Planning and Reorganization
Although planning is, in many ways, a constant activity, I initiated a major library-wide planning process in 2003. It had become increasingly apparent that budget cuts were likely to continue, that the positions we had already eliminated through budget reductions were not likely to be restored in the near future, and that the Strategic Plan that we had in place at that time was no longer sufficiently “strategic” in light of our personnel capability. In addition, it was necessary to realign our existing staff to cope with the positions that had been eliminated and to respond more effectively to new demands from our library users. I organized a Planning Committee with members from across the library system. We contracted with Maureen Sullivan, an experienced library consultant, to help our Planning Committee design a process for looking at all library operations and services. This intensive process lasted about 1 year and a new Strategic Plan (Appendix A) and a number of subsequent initiatives emerged from these efforts. Throughout this process, I consulted with the University Libraries Committee for input and feedback from the Libraries’ user constituencies. An additional year was spent on initial implementation activities, especially those involved in the reorganization of Central Technical Services, the merging of Reference, Instructional Services, and Government Publications Departments in the Main Library, and the consolidation of responsibility for several branch libraries. But implementation will, in many ways, be a continuing activity. In addition, we: