WSU Libraries Planning Committee
Principles and PhilosophiesA. Service
1. User centered, user advocacy, user training - The WSU Libraries exists for one purpose and one purpose only - to serve the user. Whether the user is a student, a faculty member, a staff member, a citizen of Washington, a colleague at another ARL institution, or whatever - it is our job to provide the best service possible to that information seeker. Every action and every activity should be approached with the user in mind. Who better to teach users about information, libraries, information technology, critical thinking in terms of information, etc. than librarians and library staff who have the knowledge and expertise to do so.
2. Proactive, personalized service - We should not wait to be approached/asked for help - we should seek out opportunities to help users. Whether this is approaching students who look bewildered or marketing our skills to faculty, we need to be aggressive in our service. As information technology becomes more significant, we need to provide a human approach to the complex world of information and libraries. Providing personalized service means providing a face, not just a computer screen to library users.
3. User involvement in evaluation and planning - We cannot afford to take the position that we know what users want and need - too often that means that we know what we need, not what the user needs. We need to develop ways to include user evaluation of library services in our performance measures. We need to include user representatives in our planning. By opening up the process we will learn much from library users and create a more open, welcome organization.
4. Decentralization for user focus/centralization for efficiency - We need to find a balance between these two concepts. Decentralization brings more immediate service to the user but there are economics in centralization of some library activities/services. Decentralization in an integrated shared system environment provides both challenges in the areas of standards and consistency and opportunities for innovation.
5. Provision of access with all of its implications - A balance of ownership and access is necessary to keep up with the ever increasing proliferation of information. We need to provide user friendly and acceptable levels of access to our own holdings as well as to the resources offered by our partner institutions in the area, the state, the region, and country, and the world.
B. Internal Operations
1. Decision-making at lowest organizational level - Top down decisions do not take advantage of the skills of library employees at every level, nor do they encourage growth of employees. Some decisions can and need to be made at the level where the work is actually done. There needs to be flexibility in where and when decisions are made. Experience, clear standards, and effective communication will lead to an environment that is more efficient, more responsive, and offers more opportunities to use the talents and skills of all of the Libraries’ employees, (while maintaining a user-centered focus).
2. Improve communication - In a relatively large organization, there is a great deal going on and even more being planned for at any given time. All too often, the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing; what is common knowledge in one area is totally unknown in another; services are provided about which many of the Libraries’ employees know virtually nothing. In a healthy and effective organization, every effort is made to make sure that information is available and that employees accept the responsibility to keep aware of what is happening. Communication lines must be lateral as well as up and down.
3. Encourage risk-taking - Trying new things - the freedom to experiment is vital to a forward thinking organization. New ideas and activities won’t always succeed but individuals grow by being able to try and an organization grows by fostering experimentation without penalty for failure.
4. Take advantage of talent, expertise and abilities - WSU Libraries is filled with highly educated and motivated people. Ways need to be found to identify, develop and utilize these resources.
5. Responsibility and accountability - As the WSU Libraries tries to meet the increasing informational needs of the WSU community, as we try to encourage lifelong learning among students, as we try to better use the talents of every member of the WSU Libraries family, individuals must take the responsibility to accept the challenges of the changing environment and try to make the necessary changes to keep fresh and knowledgeable. As higher education is questioned as to its mission and its effectiveness, every state employee must accept accountability for his/her/their actions and attitudes. Quality must be our commitment.
6. Meshing of technical/public services - The WSU Libraries is an organization with a common mission, vision and set of common values. We exist to serve the WSU community. Technical and Public services are partners in that service. Griffin brings us closer together as does our shared service ethic. We need to know more about one another because whatever we do potentially affects every other part of the Libraries.
7. Cross-department and cross-functional coordination and training - As the WSU Libraries moves to a more user oriented organization and the Libraries’ system supports more integration of tasks and services, library employees will benefit from improved knowledge of all aspects of library service. Again, what we do in one area can easily affect what happens in another. More complete knowledge of the various elements of the Libraries will enhance each employee’s understanding of the Libraries as a whole and make decision-making more effective. It is also true that in a world of shrinking resources, the flexibility of having every employee know more than just his/her job could bring more flexibility to staffing. The smaller public service units, where all staff must be cross-functional, may serve as one model for this approach.
8. Share ownership in mission, vision, and values - The Planning Committee has attempted to develop a new mission statement, a new vision statement, and a set of shared values based on input from the Libraries’ employees. This is one organization - we are all in this together. It is hoped that the three new statements will provide a common understanding of what the WSU Libraries is about and that each employee can subscribe to and embrace the statements as their own commitment to the organization.
9. Broad-based participation in setting and reviewing the library goals - If we are truly one organization and we are attempting to better use the talents and skills of everyone, then it follows that we should all be involved in planning and specifically in goal setting. The Libraries administration and management should strive to find ways to include everyone in planning and in setting and reviewing goals.
10. Manager flexibility to enable and facilitate - A significant part of the responsibility of a manager is to enable and facilitate the work of library personnel. In the new vision of WSU Libraries, there will be more collaborative decision-making and more trust that people can and will make the right decisions if they have the information and training to do so. Managers take the lead in providing the environment and the resources that are needed to get the job done.
11. Computing skills and resources be distributed around the library - As we become increasingly dependent upon technology to get the work of the Libraries done, we must have adequate resources to carry out our work efficiently and effectively. More of us need to gain knowledge of technology. Technical expertise needs to be fostered throughout the Libraries and should be recognized.
12. Training to be available - With each new software upgrade, new system upgrade, each new service offered, comes the need for training. This training should be given. It should be designed to take into account various learning styles. It should be offered in a timely fashion and in understandable language.
13. Opportunities to develop personal skills - It is to the advantage of WSU that its employees be given opportunities for growth, especially in a society in which change is expected. As the WSU Libraries moves to an environment which values the skills and talents of its employees, it is natural that employees be expected to grow and that the employer present opportunities for that growth. If we want to foster life long learning among students, among citizens of Washington, then too we must do that for our employees.
14. Redistribution of power - The pyramid organization with all of the power at the top has been a traditional model that is being challenged because such organizations do not have the ability to change and be responsive to changing demands of their customers (in libraries, their users). To make better use of employee skills we must involve them fully in the decision making process."
15. Maximize employee contact with users - As a user centered organization it is necessary to bring as many library personnel as possible directly into contact with users via the services that directly interact with users. This maximizes service while bringing to the employee the feeling of personal satisfaction that assisting library users brings."
November 13, 1996