Presented with Deane Zeeman of Library & Archives Canada at OLA 2011 Superconference

1. Innovative Approaches
in Library Service Delivery
Jane Dysart & Rebecca Jones Deane Zeeman
Dysart & Jones Associates Library and Archives Canada

2. Outline
• Context: general, federal government, federal libraries
• ADM Task Force on the Future of Federal Library Service
• Research Agenda
• Innovation Study Findings
• ADM TF – What Happened Next

3. Digital Context
Generally…
• Information superabundance and digital technologies.
• Increased creation and access directly by users and a decrease in
professional mediation.
• New relationships between users, producers and intermediaries.
In the Government of Canada…
• Policy requirement to manage the “right” information (Directive
on Recordkeeping).
• A greater focus on “information resources” and blurring of the
distinction between published and unpublished information.
• Environment of fiscal restraint: efficiency and effectiveness
improvements, not cost-cutting.
• Changing client demands.
• Changing nature and format of information resources.
• Baby-boomer exodus: develop and foster new skills and
competencies.
• Government accountability agenda: enterprise-wide
collaboration and efficiencies.

4. Federal Libraries Landscape
• 150 plus departments, statutory and other agencies, agents of
Parliament, departmental and Crown Corporations.
• 60 plus federal libraries and library-like entities.
• Varying sizes: range from 1-person operations to cross-Canada
networks .
• 3 out of 4 library-related workforce employees work in the
National Capital Region.
• Budgets and service offerings vary enormously according to
size, profile in department.

5. ADM Task Force on the Future of
Federal Library Service

6. Vision for Federal Libraries
• By 2015, public servants have seamless access to a
“federal library service without borders” through the
interconnected network of:
• GC Librarians
• Library services
• All information resources
Librarians are stewards of
information resources for the
federal government.
Librarians are the bridge to
information resources.
Library services are provided
using enterprise approaches
where most appropriate.

7. Anticipated Outcomes
The modernization of the federal library service will result in -
1. A sustainable and highly relevant federal library service
benefitting all GC knowledge workers and departments;
2. Increased efficiency and effectiveness in GC information
management through continued optimization of IM, record
keeping and library services;
3. Increased relevancy and use of Federal Library Service
through an accelerated transition to digital services and
information resources;
4. Cost optimization through leveraging enterprise
opportunities in the procurement and delivery of services
and information resources.

8. Responding to Departmental Realities
and Environmental Trends
1. Departments and libraries are
operating in a climate of fiscal
restraint
2. There is pressure to respond to
evolving changes in client
demands
3. There are opportunities to achieve
greater enterprise-wide
collaboration and efficiencies
4. The nature and format of
information resources are
changing
5. There is a need to develop and
foster new skills and
competencies

9. Three Lines of Evidence
1. Enterprise Intelligence.
2. Environmental Paradigms.
3. Targeted Inquiry

10. Targeted Inquiry
• State of Health of Federal Libraries (MW
GROUP)
• Annotated Guide to Policy Instruments
Applicable to Federal Libraries
• Research to Identify Innovative Approaches
in Library Service Delivery in Jurisdictions
Outside the Government of Canada Context
(Dysart & Jones).

11. 2-Pronged Approach
• Conferences
Literature • Lists, blogs, etc
Review
• 9 public sector
Interviews • 9 private sector

12. Overall service trends
• Monitors & feeds • Reduce physical • E-learning
• Mobile collections • Services & tools
• Customized • Collaborative or • Project-specific
individual
• Workspaces
Enhancing Reconfiguring Training
• Embedding research &
content
• Into workflow
• Face-to-face or with
technology
Aligning

13. Markets
• All corporates serve internal markets, and, in most cases,
target specific functions or departments.
– Biotech/pharmaceuticals target researchers.
– Other corporates target revenue-generating or mission-
critical functions.
• Public sectors tend to focus primarily on internal staff, with
limited services or content access for the public.
– Technology allows public to access content easily.

14. Organization infrastructure
Service
delivery
Licensing
Purchasing

15. Partnerships
• Partnerships with IT, legal and purchasing are important for
many to license and deploy digital content.
• A few organizations partner to provide other services:
– One corporate partners with Training to provide e-training.
– Another corporate serves on or leads cross-organizational
teams to assess trends, look at future directions, help the
organization go green, create products.
– Law Library of Congress is part of an international co-
operative providing a database of foreign law.

17. Relationships with KM, IM, IT
• Many of the libraries in those organizations with formal
KM/IM functions are partnering with them; in a few of these
organizations there is some friction between the libraries
and KM/IM
Content
IT Libraries & Service
Delivery

18. E-Library Libraries are not book
museums. Exhibits and more
interpretive activities ...valid
& important role for libraries,
but not a dominant one.
Specialized
Federated
db’s & e-
search
resources

19. E-Library
• Physical collections significantly downsized.
• Buying print only when e-content not available or digital
licensing fees are unaffordable or terms and conditions are
too complex.
• Working with content providers to deploy digital content
widely for use anywhere by employees.
• Corporate libraries working with vendors to allow internal
applications to access licensed content on intranet, and to
license content usage that fits with how the corporation
works rather than the way the vendor wants to structure
options.
• Managing copyright.
• Delivering digital content to whatever devices employees
are using, from desktops to mobile devices, etc.

20. “Services are highly
E-Services integrated with the
organization’s workflow
and there is constant
partnering with other
people/areas of the firm
in providing services.”

21. E-Services
• Designing services targeted to needs and highly valued by their
organization
- Corporate library and a public sector library create
publications or databases with content unique to their
organizations; for one this is a revenue generator
- Many provide customized media monitoring daily, weekly &,
in some cases, twice-daily
- 2 public sector libraries are internal consultants
organizations designing tools & working with employees to
exploit content management capabilities
- Several corporates offer media analysis for management
• Training employees both in person and through podcasts and e-
learning in use of content tools, library services and project-
specific high-end content applications
- USGPO uses online tools and learning aids to train in use of
Federal Digital System
- Public sector created a Writing Center for training in
scientific writing with editorial instruction and help

22. E-Services
Email or IM
SMS or Texting
Connectors

23. Digitization
• Public sector libraries doing more digitization than the
corporate because they have unique materials not available
elsewhere.
– Law Library of Congress has digitized 100,000 volumes,
70,000 with Google.
– USGPO has goal of all “documents of democracy” being
digital; piloting cloud computing.
• Corporate libraries are not doing the same wide-scale
digitization but rather digitize on an as-needed basis to fill
research requests.
– Exception: those corporates that have specialized,
unique physical collections that the organization wants
or needs to preserve such as laboratory notebooks &
other intellectual property.

24. Physical Spaces
Spaces are being downsized and reconfigured as physical
collections are no longer required; spaces are now
configured for clients’ collaborative and individual work
• Some corporates have or will reduce their physical
space by 50%, weeding, digitizing & in some cases
sending physical resources off-site
• Other corporates are using the space for library staff,
and for “hoteling” of the organization’s staff that no
longer have formal offices
• 2 public sector libraries are the exception: they plan
to reconfigure with more places for the public to
work with resources in different ways (including
electronically), and to include green spaces, exhibit
areas, cafes, etc.

25. Technology
• Wide range of technologies in use
Cloud
Computing
RefTracker - request management for libraries
A few are using technology to manage and direct research requests
to specialists with required expertise and availability.

26. Technology
• Focus for most libraries is to exploit technologies to enable
employees to access content and e-services with one sign-
on.
• Wi-fi is a critical enabler for many of those interviewed.
• Several organizations are testing e-books; finding the
adoption is slower than expected but increasing as devices
improve.
• Most feel it is critical, and many have a strong symbiotic
working relationship with IT to move their technology
strategies forward.

27. Procurement
Most:
• Are responsible for their own purchasing
• Manage or are regarded as key advisors for licensing and
deployment of digital content for the organization or for
departments
– In a number of corporate organizations, libraries
collaborate with other departments to purchase and use
high-cost databases.
– Recognition that negotiation & licensing skills are critical.
– Biggest issue in this area are vendors’ terms and
conditions, & pricing models.
• Have established contracts, desktop capabilities and
policies/procedures for employees to do their individual book
or content purchasing.

28. Policy Framework
A wide variety of situations regarding policies
Some have policies governing:
Information, Contractor
Social medial knowledge & Privacy & usage of Working
tools IT
RM confidentiality services & virtually
•Technical & compliance content
security reasons

29. Future plans
• Keep pushing technology boundaries to expand and
enhance:
– Access to content and integration of content directly
into applications;
– Acquiring digital content automatically;
– E-training.
• Embedding and aligning staff more with functional work
teams.
• Reconfiguring physical spaces
• National Library of Australia creating a Treasures
gallery highlighting rare artifacts.
• Another public sector library is opening more public
areas and study spaces.

30. Future plans
Other examples in corporate libraries:
- More analysis and visualization.
- Functionality in portals for people to interact and active
delivery of content.
- Web-based space in which project team and library team
members “live”.
- Semantic search tools to work with structured and
unstructured data for decision-making research with
biotech/pharmaceutical research teams.

31. How was the information used?
Four Areas of Focus
1. Services: Library, Research and Information Management
2. People and Capacity
3. Information Resources
4. Enterprise Infrastructure, Policy and Governance

32. Five Thematic Priorities
1. Enterprise and Clustered Procurement of Information Resources: To rationalize
existing digital collections and expand enterprise level and/or clustered
approaches to procurement, licensing and acquisition of information resources.
2. Collaboration and Web 2.0: To investigate the issues and opportunities of
leveraging Federal Library Service to expand the use of Web 2.0 tools across the
GC.
3. Enterprise approaches to GC Digitization: To develop common digitization
standards, guidelines and service options accessible to all GC departments.
4. Rationalized storage of GC physical library collections: To develop shared
storage solutions for a rationalized physical collection of GC information
resources.
5. Virtual reference: To conduct a feasibility study on the issues and opportunities
of advancing enterprise wide and/or clustered approaches to virtual reference
service.

33. Achieving the Vision
First set of objectives, 2010-2012
• Digitization of Federal Government Publications
• Enterprise Acquisition and Procurement of Electronic
Information Resources
• Collaboration : People and Capacity to Deliver Web 2.0

34. Learning from others
• Medicine & medical research
• Public Libraries
• Academic libraries
• Around the world

36. Learning from Medical Field
SLA study, Information Outlook, Oct/Nov 2010
• Info pros & medical research
• Bioinformaticists & analysts working in teams
• Understanding the environment, finding gaps & creating
new services
• Supportive leaders, no fear of failure, strong reference
interview skills
Creative content
• Medpedia, doctor-run wiki in encyclopaedia-style format, Feb
2009. Altho approx 70 medical wikis this is the only one that
limits authorship to physicians.

37. Public Libraries
• QR Code scavenger hunt in Topeka, Kansas led by PL
• Partner with local tech companies to provide adult computer
education programs
• Kids reading programs; Tiger Cats in Hamilton
• Gaming programs to draw in teens and create a safe place
• Community book reads & discussions

38. More
• House of Commons Library in the UK – student education
program
• Academic libraries – where the students are
– Mobile
– Courses on Facebook
• See the world!
– Curtis Rogers
– http://curtisrogers.blogspot.com/2007/06/innovative-public-
library-services.html
– Shanachies from DOK: This Week in Libraries
– http://www.thisweekinlibraries.com/