transforming a traditional library into a hybrid library
TRANSCRIPT
This article was downloaded by: [Florida Atlantic University]On: 11 November 2014, At: 20:52Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK
Science & Technology LibrariesPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wstl20
Transforming a TraditionalLibrary into a Hybrid LibraryJagdish Arora a a aa IIT , BombayPublished online: 10 Oct 2008.
To cite this article: Jagdish Arora (2004) Transforming a Traditional Library intoa Hybrid Library, Science & Technology Libraries, 23:2-3, 5-15, DOI: 10.1300/J122v23n02_02
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J122v23n02_02
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
Transforming a Traditional Libraryinto a Hybrid Library:
Use of Leadership and Managerial Skillsat the Central Library, IIT Delhi
Jagdish Arora
SUMMARY. The article highlights leadership skills and personal traitsthat were used successfully for transforming a traditional library into a hy-brid library in precarious circumstances and conditions that exist in someof the organizations in India. It describes the management techniques,skills and personal traits of a leader that were used to motivate staff mem-bers to computerize the library, to improve library services and to trans-form a traditional library into a hybrid library. [Article copies available for afee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail ad-dress: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com>© 2002 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]
Jagdish Arora is National Coordinator, INDEST Consortium and Librarian, IITBombay (E-mail: [email protected]).
[Haworth co-indexing entry note]: “Transforming a Traditional Library into a Hybrid Library: Use ofLeadership and Managerial Skills at the Central Library, IIT Delhi.” Arora, Jagdish. Co-published simulta-neously in Science & Technology Libraries (The Haworth Information Press, an imprint of The HaworthPress, Inc.) Vol. 23, No. 2/3, 2002, pp. 5-15; and: Leadership and Management Principles in Libraries inDeveloping Countries (ed: Wei Wei, Sue O’Neill Johnson, and Sylvia E. A. Piggott) The Haworth Informa-tion Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 2002, pp. 5-15. Single or multiple copies of this article areavailable for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service [1-800-HAWORTH, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.(EST). E-mail address: [email protected]].
http://www.haworthpress.com/web/STL 2002 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1300/J122v23n02_02 5
ASIA
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
KEYWORDS. Leadership, motivation, personal traits, library comput-erization
INTRODUCTION
“May you live in exciting times” says an old Chinese curse. The entiresociety is under the spell of this curse and libraries are no exception. Thelibraries, too, are going through a phase of transformation with informa-tion technology completely altering their very nature and functions. Thelibrary users expect the librarians and library staff to learn new skills andacquire knowledge on systems and services that are prevalent and are be-ing used in modern libraries. The libraries are reinventing themselves intoday’s networked society to meet these new demands and challenges.While the Chinese curse poses a challenge, it also brings lots of opportu-nities for the library and information science professionals.
Like any other organization, a library is a collaborative enterprise. Ac-tivities and services in a library are the culmination of efforts by variousgroups and subgroups of people who contributed to the larger goal ofreaching users with services rendered to them. Like a chain is as strong asits weakest link, a library is as good as its various components make it. Ifall its components keep contributing to the larger goal of providing ser-vices to the users, the library is successful in achieving its goal; any com-ponent that fails to deliver contributes to its overall inefficiency.
The library as an organization requires a leader to lead the team con-sisting of several groups and subgroups in a cohesive manner with anultimate aim of rendering services to the users. As the head of the Com-puter Applications Division at the Central Library, Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT) Delhi, I had a unique opportunity to lead a team ofpeople with diverse backgrounds, skills, level of enthusiasm and will-ingness to work towards computerization of the library.
This article highlights precarious circumstances and working condi-tions that exist in some of the organizations in India. It describes themanagement techniques, skills and personal traits of a leader that wereused to motivate staff members to computerize the library, to improvethe library services and to transform a traditional library into a hybrid li-brary. The article elaborates on steps in transition from traditional todigital library and personal traits that are considered important by theauthor in leading the team and winning the confidence of authority.
6 Leadership and Management Principles in Libraries in Developing Countries
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
WHERE WE WERE
The task of computerization of the Central Library, Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT) Delhi was assigned to me in the year 1998. Although anin-house integrated library software was being developed by a facultymember in the Institute using student manpower without much involve-ment of library staff, the process had been going on for more than eightyears. Only the OPAC was functional, but that too would stop workingoff and on due to some bugs in the program. Moreover, the bibliographicdata available in the Library database was full of errors. Often the biblio-graphic data in the database did not match the books on the shelves. TheCirculation Module and Acquisition Module had gone through a phase oftrial, although not very successfully. Since student manpower was em-ployed to work on the package, the process of development was not at allsatisfactory. The students would work on the package as a project andleave it for subsequent batches of students to take it up further. Needlessto say, this arrangement was not satisfactory. It would take hours to getthe catalogue module to work once it was down.
The library has a sub-LAN but it was not functional because the net-work equipment broke down and no action was taken to restore the li-brary network either by the Librarian or by the then Head of ComputerApplications.
WHERE WE ARE
The Library network was restored and augmented as first priority.With purchase of a commercially available library integrated softwarepackage called LibSys, all routines in the library are computerized. Thedata available in the old package was migrated into LibSys after re-peated trials. Since the software package developed in-house did notuse any standard bibliographic format (i.e., MARC/CCF) for inter-change of bibliographic information, it took a few weeks to transferthe data to the commercial software. All books in the Library werebarcoded and Library patrons were given barcoded patron cards. In-house facilities were developed for barcoding of books and library pa-tron cards. Students were enrolled as new members as soon as theyjoined their academic programme. The bibliographic data in the librarydatabase has been corrected to a great extent. Moreover, the library hasa comprehensive web site that functions as an integrated interface to allcomputerized services offered by the library. A number of databases de-veloped in-house using CDS/ISIS software package in DOS environ-
Asia 7
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
ment were web-enabled using WWWISIS script. Moreover, impressedwith the web-based services of the library, the library was also assignedthe task of developing and maintaining the web site for the Institute.
Further, the library has taken several projects from various fundingagencies for developing digitised collections in the library. Some ofthese projects are as follows:
• Developing Digitised Collection in Engineering & Technology(funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development)
• Internet-based Online Interactive Courseware in Information Tech-nology (Funded by the Ministry of Information Technology)
• Developing Digital Library in Biotechnology (Funded by the De-partment of Biotechnology)
• Scanning of Documents at the IIT Delhi (Funded by the All IndiaCouncil of Technical Education)
• Indian Digital Library in Engineering Science and Technology(INDEST) Consortium (Funded by the Ministry of Human Re-source Development)
All of the above activities were taken up in a short span of four years,i.e., from 1998 to 2001. A number of projects listed above have beencompleted successfully.
OUR CIRCUMSTANCES
The qualities, characteristics, and skills deployed to handle a prob-lem are determined by the demands of the circumstances and situationin which we are functioning. “Be a Roman in Rome” it is said. To beeffective, one needs to be alert to the reactions of the members of thegroup, the conditions to which our reactions may lead, and our abili-ties to handle such reactions. In India we are faced with a peculiarproblem, especially in the Government sector or in autonomous bod-ies with Government funding. The situation that “there is neither a re-ward for the good work nor is there a punishment for bad work (or nowork).” In other words, it does not pay to work hard; there are no directbenefits in terms of promotions or perks. As such the Library did nothave a team that was motivated to perform, or had any reason, whatso-ever, to be enthusiastic to take up the task of computerization in the li-brary as a challenge. To make things worse, the other senior colleaguesin the library were fully convinced that a good performance from a sub-
8 Leadership and Management Principles in Libraries in Developing Countries
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
ordinate officer would expose them and put them in a precarious situa-tion. In other words, the team leader for computerization was expectedto handle a Herculean task of not only achieving 100% automation ofthe library but also transforming it into a library with substantial collec-tions in digital media with no support worth its name from other seniorcolleagues or the top management in the Library with staff that had nei-ther skills nor motivation to work and the Institute authorities, whilesupportive of providing funds for equipment and software, had theirhands tied down with the Government directives to cut down on man-power.
The new responsibility of head of the Computer Applications Divi-sion, Central Library at the IIT Delhi, posed challenges that were veryunique. The Division was completely paralysed when it was handedover to me. The library LAN was down with network equipment out ofservice. In any case, there was no service worth its name that wasmade available to users on the network. Moreover, there were a lot ofexpectations from the authorities and users community since I had justreturned from a sabbatical as a Fulbright Fellow in Library and Infor-mation Science. I already enjoyed a good reputation in the eyes of au-thorities and users for the good job I had done in the Serials Divisionbefore going on the sabbatical leave for the Fulbright Fellowship inthe Library and Information Science in 1997-98. While my contribu-tions and services at the Serials Division was duly acknowledged bythe library users and the faculty, the change in responsibility gave mean opportunity to implement new skills acquired by me during myFulbright sojourn. The Institute authority and the users expected newchanges and developments, having faith in my capabilities and devo-tion to work. The reputation that I had built in the eyes of authoritiesgave me support in terms of additional fundings, manpower, moralsupport, etc., that would not have been forthcoming if not for the repu-tation I had earned.
I was fully aware that I had an uphill task that required a lot of pa-tience, hard-work, belief in oneself, and traits that my team memberscould look up to and follow. Leadership is all about taking up responsi-bilities, facilitating, directing, guiding, steering, acting as a conduit andinspiring and motivating the members of your team. The leader requiresa few basic personal traits and a range of techniques for implementinghis or her goals and vision.
Asia 9
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
PERSONAL TRAITS
Positive Attitude
The most important trait a leader should have is a positive attitude.Always ask yourself “how can it be done.” Never start with “why it can-not be done.” Most people adopt the strategy of “excuse management,”they go to a great length finding excuses as to why a job cannot be donerather than exploring the possibilities of how it can be done.
Lead by Example
The leader of a team needs to lead by example. You cannot expectyour team to follow you unless you literally lead them in all spheres ofactivities, be it in work, punctuality, sincerity or the number of hoursthat you put in on the job. You need to be the first to reach the work-place, if you expect your teammates to be punctual. You cannot expectpeople to be punctual unless you yourself are punctual. Moreover, youare also required to lead your team in technological skills. You need toupdate yourself with new skills so that you can talk to your IT personnelin their own lingua-franca. Your teammates should be fully convincedthat you are one step ahead of them to get their respect.
Love Your Job, Have a Passion for It and Take It Personally
In order to be successful, it is important to love your job and demon-strate passion for it. Several colleagues advised me not to take thingspersonally, if someone gets in the way of accomplishing your assignedjob, deal with it as if you would deal with any other official matter.However, if you have passion for your work, you need to take thingspersonally and deal with them passionately. While constructive criti-cism aimed at improving functions and services should be welcomed,actions that are designed and planted to create hurdles need to be dealtwith firm hands. While being flexible if the circumstances demand isalso necessary, it is also important to be firm, if the situation so de-mands. Without mixing words, it should be made clear to one and allthat the stumbling blocks planted intentionally in the path of progresswill not be tolerated.
Character in Leadership
Character for a leader stands for self-discipline, loyalty, readiness toaccept responsibility and willingness to accept mistakes. The character of
10 Leadership and Management Principles in Libraries in Developing Countries
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
a leader should also have quality of modesty, selflessness, willingness tosacrifice, humility and faith in oneself and fellow team members.
Be Sincere
The team leader needs to be sincere to his/her work; that needs to bereflected in words, deeds and actions. Your superiors, your peers andsubordinate staff should be able to see your sincerity to the core. Thepeople looking for a role model should see it in you. Your superiorsshould be able to see themselves in you. More than everything else youshould believe in yourself sincerely and it can not be superficial orfaked. Moreover, do not expect everyone to respect your sincerity.
IMPLEMENTATIONS OF TECHNIQUES:HOW TO LEAD
Vision
As a leader, it is important that you have a well-defined vision andgoal that are clear to your team. A leader should be able to plan and aimnot only for the immediate present but also beyond it. As a leader, youshould be able to communicate with your team members as well as withthe authorities convincingly and with conviction. Moreover, you needto plan thoroughly before putting things into action. Planning may bedone involving your superiors, your staff members or alone, dependingupon the circumstances.
Facilitate and Be Flexible
Once your vision and goals are defined, as a team leader it is yourresponsibility to facilitate all requirements of your team members, beit physical infrastructure, computing infrastructure, manpower or anyother. The facilitation also includes mentoring and imparting trainingto the members of the team. The process of facilitation also involvesrecognizing strengths and weaknesses of members of your team andusing them to the maximum for the advantage of your organization.With the purchase of a commercial package at the library, several train-ing programmes were organized on LibSys software package at variouslevels. All staff members of the library were trained in the use ofLibSys. Training was offered at a basic level as well as at advanced lev-els. Training programmes were also organized on web site design as
Asia 11
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
well as on digital libraries. People from other institutions were also in-vited to participate in IIT training sessions. The process of facilitation,therefore, did not reach to the team alone but was also extended to otherprofessional colleagues.
Being flexible is also an important strategy to achieve your goals andvision. With your goals and vision well defined, being flexible abouthow to get there could be the key to success. Flexibility allows you to re-spond to a situation depending upon the expected reactions and yourability to handle them.
Motivate
The three most important motivating factors for an employee are:(i) reward for performance; (ii) punishment for non-performance; and(iii) technology as a motivating factor. In an environment where you donot have liberty to either reward for good performance or punish fornon-performance, a leader’s options are restricted to rewarding goodperformance with small gestures like sponsoring your employees toconferences and workshops, getting them honoraria from your projectfunds and involving them in tasks that they consider important.
The technology itself serves as a motivating factor for people whohave a zeal to learn. Several people from different sections in my libraryapproached me to learn about computers although their assigned job didnot involve using computers. They came to learn on their own time; theylearned the basics of using computers and the library software packageused by the library and started attending to jobs that were not their as-signed jobs. One thing triggered another. It snowballed into a move-ment where most of the library manpower was computer literate. Thelibrary attendants on the circulation counter learned to use computersfor issuing books, the library attendants with duties to shelve the booksstarted using the catalogue search and OPAC modules to help users tolocate the books. They started using computers to generate labels forbarcoding the books. Technology indeed proved to be a motivating fac-tor in an otherwise closed atmosphere.
Nurture Your Followers
It is important that we recognize talent amongst our colleagues andmotivate them. People with talents, potentials and zeal to learn need tobe recognized and encouraged. They may be coached separately to learnnew skills in information technology. People completely unconnected
12 Leadership and Management Principles in Libraries in Developing Countries
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
with computerization activity may be used to do jobs that had nothing todo with their routine assignments and they would happily do it in theirspare time just because technology attracted them and it gave them im-mense satisfaction to do things using computers. Getting a printout forjobs done by them was very exciting and fulfilling for them.
Command Respect, Do Not Demand It
People respect you for your work. Never expect people to respect youfor your position. No one respects you for your age or position. Respectis mutual, you must respect others before they can reciprocate.
Let Your Actions Speak for Themselves
Do not brag about your plans or what you are set to achieve, workmethodically and with zeal in your assigned work and projects and letthe deliverable speak for themselves.
Recognize the Opportunity, Grab It As It Comesand Take Responsibilities
We are passing through a revolution that has unsettled its player.There are several new information technologies that are new to everyone. Enterprising individuals with the right skills can put them to inno-vative use in library and information science. The recent developmentsin information technology offer several opportunities that one mustgrab in spite of limitations in terms of time, manpower, skills and a “Norewards” policy. At my Institute, looking at the library web site createdby the Computer Applications Division in the library, the library wasoffered the job of redoing the web site of the Institute. We took this re-sponsibility without a hitch in spite of severe limitations that we had interms of manpower, skills required, raised hopes, and criticism frompeers, with a hope that such an opportunity would put us on a pedestalwhere the visibility of the library within the organization would be at itspeak. A leader of the team would consider it important to take up re-sponsibilities assessing the given situation that offer us an opportunityto enhance the reputation of the library in the Institute.
The library not only did a good job on the Institute web site but alsogained new skills, heightened reputation, equipment and manpower.What started as a one-year experimental project was given to the libraryas a permanent assignment, with manpower, money and other perks.
Asia 13
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
The library also rose to other occasions when required. For example, wewere asked to make a CD consisting of selected publications of the In-stitute to be given to dignitaries visiting the Institute. Once again wegeared up to put our act together and gained the skills required to pro-duce a CD with integrated multimedia. The final product was delight-fully well received. Once again, the library established its place in theInstitute as a technologically advanced enterprise.
Taking responsibility also means that we accept our successes as wellas our failures. Do not blame others for your failures. However, learnfrom your mistake and your experiences. For example, we decided tooutsource the job of getting the barcoded patron cards produced fromthe external outfit. Soon we found that the job was taking much moretime and patron cards produced by the external outfit had several mis-takes that had to be corrected, consuming more time. The library usershad to wait for months to get their barcoded patron cards. We realizedour mistake and took the decision to produce patron cards in-house. Thefacilities for producing bar-coded patron cards was, therefore, estab-lished in-house.
Write Projects
The changing scenario offers a lot of challenges and opportunities. Ifyou keep abreast with the changing technologies, it should be possible foryou to recognize new projects and avenues. Taking up new projects thatare not a part of your assigned jobs would give you an insight into variousaspects of technology and its applications. The sponsored projects bringfunds, allow you to recruit fresh manpower on contract, provide you anopportunity to delve deep into the new technology and its applications.Moreover, project funds provide flexibilities that are not available to youfrom the funds available through normal Institute grants. At IIT Delhi wemade it a point to apply for new projects every year.
Project funds, however, come with strings attached. The fund pro-viders expect regular updates, timely reports, workshops and demon-strations of products and services developed under the project. It isimportant that formalities spelled out by the fund providers are duly ful-filled. The fund providers also require justification for their invest-ments. Part of the project leader’s job is to help them justify that theirjudgment to fund you was not wrong. Time management is one of thevery important aspects of project management. You should be readywith deliverables within the given time frame. The funds allotted should
14 Leadership and Management Principles in Libraries in Developing Countries
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14
be spent in the given time period with deliverables to the satisfaction offund providers.
CONCLUSION
While it is important to have traits of a leader, it is more important tohave determination, complete devotion and sincerity that ultimately helpyou to achieve your defined goals. We in India believe in the theory of“Karma” that says we should completely devote ourselves to our as-signed work irrespective of the fact whether you get results or you don’t.
The Fulbright Fellowship helped me to learn new skills, especiallyweb designing, computer graphics and multimedia applications andscanning technologies. It would not have been possible for me to learnall these new skills, if it was not for the Fulbright Fellowship that gaveme an opportunity to learn more skills, to meet with the stalwarts in thefield and to visit important libraries and projects in action. The Fellow-ship also gave me an opportunity to observe functioning of Americanorganizations and compare them with the governing system in India.
Asia 15
Dow
nloa
ded
by [
Flor
ida
Atla
ntic
Uni
vers
ity]
at 2
0:52
11
Nov
embe
r 20
14