The archaeology of habit: excavating past practices in technical services

Abstract

Purpose -While laying the foundations of any libraries' collections, technical services (TS) play an important role in the expenditure of a library's materials and personnel budgets. Budgetary crises, increased user expectations, and growing workloads create challenges for TS to continually do more with less. When old practices cannot survive weakening budgets, it is time to dig into the layers of established procedures and see how they stand the test of relevance. This paper aims to address the issues regarding TS workflows. Design/methodologyapproach -The paper describes a study into TS at California State University Northridge (CSUN) Oviatt Library. Findings -Examination of long-established procedures and workflows reveals a treasure trove of superfluous traditions, outdated mechanisms, and a visible failure to adopt the progress of the past decade. The discovery led to the reorganization of the department, the redesign of existing workflows, and the introduction of innovative technologies. Consequently, TS reduced processing time throughout the supply chain of information, improved service, and saved money. In addition, the reliance on vendors to assist in data management can greatly increase the efficiency of technical services. Originality/value -The paper highlights how continued revision should keep technical services' workflows and procedures fresh and relevant. When libraries are squeezed by budget crises, staff cutbacks, and increased workloads, there seems to be no way out. At the same time, users' expectations for instant information gratification has resulted in an ever-expanding buffet of electronic resources and associated new workloads for TS in acquiring and managing access to electronic and digital formats (Duranceau and Hepfer, 2002). It is often said that technical services (TS) departments are cut down to the bare bone. When this is the case, some reserves can be found through the reverse exploration of how current workflows were formed.Libraries, and specifically TS, are known for the longevity and low turnover of their personnel. Libraries "had been a very stable, hierarchical, secure structure for many, many years and had attracted a significant number of people who wanted to work in that type of protected environment" (Diaz and Pintozzi,

From the bottom up: Engaging technical services staff in decision-making

“…Routine examination and revision of workflows and procedures go hand-in-hand with organizational change and shifts in position responsibilities, and may require shifts in leadership styles. The process of revising workflows may include investigation and implementation of laborsaving technology, outsourcing to vendors, eliminating tasks, and redeploying and retraining staff (Eden, 2010;Heinrich & LaFollette, 2010;Petrusa, 2016). Constant revision of workflows, along with flexibility and adaptability, is required in order to keep up with fluctuations, especially in electronic resource management.…”

The Time Management Study as a Tool for New Technical Services Managers

“…The experience described by their cataloging coordinator was very similar to my own: "learning the new job turned into a process of excavating traditions" as they attempted to assess whether all tasks were optimal, performed efficiently and genuinely benefited the library's mission. 18 Communication improved significantly over the first six month as progress was made towards building trust, but the entire information gap had not been bridged. Juggling faculty, committee, and management responsibilities took a great deal of time, making it more difficult to form an accurate picture of the department's labor divisions and workflows.…”

A Supply Chain Model for Library Quality and Service Improvement

“…The SCM philosophy expanded the traditional internally focused integrating activities of logistics (Kahn and Mentzer, 1996), by bringing trading partners along the supply chain together with the common goals of efficiency, quality, and end-customer satisfaction (Harwick, 1997). Use of preferred sup-pliers (those with a desire and ability to support the strategic initiatives of the buying organization) was identified as one of the important early SCM strategies (Halley and Nollet, 2002).…”