Strange Bedfellows – ALA Day 0

I went to an ALA preconference with quite possibly the longest name ever: “Strange Bedfellows: IT and Reference Collaborations to Enhance User Experiences.”

All of the presenters were from academic libraries, and I was a little worried that many of the things they were going to discuss were not going to be applicable to public libraries. Some things were not, just because academic libraries are organized very differently from public libraries, and IT departments in academic libraries (and larger public libraries) have a much different function than our IT department.

Some common themes that ran throughout the day were communication, working towards shared organizational goals, discovering what works for your specific organization, and spending time with coworkers in a social setting (food makes everything better?) to build real, human relationships.

Char Booth was the first speaker, and I took the most notes during her presentation. You must “know thy frenemy;” you know, the person that works at the same place as you, is in the same room as you, but lives in a different universe. You work together and make small talk but don’t see things in the same way.

She also described “Steel Magnolia diplomacy.” The magnolia part reminds you to come prepared to a meeting and take an interest in what others are saying rather than putting on airs and pretending that you know more than you do. Ask questions and say thank you. The steel part reminds you to stand your ground and speak your mind. You have to know your strengths and how to pick your battles–it’s not nitpicky if you think it’s important. Also, say thank you.

Matt Critchlow and Dan Suchy from the UCSD Libraries discussed the problems and successes they had in redesigning their website and creating a new mobile site. Two big bullet points:

• IT works with not for user services
• Should IT own a project that is for patrons, like the library’s website? How does IT know what patrons want? There needs to be a collaborative effort between the two departments. User services cannot take over either.

Catherine Murray-Rust is Dean of Libraries at Georgia Institute of Technology, so it was appropriate that she discussed the topic of leadership in these collaborations. She referenced the book Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace and spent a lot of time talking about different types of trust. You’ve got to share information, tell the truth, admit your mistakes, give and receive constructive feedback, maintain confidentiality, speak with a good purpose, respect the knowledge and good judgement of others, help others learn skills, and let people participate.

Joanne Kossuth of Olin College closed the program with some things that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. She said that sharing information creates openness. In turn, that improves staff morale. Also, it’s not what I do. It’s not what you do. It’s what we can do for the user.

Some terms that were discussed throughout the day were memorandum of understanding and requirements meeting. These things happen before any action is taken on a project to ensure that everyone working on the project is clear on its goals and procedures. Another attendee suggested that this meeting should be at least two hours long; you hash out some guidelines during the first half, take a break to really think about what was discussed, and then come together again and finalize the plans while discussing insights realized during the break.

I stayed for the opening of the exhibits and was frightened by the intensity many of the librarians had when the doors were first opened.