A focus on the Student Experience: realigning library services across Divisional thematic areas

CAVAL Professional Development Interest Group Forum15 July 2015

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Contents

1. Political and University wide background and drivers

2. Enabling our Future: Workplace Change in 2012 - 2014

3. Refocusing the Division : Workplace Change in 2015

4. Theme areas – where do Library staff fit now?

Library Services

Student Services and Information Centre

Learning Services

Divisional Administration

5. Opportunities, threats and where to from here

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Political and University wide background and drivers

• The University’s place in Tasmania

• Low literacy and numeracy levels• Poor social mobility• Regional disadvantage• Declining industries• Challenges of providing equality of opportunity across the state –

‘Being everything to everyone’

• 2012 – 2013 First round of major change

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Division of Students & Education2014

Deputy Vice-Chancellor(Students & Education)

Student Centre Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students)

Library Tasmanian Institute of Learning & Teaching (TILT)

Centre for University Pathways & Partnerships

(CUPP)English Language Centre

Office of the DVC (S&E)(includes Registrar & Student

Evaluation, Review & Reporting Unit

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Library Services2014

University Librarian

Associate Director (Client & Learning Services)

Client ServicesDocument Delivery

SystemsLaunceston, Cradle Coast, Inveresk, Rozelle and Darlinghurst locations

Associate Director (Research & Resources Services)

Information ServicesResource Management

Special & Rare CollectionsResearch Data Discovery Service

Morris Miller, Art, Clinical, Law and Music locations

Corporate Services Manager & Officer

Policy & Planning Librarian

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Refocusing the Division : Workplace Change in 2015

Rationale

• The ability to be flexible and responsive

• Improve cohesion and be less siloed

• To remove duplication

• To ensure that students remain at the centre of our thinking and our focus

• To embrace the data and evidence based approach that was needed

• To be able to operate within the University’s funding capabilities

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Division of Students & EducationJuly 2015

Deputy Vice-Chancellor(Students & Education)

Divisional Executive Group (DIVEX)

(includes University Librarian)

Curriculum and QualityTheme Area

Access, Participation & PartnershipsTheme Area

Student Experience, Retention & Success

Theme Area

Library and Student Services

Theme Area

Executive Support Services Hub

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Library ServicesJuly 2015

University Librarian

CollectionsProjects

& LawResearch Services

Acquisitions & Access

Discovery Library Systems

Student Services

Student Services Information Centre (SSIC)

Associate Director (Library Services)

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Library Services

• Research Services – includes 4 Research Services Librarians

Provide leadership, direction and advice on services to researchers and HDR candidates and ensure the services are aligned with the University’s research priorities and strategies

Build strong professional relationships with the Division of Research and the University’s research community

Develop relevant expertise and skills in the University’s research community

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Library Services

• Discovery – includes 1 Digital Collections Librarian and the RDDS Project

Provide leadership, direction and advice on the delivery of discovery and search interfaces and services for library information resources

Manage and develop the Library’s repositories and provide a wide range of curatorial services for deposited material

Ensure that the Library’s information resources and services are effectively delivered and promoted via the Library’s website and that the website is responsive to the needs of clients

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Library Services

• Collections – includes 1 Librarian, Special & Rare Collections, Document Delivery

Provide leadership, direction and advice on developing evaluating and assessing the Library’s collections, to ensure they support the University’s learning, teaching and research needs

Manage the disposition, location and storage of the Library’s print information resources and mitigate risks to the integrity of all the Library’s collections

Manage the Library’s services related to sharing collections

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Library Services

• Acquisitions and Access – includes 3 Librarians

Provide leadership, direction and advice on the acquisition, management, organisation and delivery of electronic and print Library information resources

Deliver sound financial management of the Library’s information resources budget

Ensure Library information resources are accessible to clients, including the delivery of Library materials to students with a print disability

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Library Services

• Projects & Law

Provide leadership, direction and advice in relation to specified strategic projects and initiatives to improve services to Library clients

Actively develop and implement communication strategies to promote Library services and Library expertise

Develop and deliver specialised services to support the activities of the staff and students of the Faculty of Law and the wider legal community

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Student Services and Information Centre

• Clear Project Plan

• Regular Project meetings

• Shared priorities

• Working with the Library to identify what went to the new Team and what stayed

• New Position Descriptions

• Planning Day for the whole team

• New shared email

• Working across both areas

• Celebrating the milestones

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Student Services and Information Centre

What we learned

• Value of managing the change as a project, with associated documentation, including articulating milestones, timelines, risks, communication and training plans

• Meeting regularly and getting to know what the other area does. Understanding that we each have peaks and troughs that differ

• Not taking offence when there is a misunderstanding or mis-communication, being prepared to speak up when something does go wrong and to accepting it when it is you who have made the mistake.

• Being prepared to modify long held views and compromise

• Being prepared to give things a go, even if things are not perfect and being prepared to change direction if needed

• Understand that there are more similarities than differences between people who work with our clients, no matter where they come from

• Try to stay positive, what ever happens

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Learning Services Librarians

Issues

• Keeping morale up, as the rest of the Library moves forward. Supporting these staff with the transition

• Thinking about what can no longer be do, or needs to be done a different way

• Ensuring regular communication with the wider Learning Services Team and when they are integrated, how that communication is maintained with the Library

• Ensuring that the new PD reflects the duties, at least in the short term

• The Library working as a team to put together interim arrangements and details of what we value that needs to go forward to the new team

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Central Administration Hub

• Provides executive and administrative support for all staff in the Division, including HR, strategic reporting, WHS, travel bookings, purchasing, payments, equipment, compliance but not meeting support, except for the Executive and associated sub-committees.

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Opportunities and Threats

• CRM and associated Knowledge Base

• Patron driven appointment system

• Better integration of digital signage information across our mutual sites

• Increased range of opening hours for all Divisional services

• Collaboration on the development of new client surveys

• Better understanding of where the Library expertise can contribute and vise versa through more collaborative meetings

• Better support for our Rozelle Campus

• Better career options for some of our staff

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• Ensuring that the University’s building strategies and priorities match the Division’s aspirations

• A change to leadership and direction

• Some staff not able to deal with the extent of the change and at different times in the process