The Future of the University
Library: Strategic Management for the 21st
Century
Remarks to
January 24, 2008
Thomas F. Armstrong
Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student
Affairs
LSU
Delighted to be with you
today. As a professional historian, I’ve
spent many hours in libraries, archives and special collections, pouring over
and through the sometimes arcane materials on deposit in those libraries.
As a collector of 18th
and 19th century American histories (the multi-volume sets), I’ve
worked through many a bookstore seeking volumes to add to my personal
library. This background of being a user
of libraries and an avocational lover of books may bias my perspective on our
topic.
I confess, too, to having a
special relationship with a librarian who, in another life, was the Director of
the Library. Our relationship – we’ve
been married for 25 years – didn’t begin in the stacks but did begin over lunch
at which we discussed the wonderfully romantic topic of the library allocation
formula!
Two quick stories underscore
my perspective:
The first is the story of the
late 19th century librarian at an Ivy League campus. Seen crossing the campus by the University
president, the librarian was asked about the condition of the library. He replied, without hesitation, that
everything was fine and all was in its place … he was, he told the President …
on his way to the office of a faculty member to retrieve the only book not in
its proper place. The President was most
approving. That librarian and that Ivy
League president clearly saw libraries as places to keep books in. My bias is quite the opposite; I’ve always
seen libraries as places to take books out of!
The second story is one that
all can doubtless relate to. I have
tried very hard to adapt to the age of technology and try to use on-line
access, electronic storage of materials and at least some of the bells and
whistles of the 21st century.
On one particular occasion, I had carefully assembled – or thought I had
– all of the materials needed for a paper that I was writing. All was nicely encapsulated on a
diskette. When I went to read that
diskette, I found that, in some fashion that I still don’t comprehend, the
diskette was corrupted and my carefully prepared materials were
unavailable. Computing wizards worked
with me to get the materials off of the diskette. All was in vain!
After many anxious moments, I
called my wife – who, as noted, happens to be professional librarian – and told
her of the dilemma. She expressed proper
sympathy and made all of the right listening noises but then quickly added that
all of the material I needed could be found in the books in the library. She was right (and usually is). The story, embellished a bit, underscores
another bias of mine … the book will not disappear. It remains the most efficient, most durable,
most easily managed means by which we store information and provide access to
knowledge and the opportunity for learning.
I recall, too, the story of
the library patron who entered a rather notable looking library building only
to find that the library consisted of a single reference librarian and rows
upon rows of computers. When the patron
inquired about a particular book, the reference librarian pointedly said that
if he wanted a book, she should go to a book store but that her facility was a
library.
And then there is the finely
etched slogan above the door at my alma mater which, I admit, was more into
national championships (NCAA ski teams) than library development. The slogan said: “Enter here all who would seek
knowledge.” Unfortunately the door below
had an equally strong message: “Enter
other door.”
Contained in these stories
are the dilemmas and challenges which frame our discussion today. Librarians are places to get information out
of; they are repositories of knowledge and providing informed access to that
knowledge remains a central task of libraries and librarians. Access is no longer an issue of library hours
but an issue of 24 x 7 access to collections, journals, reference information
and more. Informed access underscores
the need to staff libraries in ways that honor the 24 x 7 demands of our 21st
century community.
Providing access, though,
must be balanced against the compelling need for libraries to be the repository
of knowledge and information over time.
Libraries must provide an access that is both durable, informed and yet
cost-effective. Given that 24 x 7 access
is often electronic, informed access necessarily involves staffing, and that
books are the most durable form of information storage and continued retrieval
involves staffing and storage, the challenge is a balancing act between what
often seem competing investments.
Much of what I have to say to
do is to underscore the need to balance the many imperatives of the 21st
century librarian. In setting up this
discussion, Mike Mathews suggested areas for exploration which get at the
balance issue.
RECRUITMENT/RETENTION
He asked “how can libraries
assist in the retention and matriculation of students, especially
undergraduates.” Much that can be
said. On a successful campus, all
faculty and staff are recruiters and all are retention officers. The recruitment of students and the retention
of students to degree completion is complex.
Librarians, though, can play an essential role.
First and foremost the
librarian must recognize that he/she is engaged in a service and that the
client for that service is the student.
Second, librarians must join
other faculty and staff in recognizing that the biggest barrier to student
success is a sense of frustration and failure.
Most students admitted to our colleges and universities have the
capacity to succeed; many, though, lack the tools of success. Librarians can assist in providing those
tools of success by ensuring that access to information, access to resources,
access to the strategies of access are user friendly.
This means that librarians
work closely with campus recruiters to ensure that the library is seen as a
welcoming place when recruiters take prospects around the campus.
This means that librarians
work closely with the University information technology staff to ensure that 24
x 7 access is an easy access and not one buried behind too many links and too many
steps.
This means that the library
director works closely with his/her provost to ensure that informed access is a
reality; that necessarily has staffing implications.
This means that librarians
work closely with the faculty to ensure that they have access to course
syllabi, have knowledge of the research and/or information gathering
expectations of the faculty, and tailor their library orientation sessions to
specific needs of the student learners.
This means that librarians
accept and embrace the role of being part of the learning equation; librarians
are partners with the faculty in teaching.
Implicit in that notion is the equally challenging idea that faculty
embrace librarians as co-instructors of any given course. This may well mean taking ownership on behalf
of the entire community of the notions of fair use, copyright, plagiarism.
In so far as students can
come to the library and/or access the library in a user friendly, barrier-free,
informed and personal sort of way, their likelihood of success will increase
and the library will have played an important role in the recruitment and
retention of students.
Above all this means that
librarians must adjust orientation strategies to be less orientations to a
place and more orientations to the concept of accessing knowledge and assisting
with learning. This is critical. Even with all of the changes in the way we
access information, I find that too many orientations to the library focus on
place and not on access. Where the fiction
is stored on the shelves is far less important than knowing why it is one would
need access to fiction in the first place.
Above all this means that
librarians must work aggressively to be partners with the faculty and staff in
the larger enterprise of the University.
STRATEGIES TO ADD VALUE
A second question posed to me
is “What strategies can libraries develop to assist in the University mission,
and/or add value to academic operations?”
This is a major topic and one that could occupy considerable time. Several things come to mind, though.
First, librarians must accept
the responsibility of being a University citizen. Put another way, the library should not more
be a “silo” than the Department of Psychology or the Department of Business;
all are interconnected or should be in service to students. This can be a challenge and it is not
isolated to librarians.
If the mission of the
University is to serve students and assist those students in achieving learning
objectives, librarians must embrace that.
If the mission is to engage in cutting edge research, librarians must
embrace that.
Several manifestations of
this:
To begin with librarians must
accept that the work of the professional in a University setting is not
measured by hours but by the accomplishment of tasks and contributions to the
larger organization. Too often I have
heard library professionals say that their hours are 8:00 to 4:30 and while I
often find them working longer hours, the very fact that their time is measured
in hours speaks to their approach to work.
I need also mention that the
professional librarians should seek the status and credibility that goes with
faculty appointments. Seeking that also
means to engage in the activities associated with faculty status. Committee assignments, service to the
university, service to the community and professional growth and development
are the normal expectations. Embrace
those aspects of being a University citizen and a member of the faculty.
Too often have I heard librarians
say that they are not “faculty” because they don’t teach; librarians teach day
in and day out through reference work, through informed access to information
and through the often very personal and patient help afforded the clientele of
the library, most often students but often faculty and staff as well.
Too often librarians on
faculty or University committees take a passive role of “looking out for the
library’s interests” rather than an active role of ensuring that together the
University is addressing the needs of the entire community.
Too often I hear librarians
argue that what they do as scholarship is not like that of historians or bench
scientists; to an extent that is true.
Applied scholarship, though, that advances our understanding of how
students learn … whether it be in a discipline or in an area that embraces all
disciplines is important scholarship.
To do these things is to add
value beyond the library itself to the life of the University and the
fulfillment of the academic mission of the University.
There is another perspective
that ought to be considered. Librarians
occupy a special niche within the academy.
Not typically tied to one
discipline and usually well-informed about the doings of several disciplines
and several departments (some of what librarians hear is admittedly the same
hallway gossip heard in the departments), librarians often bring a broader view
of campus life to their committee work.
Librarians understand –
perhaps better than others -- the importance of collaboration since it is a
constant in collection development.
Librarians often have an
understanding of budgeting that goes beyond that of the typical faculty member
who may never experience budgets except to order supplies. Librarians are familiar with the costs of
journals, the costs of technology, the interplay between technology and
information access, the role of discretionary budgets and much more.
Librarians are given to
planning and logistical considerations (if for no other reason than librarians
have often had to plan major relocations of the collection) that are often far
beyond the realm of the typical faculty member.
I could extend the list but
the point is that librarians can make a significant contribution to the
University by acknowledging those special perspectives and offering their
services beyond the library. The
librarian perspective is a special one for accreditation and I have often found
that some of the most effective participants in accreditation leadership are your
professional librarians.
I might digress a bit here to
underscore the important role that librarians play in accreditation. The principles of the Commission on Colleges
of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and these principles are
often echoed in some fashion in nearly all professional accreditors, include
libraries for a reason. Librarians and
libraries are central to successful learning.
It is not an accident that section 3.8 of the Principles of
Accreditation is labeled: “Library and
Other Learning Resources.” The
Principles are clear: they about
facilities, regular and timely instruction, and having a qualified professional
staff.
Demonstrating how those
aspects occur is not a matter of measuring the “inputs” but rather a measure of
documenting “outputs.” Does the facility
promote learning; is there timely instruction and is it appropriate; are the
librarians professional in their approach to the work of the enterprise?
Librarians must be ready to
join their discipline colleagues in determining whether their clients learned
anything from their engagement with the library.
Librarians must be willing to
demonstrate that what they do reinforces the mission of the University but does
so not in warm and fuzzy language but in real measures of support for specific
programs of the University or specific initiatives of learning in which the
University is engaged.
Librarians have been
measuring things for years; you have the data that can be very supportive of
almost any outcome you should choose.
Use it.
Still another opportunity for
librarians is that of student service.
Librarians, by the nature of their work and their often one-on-one
relationship with our students, are in a special position to sponsor student
organizations, advise students, instruct in freshman experience programs and
more. Volunteer for such assignments;
the typical provost or vice chancellor won’t think to ask because all too often
the librarian is stereotyped by those in positions like mine.
All of these opportunities,
when seized, add value to the academic mission.
This can be put another way
for emphasis. More than anything else
this centers on the willingness of librarians to proactively celebrate their
unique perspective. Librarians, unlike
many in the academic world, have a perspective on the University which is much
broader, much more inclusive than many others.
Partly this is that the library embraces all disciplines and all areas
of learning; partly this is because the library operates as a focal point for
student life; partly this is that librarians have an involvement with all
aspects of University life … librarians must be teachers, must be fiscal
stewards of what are often the largest discretionary budgets on campus,
librarians must be development officers because donor relationships and
donations can play such an important role in the success of the library, the
archives or the special collections.
Take advantage of this perspective.
WHAT ARE THE PROVOST’S PRIORITIES?
A third question is “On a
list of provost’s priorities, where does the library rank? What characterizes a successful University
library in the eyes of the administration?
Should perhaps first say that
Provost priorities do vary from institution to institution. What I say is perhaps very personal and
associated with the fact that LSU Alexandria is an emerging baccalaureate
institution. The priorities of my office
are on developing programs, strengthening faculty and staff resources, ensuring
an appropriate learning environment through facilities, technological access,
ensuring a seamlessness in enrollment services, financial aid, orientation,
advising and student services and strengthening our connections to the
community. In other institutional
settings, advancement issues may take priority; in still others advancing the
research mission or developing professional programs might take priority; in
still others in might be accreditation issues related, one hopes, to quality
enhancement.
No Vice Chancellor or Provost
will admit that the library is anything but central. Practice, though, is often different in that
library budgets are too readily slashed or library personnel needs are too
readily overlooked. That is a constant
challenge.
To ensure that the library
remains where it should, the director of the library and his/her staff must
continually celebrate the role of the library, must demonstrate sound fiscal
management, must be collaborative in the development of library collections,
library initiatives, must be cooperative (this is often a space issue – the
library does not belong to the librarians but to the entire University and it
is possible for many other activities to go on in a library be it faculty
offices, learning centers, study skills centers, cultural programming and much
more).
The successful library is one
that engages the many aspects of University life and promotes them all.
HOW DO LIBRARY DIRECTORS MAKE THE CASE …
Fourth question is: If a library director asked his/her VPAA for
more money to meet the rising costs of journal subscriptions, online databases
and personnel, how would the VPAA react, and why? How could the director make the best case for
his/her library to the VPAA.
I should begin with a simple
reminder … any successful initiative on a college or university campus has a
champion and a nag and that is often the same person. Whining is not a good thing but advocacy most
certainly is.
As with all areas of a
University, the key to successful budgeting is education of those making the
budgetary decisions. Education can come
in the form of regular reminders of the importance of the library, the
consequences of not supporting the library, etc.
The better education comes
from the development of a thoughtful plan for library development in all of its
aspects – collections, staffing, instruction, facilities, technology use and
more. The degree to which the library
can take the lead in promoting a planned approach to budgeting will be very
beneficial.
One can be more
specific. Librarians tend to argue their
case in general terms. The discussion is
we need more books, we need more journals, we need more staff, etc. Librarians can strengthen the argument if
they can underscore the fact that a collection development analysis underscores
a weakness in the support for the program in finance or clinical psychology or
K-12 education. The specificity will go
a long way.
Librarians can also impress
provosts by being ready. While pots of
money (end of the year or otherwise) are relatively rare on college campuses,
it is incumbent for librarians to develop the reputation of being able to spend
and to spend wisely whenever there is an opportunity.
Every provost who has ever
had a surprise source of funds wants to be able to say that he/she spent it
wisely on behalf of the entire institution.
It is much easier to spend money on a University-wide function than on a
given department or discipline. Spending
money on the library seems obvious; spending money on a particular discipline
smacks of favoritism no matter how needy the department.
There is much more that can
be said about any of these questions.
One can readily summarize what I am suggesting by saying that
communication about libraries and what librarians do is essential; your role is
central but sufficiently different that if you don’t celebrate what you do, who
will. That centrality of effective
communication and celebration extends to your success in recruitment and retention,
your success in fulfilling the University mission and your success in securing
an appropriate budget.
It is all about:
Communication
Celebration
Centrality
Good luck and best wishes …