Merging User Support Services

Technology Help &Library Circulation

Situation• Technology Help Center focused

on faculty & staff • Library staff constantly asked

technology questions by students

• Faculty demanding technology help for their students

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Location, location, location!

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It’s a Plan: CIO Vision

• Technology & Library Support for students, faculty, & staff in one place

• Single point of support for all Information Resources Services– One phone number– One email

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Re-0rganize• The IRSC is created

• First year: dual report

• Afterward, report to Library Director

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First Conflict: Different Reporting

• Technology Help Center reports to Academic Computing

• Circulation Services is part of the Library

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Collaboration: Joint Project Development &

Planning• Investigation of the Field

– Listservs and interviews, articles

• Consultants• Sharing documents with

each other• Met with all managers,

directors and Associate Provost

• Began meeting weekly with the staff involved– To create a plan

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Collaboration Begins

Process• Met weekly• Identified sub groups to focus on:

– student staffing & professional development,

– staff professional development, – space, and– What a merged organization would look

like (we needed a new name)

• Kept detailed minutes of issues, concerns, tried to address them at the meetings as they came up

Processing Change

• Changing the service model

• Changing location

• Changing the space

• Changing the organizational structure

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The Process

Big Changes• Cross training• Reconfigured phones

and call center procedures

• Shelving leaves the area

• Organizational Change (AD and lead librarian)

Opening August 2010

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Open for Business

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Work in Progress

• Attitude of ongoing change

• Hired a lot more student workers

• Assistant Director hired– Stabilized job descriptions

• Staffing changes• Change in reporting

structure• Building in flexibility• HelpSpot & other

support technology

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Celebration

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Ongoing Change

Changes in Year 1 +

• Classroom Loans added to the service

• More space changes• IRSC Advisory Team• After hours support

– Developed Escalation Policy

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Successes and ….Lessons

• Always a work in progress

• Professional Development and ongoing training is a need

• Internal & external outreach is important

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The Future

• Developing assessment• The role of library reserves• The impact on reference services• More librarian involvement in circulation

procedures and module• Documentation• Student Worker training improvement

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Questions?Amy Berg, Associate Provost for Information ResourcesGail Wood, Director of LibrariesLisa Kahle, Director of Academic Computing Services & Classroom Media Services

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