Librarian Roles Transformed: Collaborations in Multi-Campus and Online Environments

Rebecca Rose, University of North GeorgiaSofia Slutskaya, Georgia Perimeter State College

New communication and collaboration technologies have spawned new styles of work, communication and coordination.

We are all familiar with Google Docs, chat, texting, and so forth.

Photo by Ocean.flynn; Some rights reserved.

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Why collaborate online?

Successful Collaboration Requires:

• Supportive Leadership• In-depth orientation

and training• Strategic Integration of

Technology• Flexibility

Hurdles

Difficult to identify interested/compatible partners for projects-

Who is interested in working with me on X? Who is already working on X and how to I approach them?

Photo by benchilada: some rights reserved

Seeking Suitable Partnerships

Photo by fallentomato; Some rights reserved

Different Work Styles May Lead To…

• Conferences and Workshops • Institutes• Institutional structures that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration• Professional organizations and listserves - like GLA.• Networking with peers and colleagues• Committees

Opportunities

Use of TechnologyName of Technology Uses

Google DriveDropboxSharePoint

File sharing for• Collection development• Schedules• Statistics

Virtual ref. tools (Meebo, Library H3lp)

Instant communication

Wikis, LibGuides Centralized hub of information (available for external and internal projects ); outreach tool

LMS (D2L) Delivery and tracking of eContent; supplement/replacement for in person meetings; training tool.

Online meeting tools (Blackboard Collaborate, Wimba, Lync, Google Hangouts)

Supplement/replacement for in person meetings

Project management tools (Trello, OneDrive)

Combines functionalities of file sharing with assigning tasks, monitoring progress towards completion of a goal

Drawing tools (Scribblar, Cacoo)

Ability to collaboratively design workflows, organizational chats, etc.

Free Tools

Advantages Disadvantages

• Free• Familiar/ don’t require additional

training• Facilitate collaboration across

institutions• Cloud-based• Apps for mobile devices are often

available, can be shared across different devices

• Not always very secure• Not supported by institutional IT• Some institutions might have

policies against use of these tools • Content is perishable

Fee Based Tools

Advantages Disadvantages

• More features;• Institutional IT support;• In many cases does not require

creating special account (same institutional user name/password for all products)

• Not easily shareable across institutions

• Availability depends on funding• Content is perishable

Collaborations Using LibGuides:

Community EventsFestivalsContestsEvent Photo SharingUniversity and Campus Wide SymposiumsCross Disciplinary ProjectsCommittees Storehouse: department, college-wide, beyondCommunities of Practice

Community Events

Festivals

Contests

Event Photo Sharing

Symposiums

Cross- Disciplinary Projects

Committee Projects- Campus, University, & BeyondExample 1: College-Wide Committee Project

Example 2: Minutes and Documents for College-Wide, Departmental Committee

Tools:

And a few more….

Trello

Other uses for Trello….

References

Austin, A. E., & Baldwin, R. G. (1991). Faculty collaboration: Enhancing the quality of scholarship and teaching. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report , 7. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED346805.

Birnholtz, J., Guha, S., Yuan, Y., Gay, G., & Heller, C, (2013).Cross-campus collaboration: A scientometric and network case study of

publication activity across two campuses of a single institution. Journal Of The American Society For Information Science And Technology, 64(1):162–172.

Bottorff, T., Glaser, R., Todd, A., & Alderman, B. (2008). Branching out: Communication and collaboration among librarians at

multi- campus institutions. Journal of Library Administration, 48(3/4)348- 363.

Who’d want to work in a team? (2003). Nature, 424(6944), 1–1. doi:10.1038/424001a