Conference Day Two: Thursday, 22 August 2019
8:45 am - 9:15 am Conference Registration and Welcome Coffee
9:15 am - 9:20 am Remarks by Conference Chair
9:20 am - 10:00 am Griffith University Library And Learning Services– Digital By Demand, Digital By Desire, Digital By Design
This presentation will uncover how this history has shaped current library staff skills, experience and especially expectations (both the library staff and our wider community). In this case study, Griffith University’s Maureen Sullivan will also examine how the latest staff profile and service management restructure is building on the past to deliver a more proactive and innovative future. The presentation will detail the specific features of how our functional structure is a scaffold for services and staff skills development for future work.
- Embracing turbulence – in that we were unable to retreat to safe library land and avoid the changes around us.
- Embracing technology changes - in all their glory - the good the bad and the ugly
- Embracing reframing services – our services were subject to the rigor of IT service management processes
- Embracing loosening of a solely professional library focus to more of a business focus
10:00 am - 10:40 am Potter Library at All Hallows’ School: Uncovering the Library’s Structural Design Process
Completed at the end of 2014, Potter Library has proven its architectural excellence as a space that embraces the evolution of Libraries from information to social spaces. Since the beginning it has successfully provided students and teachers with learning spaces for class groups that deliberately feel different to standard classrooms. Alongside the learning spaces it is also a space for social gatherings of the school community.
- Examining the design process behind flexible space design
- Applying strategies to overcome challenges faced through lessons learnt
- Understanding how space diversification contributes to its success
10:40 am - 11:10 am MORNING TEA AND NETWORKING BREAK
11:10 am - 11:50 am Case study: Designing Modern Libraries to Cater to Growing Customer Diversity through Innovative Space Design
In examining library trends in the past few years, there is no doubt that the growing diversity of society jobs is being reflected in libraries. As well as traditional library users, technology focused clients will now create the mix up of modern libraries. With this new variety of customers comes the need to realign services to match their needs. This session will analyse customer trends and how changing customers affect the need to change library services.
- Understanding what non traditional customers seek in a library
- Determining the current short-comings of libraries that these customer want changed
- Discussing the implications of this change in customer background, including the different nature of questions they have for team members
11:50 am - 12:30 pm Addressing the Skill Shortages in Staff through Modernising Training Structures
The change of services available means library staff need to remain capable of providing customer service to use new facilities. Librarians are the first point of contact for customers for library services and their ability to teach and encourage the use of emerging technologies is key to the success of their integration. This requires careful consideration into how best to approach upskilling staff and address current skills shortages and resistance that may arise.
- Understanding the role of librarians in the process of integrating new technology processes
- Determining the challenges of upskilling staff and most effective the solutions
- Examining how the role of the librarian has changed in the past five years
Diana Hodge
Lecturer in Library and Information Management and Digital MediaUniversity of South Australia
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm NETWORKING LUNCH
1:35 pm - 2:10 pm The human connection – placing librarians at the heart of the digital library
Research is highlighting the importance of the human connection in our increasingly digital world. Librarians are the obvious people to provide this connection within the digital library. Their role has long been to bring people and information together. However, librarians have traditionally had an ambiguous relationship with library users.
The evolution of the role over time has led to librarians being stereotypically characterised as either stern, intimidating guardians of the collection or mild-mannered, benign service providers. The changing nature of libraries in the digital environment presents an opportunity to rebuild this relationship for the benefit of both library users and library staff.
2:10 pm - 2:50 pm Panel: Overcoming Pain Points During Library Transformations through Applying Change Management Strategies
Any change will be met with some form of resistance, particularly large scale change in long term stable environments. These changes are in many cases very confronting for staff that may act to further complicate the process through resistance. In panel examines why this fear will arise and discuses successful strategies to reduce disruptions and for staff to embrace change
- Strategies in creating and encouraging excitement for change including showing staff how this will improve library processes
- Ideas on how they have educated staff and the results of these trainings
- Managing change and remaining in control of the situation
Panellists:
2:50 pm - 3:20 pm AFTERNOON TEA AND NETWORKING BREAK
3:20 pm - 4:00 pm University of Western Australia: Examining How The Library Has Changed To Accommodate Virtual Enquiry Services
As part of the University’s Digital Learning Strategy, the University of South Australia has been actively transforming physical collection into electronic versions since 2011. The approaches that have been taken include the purchasing policy that saw the acquisition of ebooks rise to over 95% of total acquisitions.
- Understand how South Australia University reduces the collection footprint in order to redesign services and repurpose space
- Sharing library space to diversify services offered
- Evaluating the changes and impact of the user experience
Tricia McKenzie
Education Officer Participation and LearningState Library of Western Australia
4:00 pm - 4:40 pm Analysing The Operational And Workforce Changes Through Transforming Spaces, Services And People
As the oldest and most visited public library in Australia, State Library Victoria has been reinventing itself to meet community needs for over 160 years. In its latest evolution, in 2015 the Library embarked on a radical 5-year transformation of its physical spaces, services, organisational design and ways of working. On the brink of delivering these ambitious changes, this presentation reflects on the opportunities and challenges of reinventing a venerable and well-loved institution for a new era.
- Understanding what makes the State Library of Victoria the most visited public library of Australia
- Learning the strategies behind changes that have been applied and their corresponding effects
- Examining the effects and level of customer satisfaction as changes are made
