SUSTAINING A COLLABORATIVE ORGANIZATION
IN A
CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
Gale S. Etschmaier
Associate University Librarian for Public Services
Gelman Library, George Washington University
OVERVIEW
•
BACKGROUND
•
DEFINING THE FUTURE SHAPE OF THE LIBRARY
•
IMPACT OF GENERATIONAL SHIFTS ON COLLABORATIVE
MODEL
Gelman Library
George Washington University
Located in Washington, DC
Mission reflects link to location,
opportunities for internships, etc.
Enrollment/Student characteristics
On-Campus
Off-Campus Enrollment
20,318
3,672
Undergraduate Students 10,556
Graduate Students
12,389
(Includes Doctoral Students and Professional
Degrees)
Gelman Library System Culture
History of Collaboration
Strategic Plan Goals


1999 : become a learning organization
2000 : develop a culture of assessment
Work with consultants


transform organizational culture
develop staff facilitation skills
Education
and
Instruction
Reference
Training &
Collection
Professional
Development REFERENCE Development
AND
INSTRUCTION
Research
Guides
Reference
Services
Areas of strength/emphasis
Strong Instruction Program Supporting
University Strategic Plan
Collaboration with new University Writing
Program
Staff with a Strong User Focus
Changes:
Challenges & Opportunities
Department Head left in August 2005
Four new librarian positions
New Director of Advancement

Plan to prioritize funding main service floor
Restructuring
Reference and Instruction
Early notification of staff
Affinity diagram to capture concerns,
issues for long and short term
Brainstormed structural models
Formed volunteer teams to explore long
term and short term structures and make
a recommendation
Both groups explored pluses and
minuses for each of models
New Structure:
Triad/Troika/Triumvirate
Collection
Instruction Development
Reference
Requirements for new structure
Coordinators for each
group to work closely
together
Issues identified:
Priorities, workload,
reporting structure
Challenges of new structure
Communication
Developing programmatic approach to
new services
New reporting relationships and finding
and developing new group leaders
Moving forward with planning for future
services during a transition
Breaking Down Barriers
Redefining Reference Futures
Role of Reference
Role of Technology
Print Reference Collections
Planning for the future:
What will services look like?
Looking at User Perceptions





Gelman Library Student Advisory Board and Student
Liaison
OCLC’s Environmental Scan (2003) and Perceptions
of Libraries and Information Resources
Data from LibQUAL+ survey in 2003
Data from current LibQUAL+ survey (spring 2006)
Focus groups of high school students and others
Focus Group Plans
School Without Walls Students
University Writing Program Freshmen
Graduate Students
Faculty
Library Staff
OUTLINE OF FOCUS GROUP
DISCUSSIONS
Focus Group leader from outside the Library
but with Library staff participation
Pictures of current first floor and Threedimensional plans

Reactions to each: what works; what doesn’t?
Free-form discussion to determine what like
library services and spaces should look like
Scripted questions in case the group is
unresponsive
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Who has used focus groups or has
considered using them?
What worked well and what didn’t?
Once you obtained information, how did
you use this with staff (especially
skeptical staff) and what did you do with
the information?
What would you do differently?
Collaboration Issues
Challenges of working with units outside
of the Library
Denying the value of user perceptions
Challenge to communicate,
communicate, communicate
Generational collisions
Communication and Denial
Redefining Reference may invalidate the work
librarians do
Question how students want to do research
and how they should do research
Generations in Libraries
Traditionalists (Born 1900—1945)

Loyal, hardworking
Boomers (Born 1946—1964)

Competitive, “live to work,” political
Generation Xers (Born 1965—1980)

Tech savvy, skeptical, change jobs regularly, “work
to live”
Millennials (Born 1981—1999)

Confident, collaborative, protected, change
careers regularly
Graying/Succession Planning
Generation Xers are moving into
managerial positions
Traditionalists and some baby
boomers are retiring
Collaboration is embraced by baby
boomers and Xers (as members)
Millennials have arrived!
WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF
GENERATION X MANAGERS?
Collaborative
Skeptical
Direct communicators
Limited patience with meetings
Life balance
IMPACT ON COLLABORATION
Much of our collaboration is based on
face-to-face meetings—will Gen Xers do
this, or will they develop a new
collaboration technique?
Will Gen X managers be interested in
consensus and group process or will
they be more directive?
WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF
MILLENNIALS IN THE WORKPLACE?
Collaborative
Believe their opinions are valued
Not intimidated by authority
Have “Helicopter Parents”