Silo-style management is out, efficiency is in

By Mariah Brown

Years ago, at the Galter Health Sciences Library at Northwestern University, if a librarian had a strong cataloging background, he or she would be assigned to work as a cataloger. Someone experienced in reference would be appointed as a reference librarian. Their paths would seldom cross.

Today, that old system has gone the way of the dinosaur with Associate Director Linda Walton’s blessing and help. New, cross-functional teams have replaced the conventional structure, and the library is better because of it.

According to Walton, the old library was stuck in a silo environment conducive to isolation, lack of communication and lack of understanding. “Departments made decisions without considering the impact on other areas of the library,” she says.

Walton organized staff into cross-functional teams to tackle operating issues and challenges. No job is isolated, and everyone has a range of duties, from checking computers to processing books and journals.

Improvements fostered by the new system:

• Shorter processing time that speeds new acquisitions to users and creates a more manageable work environment for librarians.

• Enhanced interaction among IT employees, educators and librarians resulting in design adjustments and improved usability of the library’s Web site.

• Rebalanced staff—a biosciences librarian and an instructional design librarian—to meet new user demands, thanks to the cost savings from eliminating three support positions that were no longer needed.

• New ideas and new solutions—as well as faster turnaround times—made possible by the wide range of perspectives working on a problem.

Walton said the system could easily be implemented in other libraries to help them become more efficient. There will be a smoother transition from one system to the next if leaders “discuss the new system and get input from staff,” she says.

Although Walton realizes the new system can make performance appraisals difficult for supervisors, the positives—a more progressive atmosphere, increased efficiency and better cooperation among staff—far outweigh the negatives.

“It was the right thing to do,” she says.

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