2CUL Phase 2
Overview: To move from the exploratory to the implementation stage of 2CUL, it will be necessary to unify Columbia and Cornell technical services as much as possible, while retaining those local practices and workflows that must remain institution-specific. Crucial to this operation integration will be:
- A thorough and systematic review of all existing technical services policies, practices, and workflows at each institution, with a view towards reconciling them as much as possible;
- Development of 2CUL best practices, guidelines, and policies to undergird the integrated operation;
- A re-definition of job responsibilities reflecting cross-institutional organizational structures through which unnecessary redundancy can be eliminated and harmonized workflows can be implemented to serve Cornell and Columbia jointly;
- The reassigning/redeploying of staff at each institution to expand capacity in new areas;
- The identification of competencies needed for success in this new environment and the requisite training and development opportunities for staff at both institutions;
- The adoption of a new organizational/reporting structure and culture;
- The creation of a formal 2CUL framework through which to exercise joint bargaining power in negotiating with vendors and other third parties for services and content.
Timeline: September 2012 – December 2015
(Source: 2CUL grant proposal submitted to Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 30 August 2012)
Update (June 2014): The logistics of technical services integration have been far more complex than expected. Our goal as expressed in the 2CUL grant proposal submitted to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation had been to ”integrate Columbia and Cornell technical services operations as much as possible, while retaining those local practices and workflows that must remain institution-specific.” Issues concerning cross institutional supervision, accounting, and the delays in purchasing a shared library management system have made deep collaboration and creation of a new cross-institutional organizational structure impossible. We realize also that attempting to manage two administratively separate technical services operations will erode savings and reduce efficiencies in both libraries. For these reasons, we have reframed TSI as a “Technical Services Initiative.” By removing the extremely challenging goal of integrating nearly 150 library staff, at institutions over 200 miles apart, without the possibility a single reporting hierarchy, TSI planners will focus on areas of more promising collaborative projects and alliances.
Functional Areas and Teams
