The other day I posted about the culture of beta. I think this is a shift in a way of thinking that can, will, and should impact our ways of working.
I’ve also been thinking about shifting the way we define our work.
Over and over again I am seeing cases of industries having to rethink the way they approach their work. We’re seeing it in journalism. We’ve seen it in IT. We’re always talking about it in libraries. & I think we’re talking about it so much because our industries are impacted by technology and new media in ways we couldn’t have imagined 20 years ago.
So I think it’s a good time to think about what our purpose is and what it should be: strategic planning on the grandest of scales. Having friends and family in some of these other fields has helped me understand that there are a lot of us thinking about these things and trying to figure out how we can offer the most in today’s environment.
We see work changing rapidly, and over and over people ask what they can give up in order to take on the new tasks. Normally the answer is just better time management. But at some point, you can’t manage time any better that you’re already managing it.
One area I often wonder about is reference. Though we are a service profession, I see time that can potentially be reclaimed there. Some libraries get tons of tricky reference questions all the time. In these libraries, it makes sense to have a reference librarian on the desk during hours of service. In others, there is rarely a question more complicated than, “how can I get this to print?” In these libraries I wonder if a shift at the desk is really the best use of librarian’s time. Perhaps being on call and in their office is a way to meet the users needs while using the librarian’s time most wisely. I suspect in most libraries there are ebbs and flows to reference demand that (based on statistics over time) a staff could predict the times of year that make more and less sense for a librarian to be on the desk.
I had a somewhat more radical conversation with someone the other day on this topic. This person pointed out that perhaps the reference librarian’s job is to make sure reference needs are met. Traditionally this is done with desk shifts, but maybe that’s not the only way to do it. Meeting reference needs could be achieved by training others to actually sit the desk and creating materials that the desk workers (students or full time staff) could refer to for more complicated requests. At this point the librarian is more of a manager/trainer than one working with the patrons directly.
I’m picking on reference because that is where I spend some of my time, but I think this way of thinking is an interesting exercise that is helping me gain a better understanding about what it is we’re really here to do, and the best ways to accomplish it.
How are others juggling demands for time? Changing with the needs of their users?
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Comments 1
We’re not here yet but here’s what I envision. Removing large reference desks and reclaiming that space for the public or just putting up a small staff kiosk. Staff connected with wireless headsets and PDAs or tablet PCs roaming or on call from their work areas.
In the far future we may have walk up terminals with voice recognition where patrons can ask questions and the computer will answer or if it can’t answer transfer to a librarian…kind of like what happens now when you call a bank or insurance company.
I’m not saying any of this is better or worse. It’s just different and we have to be willing to explore new territories to stay relevant and vital to the communities.
Posted 03 Jun 2008 at 10:28 pm ¶Post a Comment