Purpose:
This lightning paper describes a work in progress. Lund University is a comprehensive university with eight faculties. Each faculty has a library organisation, and the faculty libraries form together with the centrally financed University Library a decentralized network, with around 200 staff members.
The library network is directed by a management group, consisting of the faculty librarians and the library director. The management agrees on a yearly operational plan. According to the quality policy taken in 2014, a separate activity plan for quality assessment has also been agreed on every year.
The library network is strongly engaged in developing the services for students and researchers and throughout the years many projects, both large and small and many of them successful, have been carried out. However, it is felt that the service development is not systematic enough: documentation is not always consistent and can be difficult to find, and the outcomes of projects and activities are not always evaluated. In consequence, the organisation does not benefit as much as it could; the risk is that we reinvent the wheel instead of progressing thanks to knowledge gained.
In Autumn 2016 a small group was commissioned to write a new quality policy. Considering the problems described above we decided not to write a general policy. Instead, the new quality policy consists of a model for service development, designed to be used practically, and a short text explaining how to use the model. The purpose is to achieve a more systematic service development and to facilitate the development process. Another important factor is that the quality assessment will be integrated in the library network activity plan.
The library network management approved of the policy, and in December 2016 it was adopted by the Library Board, the formal head of the Lund University Library network.
Design, methodology or approach:
The quality policy applies as from the 1st January 2017, and should now be implemented. The implementation will be a process during 2017, and we view this process as a learning experience and evaluation of the model.
The model describes a cyclic process of five phases: Current status, Planning, Development work, Implementation, and Evaluation. The model should be generic, i.e., possible to use in both larger and smaller development projects and activities, and lead to a systematic approach.
The central part of the model is a toolbox, with methods and other tools to be used in the different phases of the model. It is digital (a LibGuide), and the emphasis is on methods and processes which have been used in the library organisation, varying from quantitative surveys to UX (User Experience). Each tool is briefly described, with links to further reading/material, and, when applicable, information about the colleagues having used it and the context.
It has been decided that the model will be used when implementing the joint activity plan for the library network 2017, with several activities ranging from planning for a new library system to setting up a staff training program for the next three years.
Swedish academic libraries do not have a tradition of large assessment departments. In general, there may be one assessment librarian, which is the case at Lund University Libraries. Consequently we have small resources to support the management and the staff who are going to accomplish the activities. Our goal is to propose a model and a toolbox to facilitate and support the processes, and make them systematic. Staff members should be able to use the model when planning the different phases in a project, and thus making the process more solid and valid.
We practise as we preach: in a “project about the projects,” we will test and evaluate the model and its components during 2017. In March we will gather the staff responsible for the different activities in the activity plan to do a workshop. This will be an occasion for the participants to begin the planning of each activity, and also to discuss and express the need of further support and training. With this information we will make a program for 2017, with seminars, workshops and training. We will use agile methods to continuously evaluate and adjust the toolbox and supporting activities and in June key persons will be interviewed. In the end of 2017 we will make a larger evaluation. The results will give us evidence to adjust and improve the model and the toolbox.
In April we will also as a small benchmarking project, together with Malmö University Library, arrange a “project meet” where participants give lightning papers about projects and methods. In May we will arrange a workshop about systematic service development at a national Library and Information Science conference, to discuss best practices and share knowledge.
Findings:
This being a work in progress there are no findings at this moment. In July, we will have accomplished the initial workshop, at least one training session and a seminar, and also made the first evaluation with stakeholders involved. The findings from the interview study will be presented.
Conclusions:
We are in the beginning of the process to implement and evaluate the model. So far the model and the concept of a systematic, cyclic and continuous process to change and improve the library services has been well received, by the Library board, the management and other colleagues. It will be used when implementing the joint activity plan for the library network. We consider this as an evaluation and learning process that will lead to improvements in the model and the toolbox. It is our expectation that the model will also be used in other contexts, such as projects and activities initiated by individual faculty libraries or the University Library.
Originality and value:
The value of the paper is that it describes a practical effort to change and improve service development within an organisation.
Organisational issues , Culture , Innovative Methods , Methods , Frameworks
implementing_a_model_forsberg_new.pdf 