Managing Staff Transitions

Public Library Directors Symposium March 25-27, 2009

Marcellus TurnerExecutive Director

Jefferson County Public Library

Colorado

About JCPL

• 10 locations• 1 Bookmobile• Floating collection for the

past 15 years• 6.4 million items checked

out in 2008• 2.7 million visits in 2008• 273,000 cardholders• 284 public computers• 215 FTE, 325 hourly staff

Planning for Technological Change

Planning for Technological Change

• Hired new Director of Innovation and Strategies for Information Technology

Without creativity, there cannot be change.

Senior Management Team

Adm inistration

A d m in is tra tive C o ord ina to r to theE xe cu tive D ire c to r

(4 0 )

D irec to r o f Inn o va tion a nd S tra teg iesfo r In fo rm a tion T ech no lo gy

(4 0 )

D e p u ty E xe cu tive D ire c to r(4 0 )

D ire c to r o f A dm in is tra tive S e rv ices(4 0 )

D ire c to r o f L ib ra ryP ro g ram s an d S erv ices

(4 0 )

E xe cu tive D ire c to r(4 0 )

B O A R D O F T R U S T E E SL ib ra ry B o a rd

Planning for Technological Change

• New philosophy for IT• Goal - provide support and

resources for staff and patrons to enhance their library experience

• Customer service is main focus

• Thorough communication is key

• Continuous review of structure, responsibilities, expectations and procedures

• Reorganization of IT department

In form ation Technology

Adm inistrative Coord. I(40 )

M icrocom puter Asst. II(T elephony )(20 )

M icrocom puter Asst. II(Hardware P urchasing )(40 )

M icrocom puter Asst. II(T elephony & T ech Assistance )(40 )

M icrocom puter Asst. II(T elephony & T ech Assistance )(20 )

M icrocom puter Asst. I(40 )

M icrocom puter Asst. I(40 )

O peration s M anage r(40 )

Program m er Analyst II(40 )

Software Sup port Specialis t(40 )

System Support Specialis t - ILS(40 )

System Adm inistrator(40 )

Network Adm inistrator I(40 )

D irector of In novation an d S trategie sfor Inform atio n T echnolog y

(40 )

Executive D irecto r

Planning for Technological Change

• Service Level Agreements– Implemented to ensure efficient

resolution to tech issues encountered by staff

• IT is a collaborative partner in testing new products– Playaways– Wii– Kindle

• Planning for changes in technology is not solely the responsibility of IT staff

• It is important for Public Services and IT staff to collaborate in the planning process

• Testing partner with developers/new products– Regular beta partner for the first release of new products– encore– encore Report Writer– RFID/self-check– Floating collection

Planning for Technological Change

Preparing Staff for Changes in Technology

• Communication with staff– Tips and how-to articles in weekly employee newsletter– Monthly meetings between IT and library managers– Work plan

• New employee orientations– Opportunity for all new staff to meet with IT, tour the department and learn IT’s role

within a library system

• Staff Exchange program

• Internships– Offer library school students the opportunity to intern anywhere in the system

• IT staff sit with other Library staff on multi-unit committees

• Conference attendance encouraged and supported

• Regular training opportunities– Troubleshooting classes– Drop-in sessions at IT for new products– New product/technology rollouts

• EventKeeper• RFID• Filtering

Preparing Staff for Changes in Technology

• “23 Things”– Based on the Learning 2.0 program by

Charlotte-Mecklenburg– Adapted by JCPL Public Services staff– Hands-on experience– Activities build upon each other, allowing staff

to become familiar with Web. 2.0 technologies

Training

23 Things

• What we cover– Blogs– Wikis– Image and photo sharing– RSS feeds and readers– Social networking– Social bookmarking– Social book cataloging (e.g. LibraryThing)– Online applications– Video hosting (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo)– Podcasting and downloadable audio

23 Things

• Delivery– Implemented by Digital Resources Librarian– 10 one-month-long units, navigated

independently– Open to all salaried staff and Library Board– Collaborative tools created to be used during

training

23 Things

• Communication– Invitation sent to all staff– Introductory article in weekly employee

newsletter– Monthly articles in employee newsletter –

updates, answer questions– Staff meetings and individual meetings– Manage blog set-up for training and answer

questions

23 Things

• Tracking– Staff record when they complete a month’s activities

in a spreadsheet– Training & Organizational Development monitor staff

progress

• Rewards– Each library will recognize staff’s completion of the

program

• Positive feedback from staff

Web 2.0 in the Library

• Web 2.0 Proposal process

• Staff submit a proposal form to all appropriate directors/managers for approval

• Approved items are added to the Library’s work plan

Technology Competencies

• Developing certain core skills for JCPL Public Services staff

• Proposed baseline skills include:– Windows basics– Computer hardware (CPU, monitor, keyboard, printer, scanner,

credit card swipes, RFID pad, etc.)– Microsoft Office, including Outlook– Basic troubleshooting– Internet searching– JCPL tools (databases, Telus, Overdrive, EventKeeper, Wifi)– Basic web 2.0 concepts and applications

Marcellus TurnerExecutive Director

Jefferson County Public Library mturner@jefferson.lib.co.us

Presentation can be found at: http://jefferson.lib.co.us/about/forlib.html