Internet Librarian 2009 – Meredith Hammons

The last section I attended was on adapting technical services for the digital age. The presenters were all from academic libraries, but I thought there would be many things that would translate to public libraries.
The first presenter spent a lot of time discussing what had been the catalysts for change. The most important things I gleaned from this presentation were that the skill sets needed for quality technical services do not change, even as the medium changes. The presenter also mentioned that technical service employees need to be positive and open to change to cope with all of the transition. One specific issue he highlighted is the need to adapt to non-MARC metadata. He did not mention RDA, but clearly the current discussions about that system, factor into the need for non-MARC metadata.
The second group of presenters discussed the ways that they had changed technical services at Cal State-Northridge. They discussed the need for a workflow analysis among the tech services staff. The results of this were eliminating duplicate tasks, eliminating unnecessary tasks, leveraging technology, maximizing staff expertise, providing cross-training, and aiming for “one touch” handling. The speakers really emphasized staff buy-in. I was able to take a great deal from this section of the presentation. It gave me some ideas on how to hold a workflow analysis for my own department and ways to get workflow analysis from the branches, as well as from my centralized staff. I would have liked more practical information, but I did find value in points about gaining staff buy-in and the necessary positive attitude for staff, as well as the ways that I, as a supervisor, can cultivate that attitude.