The perception of effectiveness of merged information services organizations

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the perceptions of chief information officers and academic deans with respect to the effectiveness of merged information services organizations (MISOs) at liberal arts colleges.Design/methodology/approachThis study is descriptive exploratory survey research. A survey of chief information officers (CIOs) and academic deans of liberal arts colleges with merged information services organizations was undertaken. In addition to a general assessment of the MISO, a taxonomy of expected benefits was developed from the literature. Respondents provided information on both the general effectiveness of the MISO and its delivery of the expected benefits. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected.FindingsThe paper finds that both CIOs and academic deans had a favorable impression of the MISO and believed it was effective in providing support and delivering expected benefits. Concerns were raised that the MISO organization requires staff development time and can contribute to a loss of focus among constituent units.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to Carnegie bachelor's level institutions with a MISO.Practical implicationsMISOs are effective in providing support and the expected benefits. Institutions implementing or considering the MISO model should be aware of possible problem areas (staff development and loss of unit focus) and plan to address them appropriately.Originality/valueThe study identified areas of concern among both CIOs and deans with the implementation of a MISO. Information services units' leadership as well as institutional administration should consider these findings when considering or implementing a MISO.

Occupational Sub-Cultures, Jurisdictional Struggle and Third Space: Theorising Professional Service Responses to Research Data Management

“…The literature on convergence of library and IT services usually acknowledges the cultural differences between the two (Joint, 2011;Hwang, 2008;Stemmer, 2007). Creth (1993) argues that these differences stem from their education: librarians share "a process of acculturation" through their dedicated and accredited university courses in librarianship, but IT professionals do not have a shared socialization process and therefore no "shared professional history and values".…”

The Impact of IT Management on the Efficiency of Top US Liberal Arts Colleges

“…Higher education is a tradition-bound industry, and the management of our institutions often takes common forms, at least within broad categories like liberal arts colleges. The most innovative practice among these institutions is likely the existence of merged information service organizations [26]. Out of the 41 institutions studied, 15 have merged information service organizations, defined for this purpose as a division in which the library reports to the top IT officer.…”

New perspectives on the convergence of academic libraries and campus information technology departments

“…In fact, Stemmer (2007) showed that the US approach to convergence has been based on anticipated service benefits. These can be characterised in the following ways: academic or customer focused (a newly integrated, seamless service is offered to the user), administrative (library and IT procedures are increasingly united across a common electronic platform, demanding an integrated administrative approach instead of one which divides procedures along outdated demarcation lines), institutional (a converged service will raise the campus's profile in the community, though this goal is rarely cited in the UK literature), and organisational (a new hybrid information professional will emerge, with new skills across old boundaries which used to separate the print librarian and IT specialist).…”

“…When faced with the challenge of learning a range of complex new skills as well as maintaining existing ones, it is very easy for IT workers and library staff alike to lose expertise in what they used to be good at, while failing to grasp fully the nature of their new role. So much for a "new hybrid information professional" with "new skills across old boundaries" (Stemmer, 2007). Instead, there may be a danger of overloading staff with a ambitious range of new duties.…”