophy, and Psychology June 2006 Central Library, Vanderbilt University where she provided reference service in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. Provided general and subject-specific library instruction. Selected for Classics, Philosophy, and Psychology. Liaison for faculty in these disciplines. She was also a member of the Digital Library Steering Committee and Chair, LibQual+ project team.
Welcome Janice!
The University Library has been engaged in a strategic planning process to update our vision/mission and strategic directions. We have completed the first phase of that process and have updated our vision and mission statements. The next phase of the process will include an update to our strategic directions, goals/objectives, and metrics.
Vision
McMaster University Library will be recognized as Canada’s most innovative, user-centred, academic library.
Mission
The University Library advances teaching, learning and research at McMaster by:
· teaching students to be successful, ethical information seekers
· facilitating access to information resources
· providing welcoming spaces for intellectual discovery
· promoting the innovative adoption of emerging learning technologies
We value:
· excellent customer service,
· collaboration, innovation, creativity and risk taking,
· inclusiveness and respect for the individual
· accountability for our actions and decisions
The McMaster University Library has just launched a process to review our vision, mission and strategic directions. As a first step we held an open forum for all staff and asked them to read the David Lewis paper, A Model for Academic Libraries 2005 to 2025. The staff were assigned to work in small groups where we asked them to (quickly) brainstorm trends and implications and then develop a vision and mission statement. Then, we asked them to think about the initiatives we should be involved in. Their remarks are attached to this as word documents.
As a next step the leadership team will meet with a consultant to synthesize the results and come up with a draft vision, mission and strategic directions draft document and more meetings will be held with staff until we’ve developed our final strategic plan. More to come!
Some very interesting discussions are taking place around the 3D web. Check out the Metaverse Roadmap: Pathways to the 3D Web. Specifically, they have a Metaverse Roadmap Overview that’s available online. I looked at the participants but see no librarians. Question: where are the librarians???
Congratulations to Anne Pottier (AUL, Collections and Facilities) and all of those involved in moving the Russell Journal from print to electronic. Founded by McMaster Library in 1971, the journal is published by McMaster University’s Bertrand Russell Research Centre with the assistance of grants from the Aid to Journals programme of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and from McMaster’s Faculty of Humanities.
This is a huge accomplishment and is our first foray into digital publishing. All issues since 1971 are now available electronically and fully searchable. The articles up to the most recent four years are also now fully and freely accessible from the Russell Journal site.
Last week marked my one year anniversary as the University Librarian at McMaster. Those of you who are familiar with my personal blog know that it has been an eventful year, to say the least. Over the past 12 months we have made significant organizational changes that have affected nearly every member of the staff. Over the course of the year I have given numerous public presentations on our transformation as have many of my staff. I thought it might be of interest to those of you reading Designing Better Libraries to hear about our transformation process and the outcomes as of the writing of this entry. After all, designing better libraries also means dealing with issues related to staffing and organization.
Setting the process in motion
Prior to my arrival the McMaster University Library was a fairly traditional organization. The organizational structure and the functions of the various units had been rooted in traditional library roles and services. It was clear during the interview process that the challenges were related to a lack of space/unattractive spaces, declining budget (particularly monographs) and personnel (some might ask “what’s left”?) and that those challenges were substantial.
The three biggest challenges related to staffing included:
· the lowest number of professional librarians among members of the Association of Research Libraries;
· high percentage of staff in “back office” operations; and
· staff members who had not been given the opportunity or encouragement to expand their skills to meet the changing demands of our students and faculty.
The four biggest opportunities at the time included:
· recognition by the staff that change was needed;
· recognition by the University Administration that change was needed;
· recognition by the staff union that change was needed; and
· existing vacancies generating salary savings.
These opportunities allowed us to make changes that were difficult but essential for us to move forward with our plans of “transformation”. Making significant changes without a recognition of need and without some flexible funding would have been much more complicated and potentially much more difficult.
By December of 2006 we were able to offer (in collaboration with the staff union) a voluntary separation package that included:
· an incentive for up to 10 individuals to voluntary separate. (The offer was only made to all unionized staff regardless of age or years of service.);
· an agreement that these positions would not be filled again as they were previously defined;
· copy cataloging as a function and unit would be eliminated (shelf-ready and PromptCat would be used instead); and
· the remaining copy catalogers would be redeployed to existing vacancies or other positions that best matched their skills and abilities.
Ultimately eight individuals took the voluntary separation package which amounted to an early retirement for these particular individuals.
Restructuring the organization
The library has since been restructured into three divisions:
· Collections and Facilities (including traditional TS duties and storage)
· Teaching, Learning and Research (including Research Collections, Maps, and traditional public services such as circulation, ILL, etc)
· Library and Learning Technologies (including digital initiatives, the website, the ILS, etc)
In general, the restructuring allowed us to increase our emphasis on public service, particularly the “user experience”; increase emphasis on development of digital resources; integrating the libraries into teaching/learning.
Filling vacancies
In 2002 ACRL released its report “Top Issues Facing Academic Libraries” which identified the need to “find and retain quality leadership” as one of the top priorities. During the transformation process we created seven new librarian positions. They include the following five positions that have been filled to date (these are linked to the announcements about the positions):
· Digital Strategies Librarian
· Digital Technology Development Librarian
· Immersive Learning (Gaming) Librarian
· Marketing, Communications, and Outreach Librarian
· Teaching and Learning Librarian
Two remaining positions are still “in process”
· Archivist Librarian
· e-Resources Librarian
Almost all of these positions were created to fill existing needs, not merely replace existing individuals. They are reflective of our future direction with a strong emphasis on technology and partnerships.
Providing additional training for existing staff
We also recognized a need to provide training for the existing staff to update their skills, particularly in the area of “web 2.0”. Amanda Etches-Johnson and the Emerging Technologies Group put together “Learning 2.0 @ Mac”, “a hands-on, immersive learning program that provides an opportunity to explore Web 2.0 tools and the impact these tools are having on libraries & library service”. This was a “twelve step” program during which participants made use of freely available tools for blogging, social bookmarking, wikis, etc. Participants were provided with the training and the work time to explore the tool and consider the ways in which it could be used in our library. As a result, most staff now have blogs, Facebook sites, etc. More about the program can be found at: http://macetg.wordpress.com/about-learning-20-mac/
In general, what we have tried to accomplish in designing our new organization is hiring for new skills but also acknowledging existing staff needs by developing a highly engaging training program. This Friday we begin a strategic planning exercise that will help us identify where we go from here. For more information you can continue to monitor this blog or my personal blog at ulatmac.wordpress.com
One of our new librarians, Karen Nicholson, who will be starting this fall has started a blog - Teaching and Learning and Libraries. Happy blogging Karen!
This summer at McMaster our Daily News has launched a Summer Reading Club. I’ll be leading a discussion of Cory Doctorow’s Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. As it turns out, Cory Doctorow has blogged the event! How cool is that?
McMaster University Libraries is in the process of hiring a seventh new librarian. We are seeking a creative, innovative Archivist Librarian to join a team of archivists, librarians, library support staff, systems and web facilitators, and conservators in the Department of Archives and Research Collections.
This is a full-time continuing appointment reporting to the Research Collections Librarian.
The successful candidate will:
The successful candidate must hold a MLS (or an equivalent degree, such as the MLIS, MIS, MAS, or MIST) from an ALA-accredited library school or information science program with a speciality in archives, rare books, bibliography, or the digitization of historical resources. S/he must also have some supervisory experience, proven leadership abilities, the ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team, and excellent oral and written communication skills. The preferred candidate will hold an advanced degree in the humanities and sciences and should be able to read and communicate in at least one other European language.
This position is included in the McMaster University Faculty Association (MUFA) for Librarians. The appointment will be made at Level 2 or 3. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. The position includes a competitive and comprehensive benefit package.
The Position Responsibility Statement is available from the Library Human Resources Office. Further information about the Library is available from its web site at http://library.mcmaster.ca/.
Librarians who wish to be considered for this opportunity should send their c.v. with a covering letter and the names of three references to:
Library Human Resources Office
Mills Memorial Library, Room 209
1280 Main Street West
Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L6
Phone: 905-525-9140 ext. 24722
Fax: 905-522-0691
E-mail: libjobs@mcmaster.ca
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be considered first for this position. McMaster University is strongly committed to employment equity within its community and to recruiting a diverse faculty and staff. The University encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including women, members of visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, members of sexual minorities and persons with disabilities.
