What’s your “local”? December 20, 2008

I just wrote briefly about the struggle to invite and promote innovation within the confines of a 40 hour, a whole lot to do already, kind of professional world. Kinda vague, so here – let me flesh it out with an example.

As manager of our IT department I know very well what my “local” environment is like. I know that while my department supports our library systems’ desktops – hardware and applications – we don’t support, or control some other pivotal areas – like network or overall enterprise security (intrusion detection devices, packet sniffing, etc. etc.) As one department of a larger county government, I vacillate between being happy about this (hooray – thank goodness I don’t have to monitor the latest rouge spyware) and being constrained by this (sigh-don’t make me “defend” the library’s bandwidth use, sometimes labeled excessive by others, again).

But there it is – that’s my world. A constant dialog; a give and take. This makes the wonderfully serendipitous nature of discovery, learning, and play online a tricky path to skip along sometimes.

I’m curious to hear from other libraries – those that are part of a larger organization and those that are relatively “independent” – about how you maintain the balance of advocating for “free and open” discovery for your libraryland while at the same time being held accountable for the traffic, online vulnerabilities, and overall IT resource allocation of your libraryland.

Think Global; Act Local December 18, 2008

Here’s something that is at the forefront of my “library profession” brain (as opposed to my mama brain):

How to provide new useful technology services to our customers, how to be open and receptive to ideas of innovation (and the eventual resource demands these innovations create), and how to do this within the same 40 hours a week.  Like many others, I’m constantly amazed by the exciting developments that are occurring in our field every day – my Google Reader feed is full of em!  I “star” the ones I think could work for our library system, let the ideas rumble around in my brain for a while, then see which ones rise to the top.

And then what?  How do I encourage the leap, fund the initiative (either through dollars or staff resources), ensure that the innovation is both useful AND stable?  I’m not seeking perfection – not by any means.  But at the same time I know that our library does not exist within a vacuum, and that we are funded by entities that often value quantitative data over qualitative, anecdotal information.  Just because we can do some new technology project doesn’t mean we should… right?

So I look all around me – at the global picture of new library technologies and think: “what works locally?”  Do I focus on things that help our current library services work more efficiently (and thus improve the overall customer service experience)?  Or do I blaze a trail – and hope that our customers will participate and deem it a success?  In our current economic times, where all are having to reduce budgets (ours will be about 10% next year) – the push to focus on efficiencies over innovation is pretty strong.  ROI (return on invenstment) is king right now.  How does that fit with our desire as library folk to provide services that enhance the mind and soul of our customers?  How do you ROI that?

Thoughts?

Baby steps… December 15, 2008

As my baby gets ready to take his first unassisted steps, I am getting ready to take mine in regards to posting again as the LeapinLibrarian.

These words will sound familiar to any other mother, but my life – and all it’s priorities – changed completely on February 19, 2008.  Returning to work and the verrrry fast paced world of IT Management in April made me rethink what I could reasonably expect of myself at work – and in my career beyond work.

Priorities were hashed out, and my job at Wake County Public Libraries took the primary chunk of my time when not with my baby (a tad obvious, right? They are the ones employing me!).  And as all things tech continues to march onward, I try to see how my voice can fit in with all the insightful and engaging ones of my fellow Library IT advocates.

And so I begin my journey back to LeapinLibrarian.

CODI 2007 – Web 2.0 Tools for Librarians November 16, 2007

Another posting from a presentation I gave at CODI

The audio can be found here

…and the slides here:

CODI 2007 – How Sticky is your library?

Hello all,

Had the great opportunity to meet and talk with lots of interesting, excited folks in Pittsburgh, PA last week at the annual CODI (Customers of Dynix Inc) conference.

I gave a presentation on Weds afternoon, which I recorded. And after more than several unsuccessful tries, and enlisting the help of a “more-savvier-than-I” colleague (thanks Lynn!) – I now have it hear for you to listen, download, share, etc.

Audio can be found here

And here are the (hopefully entertaining) slides:

NCLA 2007 – Web 2.0 Tools for Librarians October 22, 2007

A big thanks to all who stopped by my poster presentation on Friday, Oct 19th at the NCLA (North Carolina Library Association) conference!

As I mentioned then, this was just my way of putting some of the popular Web 2.0 tools into bite sized nuggets. Please feel free to visit the presentation here:

Use the materials to teach yourself, your fellow librarians, and your customers. I had all of these slides printed out and pinned to an oversized felt board so that folks walking by could easily read. You could do the same – in your staff break room, in your library entryway, anywhere!

The “Trickle Up” Theory October 1, 2007

A big thanks to Helene for her encouraging thoughts about this little ‘ol blog.  And she’s right, I do tend to let time pass between each posting.  Since I can’t seem to keep up with all the cool new 2.0 stuff that so many others do so well, I decided my focus would be more on the attempts of one IT Manager to make the leap into the new, exciting library world that is ours for the taking.

But honestly, nearly a MONTH since my last post?  Sheesh – what have I been doing?  Well, happily I’ve been building lungs, a heart, a brain, and fabulous other parts of a wee one – our very own Leapin’ Baby who is due (yes, it’s too perfect to make it up) at the very end of February…in the leap year of 2008.  And at work I’ve been pulling together the details for what I hope will be the first of many practical examples of what I’m calling my “Trickle Up” Theory.

We’ve all heard of the trickle down theory.  Something starts at the top of the org chart and gradually makes it way down, down, down so that all are effected or impacted by it’s mission, idea, or priority.  In libraries, I see this happening when talented, dymanic folks who are in leadership positions have a vision of innovation, risk taking, and open dialog.  One needn’t look far to see library systems with such trailblazers.  Since I tend to look more closely at the public library world, I see places like Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library and I instinctively want to clap my hands and cheer.  Probably the most famous TSCPL visionary is David Lee King, but after hearing the Library’s Executive Director, Gina Millsap and Deputy Director of Operations, Rob Banks speak on the topic “Dump the Org. Chart: Get ‘er Done!: Management for a 2.0 library” I realized very quickly that David Lee King thrives not only because of his own passion and hard work, but because the library system he works for recognizes, encourages, and rewards his passion and hard work.

That, in my opinion, is the ideal “Trickle Down” theory in action for libraries.  And though the innovation may not have begun at the top (probably didn’t, in fact) the point is that their management embraced it and promoted it as valuable to the success of their organization.  By having library management see innovation and exploring new technologies with such priority, the culture of the library is bound to change.  The pity is that for many other libraries, another more negative form of “Trickle Down” theory is in action, one based upon outmoded and outdated ideas of what a public library should be.

And it’s for these organizations that I have a suggestion: make a concerted effort to implement the “Trickle Up” Theory.  That is to say –  if excitement, commitment, and action can take hold amongst the majority of library staff found in the lower portion of your org. chart, then I do believe you’ve got yourselves a pretty powerful “Grassroots” contingency. 

“Mutiny!”, “Chaos!”, “Disloyalty!” you say? 

“Bring it on”, I say. 

This isn’t dissent for dissent’s sake.  This isn’t rabble-rousing based on a minority viewpoint.  This is reflecting the world outside our library’s walls.  And the longer we spend time trying to convince our customers and our employees that we are somehow “different” than the rest of the world, the more we’ll see this wish coming to fruition.  Yeah, we’ll be different all right – completely irrelevant and known only in our country as places where we charge overdue fines to dead customers…

The pit crew and the race car driver September 4, 2007

Despite embracing much of North Carolina’s culture since arriving here in 1994  – from pork BBQ (Eastern style, please) to adding the word “might” before the word “could” when proposing a thought, to snagging my very own Southern Gentleman for my husband – there is one overwhelming cultural icon of the South that I just haven’t warmed to:  I cannot bring myself to watch NASCAR.  I realize that this may put me as a marked woman in some circles.  In my defense, it’s not that I don’t like racing en masse, because I do.  I can distinctly recall the childhood trips when dad would take my two sisters and I to see the drag races in Southern California.  The noise, the smoke, and Shirley Muldowney’s pink car all made for an exciting day at the races.  I also like Formula One racing, and the “Grand Prix” style racing that one of my favorite movies, “Viva Las Vegas” uses as it’s exciting climax.  But with NASCAR the cars just go round and round – which I find altogether boring.

So why then have I entitled this post “The pit crew and the race car driver”?  It’s because the “14 second or less” critical time frame that has to occur during the race is a perfect analogy for what I see an IT department’s role to be.  In short we (IT) are the pit crew, and you (library staff, library customers) are the race car driver.  When all is said and done, our job in IT is to get in, fix whatever needs fixing, and then stand back.  I think by and large we tend to do a good job in getting in and fixing the problem – although we wouldn’t get anywhere near the 14 second mark – but we fall really short in two areas:  we don’t “stand back” (and get the heck out of your way), and we often don’t admit that you are the driver. 

From my time as an “IT person” in libraries, I’ve observed far too often the tendency for an IT department to over-manage the hardware and software used by it’s customers.  Now don’t get me wrong – I currently manage a crew of folks that live and breathe anti-virus, operating system and application updates, and various authentication methods – because all are necessary in our current computing environment.  But basics aside, like the pit crew getting the tires attached correctly and putting gas in the tank, there are plenty of things that IT departments have historically managed and controlled that need to be reviewed and changed.  And where did this come from?  Well my view is that earlier on, when PCs and the like were first introduced to libraries, there were very few “experts” and a plethora of buggy and “proprietary” (i.e. – persnickety and doesn’t like to play with others) software.  The logical thing was to have a smaller group of people make the best and most informed decisions, then create policies around them.  That way the “Well, I just asked my husband to come in during his lunch break and install this multi-CD changer on our reference desk PC…and now it won’t turn on” scenarios were avoided, and reasonable calm and order was maintained. (Because whether or not they’ll admit it – there’s another group of people that are just as happy with calm and order as librarians are…and their profession’s initials are I.T.)

Along with this “expert” management followed the notion that we knew best what technology tools you needed to do your job.  We would then “grant you” what you needed, and made it very clear that you must use these tools in the manner we have prescribed without any variance.  And again, the timing was such that most folks, not wanting to “break” anything, accepted this culture (at least on the surface) and again C&O (Calm and Order) were maintained.

But then uh-oh, the “PC” turned into “The Internet”, and cracks began to form in our established C&O.  And it’s taken no time at all to move to a world where web based applications rule.  In the blink of an eye we have customers and staff that have become web experts in their own right – without any help from us – and thus don’t need us to give them rules to make them feel comfortable around technology.  They just need us to have the car running on the fastest engine as we can afford (hardware that’s up to date and fast), with a good set of tires (the groundwork of solid anti-virus and updates), give them enough gas (network bandwidth), and then GET OUT OF THEIR WAY!

Have you ever seen a pit crew member standing in front of the car they are working on, and say to the driver – “Don’t you think I should drive this car for you?” , or “You know, you’re not driving the way I think you should be driving”, or “I don’t think you know enough about your car to make the best decisions about how it should be driven”.  Or better yet, have you ever seen a pit crew intentionally put limitations on the car’s performance based on the notion that it would be “safer” that way?

Of course not.  That would be counter-productive.  That’s making assumptions the person in the driver’s seat isn’t capable.  That’s avoiding risk. 

That’s not how races are won. 

Putting the “I” back in IT August 17, 2007

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) as the Manager of our Library’s IT Department, it is this:  if all “good new technology ideas and initiatives” originate solely from me and/or my department, then they are doomed for failure (or at best, receive a lukewarm reception).  That is to say, until there is universal interest, appeal, and participation from every last person in our organization – from library managers to temporary library pages – then each technology project is seen as a novelty, not a necessary and critical part of library life.

We as librarians have gotten very good at defining our turf, and making decisions on what we think our jobs entail.  Many great blog entries have been written on the topic of “that’s not my job” scenarios that we’ve all encountered in our professional lives.  I’d like to take that from a different angle here, and point out the problems that occur when folks in my position (the “IT” managers) exascerbate this turf war by wanting to be the “gatekeeper” of all things technology.

Oh sure, we can claim that it’s in the interest of security on our network, or bandwidth issues, or a lack of resources and time, or any number of excuses.  But when it comes down to it, it’s about control.  And to go even further, it’s about a lack of trust that the people in our organizations and (gasp!) our customers are by and large able to make sound and responsible decisions when it comes to utilizing new technologies.

So what happens?  We attempt to be innovative in a vacuum.  Good ideas are bogged down by “following correct procedure”, and the joy and excitement of learning is sucked out of everyone.  And nothing moves forward.  Why?  We’ve taken the “I” out of “IT”.  We’ve created an environment where technology decisions are made by the select few, and as a result each person who cares about our libraries (employees, friends, customers) no longer feels a personal connection with the future possibilities that new technologies can bring our libraries.

This is the way IT departments have historically operated – as the “experts” of technology.  And since such power can be weilded either gently or harshly, IT folks often become the stuff of legend – with many tales of either IT hell (“They don’t have a clue about how libraries work!”) or tales of hushed awe (“The PC just fixed itself when they walked in the room – it was like magic!”) – both of which are detrimental to the goal of personal connection to technology. 

To combat this problem, many libraries have placed greater emphasis upon actively training their staff in how to be more technically self-reliant.  Classes on file sharing, email attachments, and replacing printer toner cartridges are now expected curricula for staff, and some organizations have gone so far as to include these sessions in their “Core Competencies”, right alongside more “traditional” library professional development that focuses on customer service and collections.  This is an important first step, but to stop there misses the bigger picture.

Because then came Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and Learning 2.0 – which, in short, turned things on their ear.  Much to the dismay of folks who liked an established hierarchy of life (and I’m not just talking about the library profession here) where everyone has a role and a label (and has had to complete some sort of litmus test in order to receive their role and label) – the world of 2.0 requires nothing more than a curiousity to learn and to share.

How different.  How refreshing.  How frightening.  How exciting…

How am I going to do my job?

Stay tuned and I’ll share some thoughts and ideas about how this IT Manager is taking a fresh look at the role of her department, and how my main goal is to put the “I” back into IT for everyone.

Library Envy, Part 2 July 2, 2007

I’ve got two words for you:  Queens Library.

 Yes, Queens.  That Queens.  Queens, New York.

I attended an ALA session, entitled “Transforming your staff” on Sunday, June 24th.  I won’t attempt to cover the whole session (informative as it was), because honestly my brain was consumed by the portion of the program that Tom Galante , Queens Library Director, presented.  And I kid you not, as I was sitting on the floor of the overcrowded, “fire marshall violation” room, I was actually contemplating the idea of moving to Queens to work for their fabulous library system.  Alas, I am now a gal with obligations (and desires) keeping me here in sweet NC.  But oh my – it was more than tempting!

And here’s why:  Queens Library is a large system (63 branches, 20.2 million circulations each year) with clear leadership, vision, values, and commitment to recruiting the BEST to come and work for them.  And apparently, this recruiting happens anywhere – and quick decisions are made to offer positions to bright sparks.  Not the usual “I’ll recruit you, but still make you jump through multiple hoops to apply for a job with us”, as he offered a library position to a person currently employed with Seattle Public Library after speaking with her at a DC bar – just the night before.

Their Leadership:  This was instantly recognizable in Tom Galante.  The man oozed charisma, in a lovely Northern way.  And I say ‘oozed’ not to imply that it was any way disingenuous, because he was a straight talker.  And his statement “What makes a library great?  Constant change!” made my heart sing.

Their Vision:  “You need to have a leader that staff trust, and that people know care”.  Gee –  trust, empathy, maybe those aren’t “fluffy” things after all…

Their Values:  Ideas that everyone can rally behind.  “Service is what we’re all about.  We value individuality of staff and customers and value teamwork.”

And lest you think this is another example of nice talk with very little to show for it, I’ll share some other nuggets Tom threw our way:

-When talking about performance management, he talked about how each employee is reviewed in the following three areas:  1) Major job responsibilities (with clear expectations for each) 2) Core competencies (customer service, initiative), and Professional Development.  He focused on core competencies, stating that “these aren’t skills, it’s how you do the job” – and that in their system there are six levels of competencies, different competencies for different folks.  He also made the fabulously bold statement that as far as he’s concerned, “competencies are more important than degrees or experience”.  SWEET!

He also elaborated upon his idea of holding people accountable when answering a question from the crowd.  The question, heavily paraphrased here, was “What do you do if different library ‘teams’ are in a contentious situation – not working together?”  His answer was short – he’d talk to the managers of those groups, and if things didn’t improve, people would be let go.  Amazing.  He advocates actually addressing problems and problem staff by asking them to change or move on.  And not even mentioning the concern about a potential lawsuit…

But he’s not all tough, as evidenced by his examples of staff recognition, which is very important to the system.  Flowers are sent to employees or an entire library when the management hears “good news” from the public.  The director holds regular town hall meetings with staff 2 times a year – and methinks that heavy hitting questions are NOT avoided here.  Staff in all 63 branches receive employee newsletters every two weeks, and  “thought of the day” emails.

One of his final thoughts was the best:  “Remember, the most important resource in your library goes home every night (YOUR STAFF)!”

Good golly, is it no wonder this system is a leader in it’s community, and our profession?  Their local buses have pictures of their diverse library staff with the words “I am Queens Library” underneath.

…oh, and one of the best things I learned about Queens Library:  They have 63 branches, a service population of over 2.3 million, 50% of whom came to the United States in the past 10 years, and only FOUR of their library branches have security guards.  If they have problems with teens and/or gangs, guess what they do?  They hire teen counselors to engage these teens, playing chess or other mind-expanding activities. 

Oh so much food for thought.  What are yours?