College and Research Libraries Commentaries on "Choosing Our Futures" These commentaries are responding to the article by Carla J. Stoffle, Robert Renaud, and Jerilyn R. Veldof on page 213 of this issue. They were selected to provide a diverse point of view. Change: But Not So Fast and Not So Much Susan Lee As Carla Stoffle, Robert Renaud, and Jerilyn Veldof so rightly point out, the dis- agreement in the profession is not over whether academic libraries have to change, but over what, how, how fast, and how much change. They provide a com- prehensive and rich discussion of the or- ·ganizational elements, assumptions, and approaches that have to change. I take no issue with much of the what and how, or with the view that our libraries must ini- tiate self-examination, focus on custom- ers and their needs, emphasize continu- ous learning, and design new structures that are less hierarchical, more flexible, and more productive. My point of depar- ture is with the how fast and how much. Librarians should draw on the authors' ideas, but must not be taken in by this corporate-model push for immediate revolutionary change. As the authors' views are based on their experience at the University of Ari- zona Library, so my views are rooted in my experience at the Harvard College Library where we are in our sixth year of an organizational change effort. From that perspective let me say definitively that I firmly support the view (dismissed by the authors) that "for the foreseeable future, the library will essentially be dealing with traditional formats side by side with new technology." I say this recognizing that despite their common traditions, research libraries are diverse and the differences are real. The research libraries I speak for and about are our oldest research librar- ies serving subject areas in which a very small percentage of information is or soon will be electronic. In addition, while research libraries certainly cannot confine themselves solely to print, the world of knowledge in the humanities and social sciences rep- resented by these massive paper-based collections dictates a different approach to the future. "The challenge ... is not to replace the library as it has been with a virtual library .... We will not move from paper to bits. Rather the challenge is to integrate digital informat.ion into a mas- sive paper-based collection." 1 For these major research libraries to continue to support university research successfully, new strategies cannot and will not replace print collections or sub- stitute for their ongoing development and maintenance. If anything, as so many li- braries turn to access and away from ownership, these libraries will bear even greater collections responsibility. The greatness of these collections will not be diminished in a digital world. They will Susan Lee is Associate Librarian of Harvard College for Administrative Services, Harvard University; e-mail: susan_lee@harvard.edu. 226 Commentaries on "Choosing Our Futures" 227 not become museum objects. "Nothing could be farther from the truth. If anything, the vast historical print collections ... will become more and more valuable . . . a unique resource for scholarship, only more valuable because more easily acces- sible."2 Reorientation Not Revolution The authors' call for radical change in the research library organization requires a complete break with the past and a ma- jor reconstruction of almost every element of the organization. From what they see as the demands of a life-threatening en- vironment, they draw an imperative for fundamental organizational change. As they see it, our libraries and indeed all of higher education are in a situation where placing big bets is the only course of ac- tion. To do anything less is to risk organi- zational ruin. But "each new technologi- cal development is hyped by a chorus of prophets as the basis for evolutionary change in libraries ... and revolution is one of those strong words that has lost its impact in the field of technology be- cause of overuse." 3 And this fear-based revolutionary change is traumatic, painful, and de- manding on the library organization, in- volving many people and a great deal of resources. It means that a certain degree of shock will be deliberately administered to the organization. It is a radical depar- ture from the past and, therefore, carries with it all of the challenges associated with discontinuity. 4 People, groups, and the whole organization not only have to learn new ways of thinking, working, and acting, they also have to "unlearn" the habits, orientations, assumptions, and routines that have been baked into the en- terprise over time. And this unlearning will add to the difficulty and confusion. Their view of the current environment is one of fundamental crisis in which exter- nal conditions demand total change. The authors argue that there is not sufficient time for incremental change, not the luxury of time and opportunity to craft a long-term reorientation carefully. They call for the fast and simultaneous change of all the basic elements of the organiza- tional system including a drastic shift in the library's core values. This kind of change necessarily involves the destruc- tion of certain elements of the research li- brary, the very elements that have been key to our success in the past. While I wholeheartedly endorse the call for profound and far-reaching changes in our profession, I simply do not share the authors' sense of dire emer- gency. While our research libraries are indeed challenged, I believe that we can approach change as reorientation. We can and should build continuity with the past and take time to bring about the change. For many of us it is still early enough in the cycle of environmental change for a much. more gradual organizational re- sponse. We have time to modify our li- braries gradually, maintaining a degree of continuity with the past, while build- ing on the best of the past. We can change, modify, and reshape our libraries with- out breaking them. We would be foolish to do anything more than reorientation when that is all that is needed. There is still time to build on the existing strengths of the libraries, including their rich his- tory and traditions. We can avoid breakage, trauma, and destruction. The changes must be as broad as the authors outline; however, done over time, we can reach the same goals without so much pain. Staff will need to change values, behavior, and thinking. But a more gradual approach · will allow the opportunity for staff to learn and grow; and, given time and sup- port, many of them will be able to change and 'function successfully in the new en- vironment. Implicit in the authors' ap- proach to systemwide change is the need for senior managers to act as key drivers, actively keeping the organization focused on the need for change. And while we must recognize the need for change and 228 College & Research Libraries apply different types of change and dif- ferent degrees of intensity, we would be foolish to ignore the authors' wake-up call. As they so correctly conclude, we must "change now and choose our futures." Because we have different pasts, we will choose different paths to different futures. Notes 1. Sidney Verba, "Annual Report Draft," (Harvard University Library, January 1996). 2. Ibid. A Call to Arms Bonnie Juergens For this respondent, the bottom line in commenting on "Choosing Our Futures" is the answer to two questions: (1) How accurate are Stoffle, Renaud, and Veldof in defining the current academic library environment and explicating the need for change in academic libraries? and (2) If they are on track, what are the implica- tions for library service networks? Because I have a career-long procliv- ity for seeking-and helping others find-the middle road on many topics and issues, it is difficult for me to admit that I agree with the extreme view held by the authors. Like those the authors describe as believing that "change ... will occur incrementally," I perceive major successes that past professional evolution, not revolution, has effected. Every fiber in my previously government-employed body strains to refute the urgency and magnitude of the behavioral and organi- zational changes called for by the authors. But that refutation is not forthcoming. I believe "Choosing Our Futures" is gen- erally on target and deserves serious re- flection and immediate action by all par- ticipants in our profession, not just those directly involved in the art and science of academic librarianship. May1996 3. Richard De Gennaro, "Keynote Introduc- tion," (presented at the Finding Common Ground Conference, Harvard University, March 30, 1996). 4. David A. Nadler and Michael L. Tushman, "Types of Organizational Change: From Incre- mental Improvement to Discontinuous Transformation," in David A. Nadler, Robert B. Shaw, A. Elise Walton, and Assoc., Discon- tinuous Change: Leading Organizational Trans- formation (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994), 14-34. The authors say, ''Work will undoubt- edly change. What will stay the same is the constancy of purpose." They cite Jesse Shera' s description of a librarian as one who "maximizes the social utility of graphic records." Articulated over thirty years ago, this definition of mission is even more relevant and has surprisingly up-to-date terminology today! The aca- demic library's mission of supporting the research, education, and service purposes of the university remains valid. How we go about meeting the mission is what must change lest it become meaningless. I find it hard to agree that print collec- tions will disappear as fast as the authors intimate, and I am reminded that we have not yet identified long-term technologies to accommodate our paper-let alone electronic-archiving needs. I do agree that academic interlibrary lending, even to the tune of more than seven million titles per year, does not constitute re- source-sharing "reaching its true poten- tial."1 In general, I agree with the authors' thesis that change is urgently needed. And while there continues to be much discussion among members of our pro- fession about the purpose, magnitude, type, and timeliness of change that is needed, nowhere have I seen it so radi- cally stated as in "Choosing Our Fu- tures." Bonnie Juergens is Executive Director, AMIGOS Bibliographic Council, Inc., Dallas; e-mail: juergens@ amigos.org. Commentaries on "Choosing Our Futures" 229 The remarks of these authors are sure to engender spirited disagree- ment. Some will ask what the authors' authority is for accusing higher educa- tion of losing credibility to the point of being seen as "part of the problem," for accusing the publishing and commu- nications industries of being vultures waiting to pick the bones of a "weakened, declining educational industry," and for accusing faculty of remaining so steeped in denial and commitment to their status quo perks that public officials are angered and no longer find value in funding higher education. Phrases sure to raise hackles include: "needless complexity," "library staff bloat," "poor service," "[de- cision-making based on] subjective im- pressions and opinions," "isolation on campus and in the library worlds," "ar- rogant about our roles," "librarians have colluded," "interest in maintaining the status quo." Yet, statements hard to dispute include: ''We must change our traditional relation- ships and our view of competition," "It is vital that we develop win-win relation- ships with potential partners," "[Techno- logical changes] have profound implica- tions for teaching and learning, research, and institutional costs and competitive- ness," "The competition for students and funding raised by the growing distance ed~cation option will force a reshaping of higher education," "Higher education cannot afford to utilize the technologies to do more with more, but must use and shape the results so that more is done with less." The authors are calling for extensive reengineering, a restructuring of the way academic libraries do business. And al- though the authors' justification of the need for academic libraries to undergo fundamental, irreversible, and immedi- ate change is primarily observational, it is supported by reports of corresponding pervasive change in private industry. As we read of "flattening" and "empower- ment" and "teams," the most public ex- ample of change continues to be that of massive layoffs: job-cutting adions in the computer and telecommunications industries similar to earlier cuts in manufacturing, banking, and other pri- vate industries, along with the military, continue to make headlines. In the im- proving economy, job-cutting for pro- ductivity refinement appears to be on- going: Just when it looked as if job secu- rity might return with the recover- ing economy, corporate America has spoken loudly to the contrary .... Reasons for downsizing, though, have changed since the ... [1991 American Management Associa- tion] poll. That year, nearly 75 per- cent of companies reduced staffs because of a business downturn. Today, ... productivity-enhancing measures such as improved staff utilization, transfer of work, and automation are greater downsizing factors. When maximizing produc- tivity-rather than simply reducing payroll-is a primary reason for cut- ting staff, the effects on employee performance and business results are favorable. 2 As librarians, we cannot pretend that such forces in the private sector don't apply to the library environment. Corpo- rate decision-makers sit .on public as well as private boards of institutions of higher education and bring the realities of pri- vate industry increasingly into manage- ment decisions about education. In short, whether the authors are correct in every detail of their diagnosis is irrelevant-it doesn't matter, because if even a small percent of today' s higher education fund- ing decision-makers agree, higher educa- tion has got to act. If libraries act while other proponents for change in this de- bate are still small in number, they will be seen as "proactive" and have a great opportunity for campus leadership. 230 College & Research Libraries Those who delay or resist, trying valiantly to maintain the old while building the new, will be recognized as merely "reac- tive" when campuswide organizational changes finally come. Librarians who direct or work in a li- brary characterized by commitment to quality service; who are mission-oriented managers and information professionals who don't tolerate internal unit isolation and traditional "class" and "type-of-job" barriers; who enjoy a visible, highly in- teractive relationship with administra- tors, faculty, and students at all levels; and who have a long tradition of partnering with computer center(s), researchers, and other campus service providers can de- termine for themselves whether they need incremental or transformational change. Nevertheless, the factors below are driving some kind of change: • "continuous improvement" de- mands it; • new roles and service opportunities arise every day; • technological change is relentless; • the library staff has a need to be continuously learning (which means con- tinuously changing); • the more independently decision- oriented the staff becomes, the more they will introduce creative new ideas for ser- vice improvement; • the more external relationships the library develops, the more oppor- tunities will arise to introduce yet more change. If "Choosing Our Futures" is on track, what are the implications for regional net- working? For the past twenty years, net- works such as AMIGOS have played a change-agent role by providing education and training for, and fostering profes- sional inquiry among, librarians and paraprofessional staff. Member-governed networks that exist to serve and support libraries strive to provide affordable prod- ucts and services that member librarians can utilize to serve their customers. De- pending upon the strategic objectives set May 1996 by those in network governance posi- . tions, the network supports or leads the membership to undertake new directions. Network support roles may include train- ing in the evaluation, selection, and use of technology-based products, and facili- tation of resource-sharing programs. Net- works provide consultation on a wide range of technology and management topics and help foster interorganizational relationships. Network leadership roles may include direct or indirect support for research and development; library advo- cacy; and education for change adoption and change management. If the governing boards of library ser- vice networks agree that radical change in libraries is needed, they must define the role of networks to be that of support- ing or leading libraries to make those changes. A network whose role is to sup- port change in libraries will limit its ac- tivities to assisting those members who seek such change. A network whose role is to provide leadership in transforming libraries will stake out a larger mission for itself: to identify the need for change in librarianship; to apply concurrent changes internally so that it supports the service orientation and restructured rela- tionships it espouses; to educate its mem- bers about the need for change; and, fi- nally, to find ways to assist all members, so that the full membership, not just the "leading edge" members, becomes better able to make this transformational leap into librarianship' s future. It is through dialogue with and the active involvement of members that li- brary service networks identify the ways they can best serve their membership. "Choosing Our Futures" represents an important foundation for dialogue-and action-within our profession. Author note: This commentary has been in- formed bY discussions among senior managers at AMIGOS, both indirectly during the devel- opment of "Plan 2000: The AMIGOS Strate- gic Plan for 1995-2000" and directly in re- Commentaries on "Choosing Our Futures" 231 sponse to my request for reactions to the "Choos- ing Our Futures" article. While retaining full responsibility for the opinions that are expressed herein, I wish to thank Robert Watkins, Cathy Wilt, and Barry Breen for their thought-provoking contribu- tions. Changes and Continuities Richard Hume Werking The origins of the modern college or uni- versity library in this country may be traced to the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the emergence of our current system of higher education. Ever since, the purpose of the academic library has been to make available the most relevant recorded information and knowledge to students, faculty, and others on behalf of research and study. There are many elements of both con- tinuity and change in how academic li- braries have sought to accomplish their mission during the past century. One ele- ment of continuity has been the acquisi- tion and organization for use of print-on- paper books, journals, and other graphic materials; another has been the library as a physical place, accommodating mate- rials and people alike. Simultaneously, changes have occurred in how academic libraries and their parent institutions have worked to fulfill the libraries' mission as effectively as possible. Some of the more important changes over time have been: the professionalization of library staffs; the purchase of cataloging from the Li- brary of Congress beginning in 1901; ref- erence service; open stacks; microforms; consortia for resource sharing; photocopi- ers; OCLC; database-searching services; bibliographic instruction programs; inte- grated online library systems; commer- cial document-delivery services; CD- ROM databases; and electronic texts and Notes 1. Bonnie Juergens and Tim Prather, "The Resource Sharing Component of Access," Jour- nal of Library Administration 20 (1994): 77-94, chart 2, p. 80. 2. ''Downsizing Becomes the Norm," Perfor- mance: Management Strategies for Improving Pro- ductivity (Mar. 1995): 11. data via the Internet. Many of the recent changes reflect developments in library automation and in electronic dissemina- tion of information, which have made particularly noticeable differences. As Joanne Buster aptly observes, "A walk through today's college or university li- brary reveals how it differs from the li- brary of even a decade ago." 1 Buster and Michael Buckland make the useful distinction between three kinds of libraries: paper, automated ("machine- managed" paper), and electronic. They (among others) sensibly observe that li- braries will continue to provide access both to paper and electronic documents simultaneously. 2 At theN a val Academy's Nimitz Library, several local achieve- ments in the last few months demonstrate the multifaceted world of academic li- brarianship in the late 1990s and for the foreseeable future, and the coexistence of different kinds of libraries within the same building. One achievement was the completion of a collection shift, resulting in thousands of volumes being moved from one floor to another and in the con- comitant relocating of another 250,000 book and ( unclassed) bound periodical volumes on the same floor. Another project was adding to our online catalog, and hence making available through the campus network, several tapeloaded pe- riodical indexes. Other changes included the establishment of public workstations for accessing Web sites and other portions of the Internet, as well as adding a num- ber of resource links to our homepage. Richard Hume Werking is Librarian and Associate Dean for Information at the U.S . Naval Academy, and is chair of the ACRL Publications Committee; e-mail: RWerking@nadn.navy.mil. 232 College & Research Libraries More remarkable accomplishments than these are occurring daily in academic libraries. My point here is that each project, one extremely traditional and the others relatively newer to our practice, engaged the attention and talents of librarians who needed to manage it through to a success- ful conclusion. Such management of in- formation resources on behalf of library users is central to what academic librar- ians have been about for a long time, and what they will need to be about for a long time to come." All librarians-administra- tors and nonadministrators alike-are really managers. They are managers of their own time, as well as of any specific projects on which they work. 3 What our colleges and universities have needed and will continue to need, and what academic librarians should con- tinue to provide, is the management of relevant information resources and ser- vices. Accomplishing this effectively and efficiently requires us to work closely with our users, to question our practices and assumptions, to identify the options carefully, and to choose thoughtfully and responsibly from among those options. It also requires our professional associa- tions, through publications and other means, to promote study, research, and reflection into and about these important matters. And it behooves us to follow closely the developments at institutions which have chosen to be pioneers in one or more aspects of academic librarianship. Consequently, I am perplexed by the opinion piece "Choosing Our Futures," which apparently is intended to serve as an advertisement for the next ACRL con- ference. It offers neither research findings nor detailed accounts of what has tran- spired at the University of Arizona (or elsewhere), but instead issues clarion calls to change.4 Change from what to what? Does it matter what a particular library may already be doing? Or is "radical, revolutionary organizational change" necessary for us all, whether our librar- ies are organized on the team model of May 1996 the University of Arizona, or on a mixed model of traditional structure combined with working groups, or on some other organizing principle? Is it presumed that the organizational changes at the Univer- sity of Arizona are in the "right" direc- tion, as the authors imply, or should we take them seriously when they tell us that any change will do: ''What we believe is that there will be many solutions and many paths to take. What is important is that we each take responsibility to choose our futures and act. In other words, 'just do it'"? As already noted, academic librar- ies have in fact changed markedly over the years, well in advance of this set of admonitions in which we are told some fifty times that librarians "must" do this, that, or another thing if we are to func- tion effectively. The authors are certainly correct that at least some aspects of higher education and scholarship are changing signifi- cantly. A recent news note from the Chronicle of Higher Education reports the formation by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Col- leges of "a commission to study what it called the 'crisis in higher education."' 5 It seems clear that colleges and universi- ties, in contrast to their libraries, have changed relatively little in terms of how they do business. As more sweeping changes occur in higher education, our libraries will indeed need to adapt and change, as circumstances warrant, the means by which they accomplish their mission. Our track record is cause for some guarded optimism, though cer- tainly not for complacency. And if we can- not or will not adapt in ways that we should, our institutions will find new ways of meeting their needs, as they cer- tainly should. But let us look before we leap into any brave new world, by think- ing first and organizing afterwards. Notes 1. Joanne R. Buster, "The Academic Library: Its Place and Role in the Institution," in Gerard Commentaries on "Choosing Our Futures" 233 B. McCabe and Ruth J. Person, eds., Academic Libraries: Their Rationale and Role in American Higher Education (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Pr., 1995): 4. 2. Ibid ., 5; Walt Crawford and Michael Gorman, Future Libraries: Dreams, Madness, and Reality (Chicago, ALA, 1995), chapter 2 and p. 180. 4. The research content of ACRL confer- ences themselves has apparently declined since the first conference in 1978, perhaps re- flecting a perception that research has little to offer practitioners of academic librarianship. See Pamela Snelson and S. Anita Talar, "Con- tent Analysis of ACRL Conference Papers," College & Research Libraries 52 (Sept. 1991): 466-72. 3. I am indebted to Paul Mosher for this in- sight, which he was providing more than a dozen years ago. 5. "Ways & Means," Chronicle of Higher Edu- cation 42, no. 22 (February 9, 1996): A26. A c R L PRESIDENT'S PROGRAM ALA Annual Conference, July 5-10, 1996, New York City Saturday, July 6 Sunday, July 7 Monday, July 8 • Every Librarian a New Strategies Assessing Your Style Leader, -Keynote for Creative Speaker: Dadie Perlov Address Approaches Speaker: Dadie Perlov Speaker: Mansfield A hands-on session Elkind covering: An interactive session How other programs covering: A workshop-style have addressed leader- Academic institutions in session covering: ship issues transition Developing creative Sharing leadership Distance education problem-solving opportunities The 21st-century leader approaches Furthering individual Leadership roles, rights, Increasing under- leadership plans and responsibilities standing of existing Exploring principles of Behavior styles skills leadership in small-group Leadership myths Reviewing beliefs and discussion developing new direction Association of College & Research Libraries 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611 (800) 545-2433, x251 0 • hHp:/Jwww.ala.org/acrl.html