Librarianship in Times of Crisis: Volume 34

The field of librarianship has undergone traumatic shifts (mostly downward) due to the global financial meltdown that began in the fall of 2008. While libraries were not mentioned in the motion picture, Inside Job (Marrs & Ferguson, 2010), they were, and still are, deeply affected by the worst recession since the Great Depression. Worse yet is that current dialogues and negotiations about declining library budgets show promise of continuing well into 2012. Permanent reductions to budget support for libraries by all levels of government in the United States have resulted in library closures, loss of staff, reduced material purchases, deferred maintenance, and fewer or altered services in all types of libraries. Library associations experienced similar strains with the Canadian Library Association facing a budget crunch and the American Library Association giving staff a week's unpaid furlough in 2010. Five library systems in Illinois sought government approval to consolidate into one system and some consortia/networks merged or, like Nylink (NY), simply closed their doors.

The chapter provides a library “state of the state,” discussing the issues, trends, and myths that shape the current library environment in the United States. It cites data from the American Library Association's State of America's Libraries (2010d) report. Issues discussed include library usage, library funding, the adaptation of new technologies, the profession of librarianship, the struggle to preserve public access to information, and the future prospects of libraries. The chapter discusses each of these issues in relation to public, academics, and school libraries, citing comparative data on funding and the adoption of new technologies for each type of library. Acknowledging that reality to libraries is not technological, but perceptual and political, discussion focuses on the growing role of advocacy and specific strategies that have proven successful in securing and/or preserving support for libraries. A number of commonly held myths are also examined, many of which are detrimental to libraries or inhibit our ability to respond to the issues and trends that are affecting libraries. The author concludes with some observations about the historic development of libraries, their continuing relevance in an era of rapid technological change, the need to look beyond short-term concerns and to closely examine and/or reject popular myths as we create libraries of the future.

Historically, library usage has increased during economic downturns. In the pre-Internet era, this meant increased usage of print materials and reference services. In the Internet era, however, the number of roles that public libraries can play in serving their communities has expanded greatly. This chapter provides insights into the ways in which American public libraries are using the Internet to meet patron, community, and government needs in this time of economic crisis. Drawing from the data and findings from the 2010–2011 Public Library Funding and Technology Access national survey, this chapter examines key issues at the intersection of public libraries, the Internet, and economic uncertainty and library/e-government partnerships that have resulted from the economic situation. In these difficult economic circumstances, US public libraries have been able to use the Internet to meet many vital patron and community needs, but they still face numerous economic difficulties in responding to these requests.

Public library management literature and public administration theory have been unduly influenced by economic thinking appropriate to the private sector but a poor fit to the public sector. In this chapter we attempt to explain that public sector interests are different and that decisions about their future should be made on a different basis. Specifically, this chapter addresses the problem of cutback management and compares decisions made by library managers in the Great Depression to those being made in current economic times. Questions are raised about the approach to cutbacks that typify current public management practices, and it is suggested that new models are needed to help public library managers and trustees deal equitably and efficiently with recurring economic fluctuations and the fundamental changes that these periods sometimes produce.

This chapter provides in-depth case studies of two large urban public libraries in the United States and how communities and libraries respond to reductions mandated by their funding agencies. Boston Public Library (BPL) and Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) are both in communities that faced, and are still facing, recessionary budget pressures that began in 2007. Each community and library system has responded in different ways. In the recent past, in both Boston and Los Angeles, the Mayors and City Councils have supported libraries that have come to define the great cultural heritage and heart of these cities in the past. In 2010, however, both cities faced unheard of budget pressures. In Boston, there was a budget shortfall of $3.6 million. In Los Angeles, the budget shortfall began in 2007 due to huge increases in pension payments to city workers, particularly in the police and fire departments (City of Los Angeles Web site, 2011). In Boston, the community was told there could be branch closures. In Los Angeles, the budget shortfall created severe personnel, material, and service cuts. How each library and their leaders responded to those challenges differed. The level of support that their communities provided and the manner in which it was provided also differed. The two cases describe what can happen when budget crises occur and how libraries and their communities deal, or do not deal with them. The cases also reflect how the two library systems serve metropolitan areas with very distinct characteristics.

Three case studies in change involving both corporate and academic institutions are described in detail and analyzed in a systematic manner including an “autopsy” of the change strategies and results. In each case, the environment at the outset, the strategies for change, the concluding environment, and the autopsy are presented. Some generalized conclusions from the three cases are presented as well.

This chapter presents a case study of how Baker Library Services, a department of Harvard Business School's Knowledge and Library Services, has refocused its distinctive capabilities in order to become better integrated with research and course development and increase the value of its human and material resources' contributions to research, teaching, and learning. As part of a multipronged strategy, this chapter has developed new individual and organizational capabilities, including Research Support Continuum, Research Services Delivery Model, the Project Management Office, and services to support collaborative research and course development environments. The chapter is presented as a journey with reference to an earlier report on the development of the Curriculum Services Group, an update on current initiatives, and an outline of future plans for continuing to review the priorities needed to achieve the group's strategic shifts.

The purpose of this chapter is to present a general review of free or inexpensive methods of implementing the following mobile services in libraries: Library Websites, Short Message Service (SMS) reference, and Mobile Online Public Access Catalogs (MOPACs). The findings were based on a literature review of materials that discussed mobile technologies in libraries. The findings conclude that libraries with tight budgets should approach their mobilization project in terms of stages, developing content and services sequentially from passive formats, which require little input, to more dynamic items, which entail greater interaction. Most free and inexpensive mobile services are geared toward passive formats, providing a starting point for libraries with limited budgets. Scope of the chapter is limited to public and university libraries and initiatives for smartphones. Prices listed are in USD as of January 2011 and may be subject to change. The costs of training, management, and development time by libraries were not factored into the costs. Mobile services have become one of the biggest new library trends. Simply keeping abreast of library service options made possible through advances in mobile technology can be a challenge. In addition, tough economic times have prevented many libraries from actually implementing mobile services. This chapter discusses a number of ways for libraries to create their own mobile initiative with little to no money at all—except of course for the hidden cost of staff effort.

This chapter describes means for selecting websites and the resources needed to add them to online catalogs. Reasons are given for including websites in online catalogs such as timeliness and geographic specificity. A historical overview of Choice Reviews, wikis, and web-based sources of websites is given along with an overview of Minnesota state resources from the point of view of using them as collection development tools for finding web resources. Social work librarians in the state were surveyed about their websites selection processes and the authors conducted time/cost studies of cataloging of online web resources. Findings were that librarians had little time to seek out websites and relied on Choice reviews to keep abreast of new and changing sites. Sources from the library literature and logs of staff time for cataloging of websites were used to approximate the costs of providing access. Although the cost/time study applied only to one library, the methodology and findings can be applied in almost any discipline and different types and sizes of libraries. While budgetary hardships will make librarians think hard about adding free resources to their catalogs, this chapter helps to quantify the necessary resources, implications, and reasons for inclusion of free web resources in online catalogs.

At the beginning of 2010, new higher education legislation was enacted in Finland. As a result, 17 state universities were consolidated into three newly formed and autonomous universities. This chapter describes the merger process of the libraries in these new universities, namely Aalto University, University of Eastern Finland, and the University of Turku. Using a case study approach, the chapter describes different aspects of the merger process, particularly how to manage cultural change in formerly independent libraries into a single new organization, as well as how to define the new structures and alter directives for management, leaving the past behind. Although this is based on Finnish experiences, it is helpful for other libraries considering or engaged in similar mergers by giving examples and tools for the actions needed for new structures to succeed. Also described are the challenges that the three libraries met in introducing innovations, the necessity for broad communication, and marketing of the new structures within their respective universities. Also included is a brief background description of the overall impact of the new legislation on universities as a whole. Higher education in Finland encompasses polytechnic institutes and universities. This chapter addresses library mergers only in universities.

This chapter provides an overview of the value and management of collaborative innovation in the development of library services. Open or collaborative innovation is innovation that bridges organizational boundaries. It discusses key aspects of interorganizational innovation and its application in libraries, namely the essence of innovation, the imperative for collaborative innovation, choosing partners and innovation networks, successful management of collaborative innovation, and the barriers to collaborative innovation and their management. It is argued that innovation is pivotal to survival and success in dynamic and complex organizational environments. Increasingly organizations are seeking to pool resources and enter into collaborative alliances in order to achieve large-scale, radical, paradigm innovations. However, the success of such alliances is not guaranteed, and is dependent not only on choosing the right partners but also on the leadership and management of innovation teams, having an understanding of the challenges of collaborative knowledge creation, and negotiating organizational and interorganizational barriers to innovation. While library and information literature has seen much discussion of innovations in terms of the outputs of innovation processes, there has been little discussion of the innovation processes needed to achieve new service developments, and other innovations. This chapter encourages information professionals to think strategically about innovation activities, specifically the management of the performance of collaborative or open innovation.