The University Library is in the process of renovating our circulation desk in the Mills Memorial Library, the largest of our libraries. The previous desk was the “Queen Mary” of circ desks —-huge and imposing.  The new circ desk will be more modular which means flexibility in the future and accessibility for our users with mobility impairments.

This is the last of our “traditional” circulation desks to be renovated.  The Business Library and the Science/Engineering Library have already been through similar transformations.  The changes reflect shifts in use patterns.  For example total circulation has declined from 543,156 in 2005 to 349,309 in 2010.  Initial circulation has declined from 245,334 in 2005 to 174,306.  Reference queries have declined even more dramatically from 71,793 in 2002 to 36,548 in 2010.

Our services staff have done a remarkable job in transforming themselves in a period of rapid transformation across the libraries.  We have moved to a “blended services” model where all initial transactions are handled by the staff at these main service points including circulation, ILL and research help.  Kudos to them for moving ahead positively, proactively and creatively!  I will post a pic of the updated service point in a few days.

Our campus Daily News also featured a piece at:  http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/story.cfm?id=8015

Thank you to all of you involved in the event.  In particular, thanks to Anne Plessl for her part in organizing it.  Thank you to Carl, Renu, Sheila and Audrie who have been instrumental in the acquisition and who put together wonderful displays from the archives for last night’s event.

Thanks again to all of you who helped make it happen.  It was a truly remarkable evening.

Two caveats before I go on:

1)  I have no knowledge about what is happening there other than what I’ve read.

2)  There are no comparable plans to remove books at McMaster.

Many of our campuses face similar challenges:  increasing enrollment, decreasing funding and a lack of space.  Campus administrators periodically conduct space audits to ensure that space is being used effectively.  Space is a commodity.  Libraries can occupy a sizable percentage of the overall campus real estate.  When space is at a premium campus administrators can look at large libraries and see warehouses of little used materials, often in central locations.  It is no surprise that many academic library administrators are being asked to justify the use of space and, in some cases, are being asked to return space to central administration for other purposes that are seen as a higher priority.  The question we have to ask ourselves is:  How am I reinventing space in my library and how is it contributing to the overall priorities of my campus?

Some of us are very fortunate to work at institutions where we are able to work with the administration to reinvent space in ways that are beneficial to all.  (Again, I know nothing of the details at Denver.)  The relocation of writing centres, teaching and learning centres, centres for digital scholarship and academic programs is helping many of us to reinvent our facilities and our organizations.  These kinds of moves will undoubtedly continue as academic libraries move even more funding into e-resources and less into print.  The footprint for print resources will decline with time – probably even faster than most of us have anticipated.  (Archives and special collections are a different story.)

I am assuming that what is happening here is that the University of Denver is thinking not about today’s needs but what they might be five to ten years from now.  Given the investment they are making in the renovations it would be wise for them to be thinking about how an academic library might function in the next decade.  From the outside looking in it would seem they are making a bold move in preparation for the future.  I am glad there are institutions out there willing to make the bold moves.  It’s important for our libraries and our profession.

The report will be beneficial to us as we look for ways to reduce costs associated with energy consumption.  Perhaps more importantly, it built relationships.  The process provided a great opportunity for the library to work collaboratively with a faculty, staff and students, in a “real-world” learning environment. Based on the results we have seen from this project I am sure we will be seeing more such projects in the future.

The word “opportunistic” can have negative overtones.  I think that was the intent of the question.  I choose, however, to focus on the positive:  taking advantage of opportunities as they arise.  I believe that if someone asks you to do something it generally means they need it and think you can help provide it.  I am more likely to say “yes we can” then “no, that’s not something we do” because  I think that’s how we grow and change.  I believe that informed opportunism and strategy go hand-in-hand.

The Lyons New Media Centre is a great example of when opportunity and strategy intersect.  The Centre was originally established by the Faculty of Humanities to support media use in a variety of disciplines.  They supported film, video, slides and games.  The Faculty established it because the library at the time didn’t think these were appropriate formats for us to collect.    Over time the collections grew in number and variety.  As space, financial resources and staffing all became constrained and as leadership changed in the Faculty and in the library it became apparent that a move from the Faculty to the Library was essential and wise.  A move would ultimately better serve the entire campus community (strategic:  reducing cost while increasing access and support).

After a period of discussion and planning the Faculty of Humanities and the Library collaborated on the relocation and expansion of the Centre.  (strategic:  building library/faculty collaborations)  Together we approached the Provost for one-time funding to transition staff to the library and to renovate space in the library to create a state-of-the-art new media centre.  (strategic:  space renovation/adding new services)  The Faculty, which had acquired and supported the collections gave all of the materials to the Library as part of the move (strategic:  building collections)

A local architect was hired and, after renovations, the new media centre opened last year with increased space, services and staffing.   In addition to the one original staff member several additional library staff were moved into the space as well. (strategic:  providing new opportunities for staff)  Two audio/video experts from the Faculty of Science spend one day each per week in the space as well.  (strategic:  building campus partnerships)  The donors have since provided additional one-time funding that we are putting towards a postdoc in the Centre.  (strategic:  building new opportunities for external funding)

The new facility includes, among other things, audio-video edit suites, four gaming suites and a small graduate seminar room.  I believe most, if not all, of the graduate courses in the department of Communication Studies and Multimedia are now being taught in this classroom.  (strategic:  supporting teaching and learning) The space also features artwork from the School of the Arts (strategic:  highlighting student creative output)

The centre has also hosted a number of events, including FRESH, a student symposium in the department of Communication Studies and Multimedia.  (strategic:  highlighting student work)  The space has been so successful that after just one term we had to expand our hours.  (strategic:  meeting student needs)

I’ve only hit a small number of highlights.  I am sure the staff could go on and on about what they are doing to support student and faculty needs.  (They really are doing a remarkable job!)

A few years ago we had an opportunity: a Dean interested in collaborating with us on a project that would be beneficial for both of our organizations AND a Provost willing to help us achieve our goals.  Was it opportunistic?  You bet!  Was it strategic?  Yes, that too!  My only regret is that we didn’t build it bigger!

If you are interested, there are some great pics of the space on the architect’s page.

Recent MSU presidential elections included calls for more study space and longer library hours.  Matt Dillon-Leitch, incoming president of the MSU made them campaign priorities.  The results of our LibQUAL reports supported the need as well.

As a result, the University has provided one-time renovation funding to the library to expand student seating by up to 400 seats in the Thode Library for Science and Engineering, one of the libraries on campus particularly hard hit by increased use.  By fall the University Library will be relocating older journal collections to the basement of Thode and opening up the entire 2nd floor to student seating. Work will be completed by fall of 2011.

We are very thankful the students for voicing their support and to the University for finding funding, particularly in a tight budget period!

1.  Only 35% of library directors strongly agree with the statement “My library has a well-developed strategy to meet changing user needs and research habits”.

Strategic planning is hard work and can be very difficult when you’re aiming at a moving target and you have limited (and often dwindling) resources.  I am not surprised by the statement.  But I am also encouraged by my colleagues’ willingness to express their doubt.

At McMaster we have created an AUL-level position (Vivian Lewis) for Organizational Development and a team, including an Assessment Librarian (Kathy Ball), who are doing wonderful work with strategic planning and assessment.  (See:  http://library.mcmaster.ca/mission)  I believe in our new strategic plan but, perhaps more importantly, I *know* our progress towards our goals because we are tracking it as part of the ARL-sponsored Balanced Scorecard project.  All of our strategic initiatives and the data we are using to track progress to date are publicly accessible on our website:  http://library.mcmaster.ca/library-scorecard.  (Not all data is there because we are still “in progress”)   I think creating this group and charging them with planning and assessment has been one of the must successful things we’ve done in the past five years.  We’ve made planning and assessment a priority and it is helping us to reach our goals.

2)  The report indicates a disconnect between what directors report as important (teaching and research support) and what the faculty perceive as important (buyer).  It is interesting to note that, while directors report teaching and research support as important, if additional funding was provided they would allocate it towards collections.  That tells me they are listening to their users while simultaneously trying to move the organization in new directions.

I am not sure I agree with the statement “There are a number of important divergences between high-level strategies on the one hand and budget priorities on the other, suggesting that library directors are in some cases not able to fully execute the strategic direction they have in mind for their libraries.”  These are complex and intermingled issues.  Infusion of funds into one area can, and often does, affect another.

At McMaster our number one student priority at the moment is student seating.  Our students have said quite clearly “student study space in the library affects our learning”.  At the moment, we simply do not have enough space to accommodate the current use of our facilities.  The University has recently provided us with additional funding, which we will use to add seats.

If we were to receive yet more one-time funding I would also buy e-journal content in the form of backfiles.  Faculty would get content that is easily accessible from their offices and, after weeding the print, students get space. Supporting student study space IS supporting teaching and learning.  If we can also make more content available electronically then that’s even better.

As a library director I found the report very valuable, mostly because I understand how complicated these issues are.