For those looking to get a promotion, already in new supervisors roles, or just keeping up with the current workplace issues, what interesting and pressing matters have you seen lately?

I will start with an example. We are recently completing a staff web 2.0 training based on the Learning 2.0 model. It a self-paced online training. The idea is people can learn ways to improve their own efficiency at work or home, see how people are using information, see what tools are getting incorporated into library resources, and in some ways explore our competition. The challenges have been keeping people motivated and for some understanding why it is relevant to their specific job.

So what challenges or issues do you see are pressing in libraries now a days?

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Brian C. Gray
Head of Reference & Engineering Librarian
Kelvin Smith Library
Case Western Reserve University
http://blog.case.edu/bcg8
bcg8@case.edu

One challenge I'm facing, as project manager for an ILS migration from a system that has been in place for almost 15 years, is dealing with preconceptions of staff that have been there for a very long time, in many cases two decades or more. Most of these folks will likely be retiring in the next 3-5 years, if not sooner, and there is a lot of baggage about "the way we've always done it." Yet it's pretty obvious that it doesn't make sent to keep all the legacy codes & long-established practices. There will likely be a large turnover in staff in coming years, and there is no reason to keep the codes and practices based on a system that will be long gone by the time new people arrive. So, managing change in general is an issue, but as a younger systems librarian, I find there are special challenges when it comes to this particular phase of the so-called "greying of the profession." When I started library school in 2002, people were saying this wave of retirement was right around the corner. Well, it has taken a little longer to occur than perhaps was anticipated, but it seems to be inching closer.

My manager, who is 60 and has talked about retiring herself in a couple years, went to a workshop last week about knowledge transfer when staff retire. It seems quite likely that our cataloger will retire next year, and it's promising that we now have some framework for planning how to pass on the institutional knowledge she possesses. In fact my boss learned that 54% of all management level staff in the county government (not just the library) will be eligible to retire within 3 years. That's major turnover at the top, and doesn't even include long-term senior staff like our cataloger.

Following up on the issue of working with staff who are close to retirement.... Just last week, our library directors voted unanimously (which is notable in itself that they all agree on something) to replace the MARC standard GMDs (245|h) with more modern options. So instead of having [videorecording] appearing after the title, we'll have [DVD] or [VHS]. Our central cataloger, who had already tentatively announced her retirement next April, threatened to walk out the door and retire immediately if we force her to abandon this part of the MARC standard. We came to a compromise where we will not implement the change until our new ILS launches, which will be at least February of next year. That date very well might slip some more, as it already has, so it seems quite reasonable that we will be able to time things so that she does not have to make this compromise to what she sees as her professional ethics. It also gives us a clearer ideas of when we will need to recruit for her replacement.

I just thought this was an interesting example of someone drawing a line in the sand when it comes to dealing with change.

I am not sure if this is on topic or not, but in terms of academic libraries the biggest issue I can see from my (outside) perspective is where the libraries will fall in terms of institutional cyberinfrastructure and what role(s) the librarians will play in this new arrangement. Especially on the scientific data side, many academic libraries are actively looking to place themselves in a data access role whether by teaming up with supercomputer centers or starting their own repositories (looking at DSpace as an example). Maybe the more specific issues here are refining the access/preservation roles of libraries vs. archives in terms of digital records, figuring out how to (and who will) categorize/standardize all of these new types of information and where/how to keep it all, and how to build the necessary technical and social skills and tools in harmony. As I said, I am an outsider so I can be completely off base here!

The MARC line in the sand is really interesting... I am currently working on trying to implement standards where there previously weren't any, sometimes it is pretty easy, sometimes like pulling teeth! I can at least use the 'standardization is good!' reasoning, it seems like it might be harder (socially) to switch standards than implement one at all? Best of luck with the system updating! :)