Is There a Future for Libraries?
Forum report
National
Tertiary Education Union WA Division Libraries Forum
Friday June
8, 2012
Curtin
University, Bentley, University Club Room
Session One: The future for Libraries
Chair: Lyn Bloom, NTEU WA Division Secretary
Speakers:
Garry
Conroy-Cooper, Manager LINC Tasmania
Barbara
Combes, Lecturer, Charles Sturt University, WASLA President
Jill Benn,
Associate Director Research Learning and Support, UWA
Garry
Conroy-Cooper
Keynote
address
Summary
Special guest, Garry Conroy-Cooper opened the forum with a keynote addressing the many issues affecting the future of libraries. In particular, he looked at the marketability of the ‘library’ brand and the hierarchical divide between professional (qualified) and non-professional (no library qualifications) staff. Using LINC Tasmania as an example, Garry showed the forum how they dropped the term ‘library’ to remove a community barrier and open up the service to those in low socio-economic backgrounds and the broader multicultural community. Evidence used to motivate this shift has come from actual research on the community rather than a “touchy-feely” perceived notion.
Special guest, Garry Conroy-Cooper opened the forum with a keynote addressing the many issues affecting the future of libraries. In particular, he looked at the marketability of the ‘library’ brand and the hierarchical divide between professional (qualified) and non-professional (no library qualifications) staff. Using LINC Tasmania as an example, Garry showed the forum how they dropped the term ‘library’ to remove a community barrier and open up the service to those in low socio-economic backgrounds and the broader multicultural community. Evidence used to motivate this shift has come from actual research on the community rather than a “touchy-feely” perceived notion.
The
LINC Tasmania provides a wide range of services to the community, focusing on
those with low or poor literacy skills (42% of the Launceston area). Creating
social spaces and a safe area are key in the library’s future, as ‘books’ and
‘library’ scare off those who are in need of these services the most, by
dropping both and moving away from the stereotype (that only resonates with the
white, upper-middle class), the LINC is able to expand its consumer base and
support its community in practical ways.
Touching
on the future of the library profession, Garry mentioned that many of his staff
do not hold library qualifications and come from varied non-library
backgrounds. As manager of LINC Tasmania, he encourages strong leadership and
responsibility in all of his staff, noting that qualifications only contribute
to staff’s ability. They also need to bring other attributes to the job. One
benefit to the service is a wide and varied staff roster that openly encourages
leadership and the fostering of new ideas from not only management but clerical
staff as well.
A
final key point was made in regards to marketing and communications. Strong
brand recognition (LINC Tasmania) and market research on your target audience
helps to promote and ensure the future of the service.
Key
points
·
Take away class system in libraries (a
cleaner can have opinions if they have solutions, don’t limit people based on
qualifications)
·
Is the L-word (library) working for us?
·
24/7 access – supporting the clients need
·
Social spaces – social interaction remains
core in the future of libraries
·
Qualifications can only contribute to your
job, you need to bring other attributes
·
Review your literature/marketing – death by
text is rife in libraries, use the 10 second rule to get people’s attention.
·
Difficulty/constraints including a lack of
funding result in solutions (necessity is the mother of all invention)
·
Social media is a great way to distribute to
the client (push/pull system)
·
Literacy developments increase your client
base – the more literate your community the more your library is needed
·
Staff management divide – is it necessary,
does it help the clients?
·
Why do we take so long to do something? In
business if you have an idea you run with it, else someone will beat you to it
·
Research our community/client base – act on
this rather than go with ‘perceived notions’
·
We should be teaching our clients critical
thinking
·
A library is the only place a person can go,
sit all day and not be asked why they're there - libraries as safe spaces
·
Start speaking in the language of our
investors/funders
- You need to be able to articulate your attributes
outside of your qualification (e.g. Myers Briggs)
Action
items
·
Look at hosting ‘critical thinking’
sessions/talks
·
Open forums for staff to communicate ideas
and solutions
·
Take time to research our non-clients – why
are they not using our service?
·
Focus on service delivery (not books)
·
Continue to promote social spaces in library
·
Literacy development for our community –
talks/sessions/lessons (Garry referred to this as the decade of literacy and
advocated finding opportunities to attach literacy to events and programs)
·
Take risks!
Barbara
Combes
Summary
This
presentation focused on the growing number of online services and competing
formats available to the general public, and how the library of the future
needs to be able to cope with this information overload. The list of technology
available is growing faster than libraries can keep up, we also have to deal
with old formats (microfiche, faxes) alongside the new (social media, eBooks).
The world is suffering from information overload with the information landscape
continuing to grow in depth and complexity, libraries are seen as a beacon
through this and we are expected to know all and teach our clients how to
navigate through new technology.
There
are very high levels of low literacy and numeracy skills in Australia, which
can either hinder or help the library of the future. Barbara focused on digital
natives vs digital refugees and how information presented on screens can be a
barrier to both the young and old (we still print out vast amounts of
information because it is easier to read on paper).
Key
points
·
Increasing amounts of new technology that sit
alongside the old
·
Suffering from information overload
·
Low levels of literacy and numeracy skills in
Australia
·
Didn’t like the phrase ‘Library 2.0’ (where
will it end?)
·
Changing the name of eBooks to ‘Digidocs’
more accurately reflect what they are
·
Information professionals should learn tech
skills as required or hire people who have these skills
Action
items
·
Investigate what the library can do to
promote literacy and numeracy in our community
·
Keep staff up-to-date with new technology and
build an interest for future development.
Jill Benn
Summary
Jill
Benn focused on the developments and progress of the UWA Science Library.
Completed in 2009, the library has become a huge success (so much so the
students created a song about it http://youtu.be/dBkGc3v7K9Q) and
they are now running out of space as students are often perched on
chairs/sitting on the floor. Noticeably, the collections have been banished
from the ground floor of the library, choosing to focus more on the social
spaces as a first impression. Jill noted that where originally they library
staff wanted more room for the collection (they even considered moving entire
off-site collections back on site) they are now looking at how to reduce unused
collections to increase social areas.
The
library consists of both collection and learning spaces, the two co-exist but
it is the learning space that is more important to the students. This is shown
by the fact that the aforementioned song (written independently by students)
does not mention the collection at all. Statistics on the collection show that
40% of items have been borrowed zero times since the library first opened in
1994, and a further 40% have been borrowed less than twice. This represents a
poor return on investment, while the success of the social spaces is far more
visible.
There
is a change of direction from traditional attitudes that focus on the
collection to instead focusing on the people who use the service and space. As
our clients’ behaviours change, the library service needs to become more
proactive to influence the change, rather than remaining reactive. By changing
priorities to align more with our users (as opposed to what we as library staff
consider priorities) we stand a better chance of surviving into the future.
Key
points
·
Libraries need collections AND learning
spaces
·
Learning spaces are more important/represent
a better return on investment
·
How much of the collection has never been
used?
·
The three P’s: Priorities; Proactive; People
·
Be proactive and influence change, rather
than react to it
·
Success is success even if it isn’t what you
expected
·
People are going to be central to our
strategy
Action
items
·
Look at our priorities for the next financial
year, where is the focus?
·
Become more proactive in our
policies/activities
·
What return on investment are our funders getting?
·
Continue to focus on learning spaces/services
Session
Two: The future for Library Staff
Chair:
Matt McGowan, NTEU National
Assistant Secretary
Speakers:
Stephen
McVey,
University Librarian, University of Notre Dame Australia
Steven
Fleming,
Library Assistant, Curtin University
Gabe
Gooding,
NTEU National Vice President General Staff
Stephen
McVey
Summary
Putting
aside qualifications, Stephen McVey examined the attributes that universities
should be instilling in graduates to help them thrive in a changing world.
These are: critical thinking, flexible skills, leadership, cultural diversity
and becoming active global citizens. As employers, we should be looking for
these attributes in all of our new staff, it ensures that as new user
needs/services disappear, the staff can change and evolve as they are
constantly learning and experiencing. Along with these core attributes, both
employers and the universities should be encouraging experimentation and
fostering resilience (taking risks, it’s ok to fail). Open discussion and
dissension should be welcomed among staff to foster ideas and encourage
collaboration (both within the profession and externally). While professional
development belongs to the individual it should be openly encouraged and
supported to enrich the working environment and ensure the future of the
profession and service.
Resilience
and experimentation are required in the growing world of technology. As new
software, hardware and expectations are created, our staff need to keep up with
and preferably surpass the skills of clients. To help our clients better
navigate the digital world we should learn and teach new IT skills. Resilience
and critical thinking will enable us to define problems to understand and solve
them, rather than letting technology lead us.
By
encouraging these attributes from staff we will help to ensure a resilient
workforce and a future for the library and information profession.
Key
points
·
Help graduates thrive in a changing world
·
Create and hire resilient staff
·
Teach critical thinking
·
Promote leadership amongst all
staff/graduates
·
Embrace cultural diversity and consider how
it affects you
·
Become active global citizens
·
We should look beyond qualifications on job
descriptions (look for leaders and critical thinkers)
·
Encourage experimentation and risks
·
Collaboration – collaborate with external
organisations as well as internal
·
Learn IT skills and language
·
Teach IT people our skills
·
Encourage/promote mentors and role models
·
Let us lead technology, not the other way
around
·
Openly encourage discussion and dissension
·
Read widely and discuss what we have learnt
·
Replace formal meetings with casual
conversations
Action
items
·
Create an environment where staff can ask
questions without fear
·
Encourage/promote mentors and role models
·
Foster and promote resilience in our staff
·
Encourage all staff to be leaders and support
those who step forward
·
Collaborate across all internal services and
talk to our wider community
·
Enable staff to learn from each other
Steven
Fleming
Summary
Steven
offered a unique perspective on the topic of library staff as he is a library
assistant at Curtin University. Focusing on
non-professional and casual library staff it was noted that there was no
‘official’ career path for these workers (apart from completing a technician
diploma or librarian degree), despite being considered valid careers by those
working in them.
We
were shown what was required to cultivate a genius (Da Vinci, Shakespeare, and
Plato) and compared this to current working and teaching environments. A key
ingredient in creating a genius was the free flow of ideas coupled with a great
diversity. In the eras of the examples given it was noted this came in the form
of large cities, new ports and shipping lanes, the modern equivalent of high
speed internet and our diverse culture. Along with this freedom of information
was the development of new teaching and learning methods, namely the
mentor/mentee dynamic. If the library service wants to cultivate ‘geniuses’
(and we do!) what do we need to do?
Largely
we need to promote the free flow of ideas and embrace diversity in our
libraries, not just culturally but also professionally. Encouraging
non-professional staff to be involved and provide solutions to problems
enriches the learning environment for all staff. This new staffing model
suggests a flatter structure and encourages non-professional staff take on
higher duties. It advocates a rethink of the traditional ‘Librarian’ vs
‘Library Assistant’ roles. In addition the adaption of mentor/mentee
relationships can help develop staff career paths and encourage open learning
and free thinking.
Key
points
·
Encourage free flow of ideas
·
Embrace diversity amongst staff
·
Look at new forms of learning/teaching
·
Mentorships
·
Risk and failure are not dirty words
·
Experiment with new staffing models
·
Majority of library workers aren’t librarians
or techs
·
Cultivate your own geniuses
Action
points
·
Actively promote ideas from all staff
·
Look for diversity in new hires (not just
library backgrounds)
·
Encourage staff to try new things and learn
from mistakes
Gabe Wooding
Summary
Using
statistics from a university survey, Gabe showed how staff (both
professional/management and clerical) felt about, among other things,
recognition of acquired skills and career satisfaction. It was noted that
libraries are the third biggest employers in a university setting.
From
the clerical staff, almost 50% saw their job as a career while it was felt more
strongly in the professional sector (which was expected of qualified
professionals). Many across both sectors felt that their recognition for
acquired skills and knowledge went unrewarded or unrecognised. It was felt
across the board that staff are expected to up skill in order to keep up with
increased workloads and the larger number of clients accessing the service.
Additional training and development was often offered to
management/professional staff, but frequently overlooked for
clerical/non-professional staff, despite being required to keep up with client
demands.
Key
points
·
Libraries are the third biggest employers in
a university setting
·
Staff want recognition for acquired skills
and knowledge
·
Many non-professionals see their jobs as
careers
·
Client demands often require up skilling of
non-professional staff
·
Training and development should be offered to
lower level staff
Action
points
·
Encourage
clerical staff to seek out and actively engage in professional development
·
Foster
learning (and teaching) environments for all staff
·
Recognise
staff when they acquire new skills and knowledge
b By Andrew Kelly