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ASIA
Transforming a Traditional Library into a Hybrid Library: Use of Leadership and Managerial Skills at the Central Library, IIT Delhi
Jagdish Arora
SUMMARY. The article highlights leadership skills and personal traits that were used successfully for transforming a traditional library into a hybrid library in precarious circumstances and conditions that exist in some of the organizations in India. It describes the management techniques, skills and personal traits of a leader that were used to motivate staff members to computerize the library, to improve library services and to transform a traditional library into a hybrid library.
[Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: < [email protected] > Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com > © 2002 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]
KEYWORDS. Leadership, motivation, personal traits, library computerization
INTRODUCTION
“May you live in exciting times” says an old Chinese curse. The entire society is under the spell of this curse and libraries are no exception. The libraries, too, are going through a phase of transformation with information technology completely altering their very nature and functions. The library users expect the librarians and library staff to learn new skills and acquire knowledge on systems and services that are prevalent and are being used in modern libraries. The libraries are reinventing themselves in today’s networked society to meet these new demands and challenges. While the Chinese curse poses a challenge, it also brings lots of opportunities for the library and information science professionals.
Like any other organization, a library is a collaborative enterprise. Activities and services in a library are the culmination of efforts by various groups and subgroups of people who contributed to the larger goal of reaching users with services rendered to them. Like a chain is as strong as its weakest link, a library is as good as its various components make it. If all its components keep contributing to the larger goal of providing services to the users, the library is successful in achieving its goal; any component that fails to deliver contributes to its overall inefficiency.
The library as an organization requires a leader to lead the team consisting of several groups and subgroups in a cohesive manner with an ultimate aim of rendering services to the users. As the head of the Computer Applications Division at the Central Library, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, I had a unique opportunity to lead a team of people with diverse backgrounds, skills, level of enthusiasm and willingness to work towards computerization of the library.
This article highlights precarious circumstances and working conditions that exist in some of the organizations in India. It describes the management techniques, skills and personal traits of a leader that were used to motivate staff members to computerize the library, to improve the library services and to transform a traditional library into a hybrid library. The article elaborates on steps in transition from traditional to digital library and personal traits that are considered important by the author in leading the team and winning the confidence of authority.
WHERE WE WERE
The task of computerization of the Central Library, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi was assigned to me in the year 1998. Although an in-house integrated library software was being developed by a faculty member in the Institute using student manpower without much involvement of library staff, the process had been going on for more than eight years. Only the OPAC was functional, but that too would stop working off and on due to some bugs in the program. Moreover, the bibliographic data available in the Library database was full of errors. Often the bibliographic data in the database did not match the books on the shelves. The Circulation Module and Acquisition Module had gone through a phase of trial, although not very successfully. Since student manpower was employed to work on the package, the process of development was not at all satisfactory. The students would work on the package as a project and leave it for subsequent batches of students to take it up further. Needless to say, this arrangement was not satisfactory. It would take hours to get the catalogue module to work once it was down.
The library has a sub-LAN but it was not functional because the network equipment broke down and no action was taken to restore the library network either by the Librarian or by the then Head of Computer Applications.
WHERE WE ARE
The Library network was restored and augmented as first priority. With purchase of a commercially available library integrated software package called LibSys, all routines in the library are computerized. The data available in the old package was migrated into LibSys after repeated trials. Since the software package developed in-house did not use any standard bibliographic format (i.e., MARC/CCF) for interchange of bibliographic information, it took a few weeks to transfer the data to the commercial software. All books in the Library were barcoded and Library patrons were given barcoded patron cards. In-house facilities were developed for barcoding of books and library patron cards. Students were enrolled as new members as soon as they joined their academic programme. The bibliographic data in the library database has been corrected to a great extent. Moreover, the library has a comprehensive web site that functions as an integrated interface to all computerized services offered by the library. A number of databases developed in-house using CDS/ISIS software package in DOS environment were web-enabled using WWWISIS script. Moreover, impressed with the web-based services of the library, the library was also assigned the task of developing and maintaining the web site for the Institute.
Further, the library has taken several projects from various funding agencies for developing digitised collections in the library. Some of these 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 Technology (Funded by the Ministry of Information Technology)
• Developing Digital Library in Biotechnology (Funded by the Department of Biotechnology)
• Scanning of Documents at the IIT Delhi (Funded by the All India Council of Technical Education)
• Indian Digital Library in Engineering Science and Technology (INDEST) Consortium (Funded by the Ministry of Human Resource 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 been completed successfully.
OUR CIRCUMSTANCES
The qualities, characteristics, and skills deployed to handle a problem are determined by the demands of the circumstances and situation in which we are functioning. “Be a Roman in Rome” it is said. To be effective, one needs to be alert to the reactions of the members of the group, the conditions to which our reactions may lead, and our abilities to handle such reactions. In India we are faced with a peculiar problem, especially in the Government sector or in autonomous bodies with Government funding. The situation that “there is neither a reward for the good work nor is there a punishment for bad work (or no work).” In other words, it does not pay to work hard; there are no direct benefits in terms of promotions or perks. As such the Library did not have a team that was motivated to perform, or had any reason, whatsoever, to be enthusiastic to take up the task of computerization in the library as a challenge. To make things worse, the other senior colleagues in the library were fully convinced that a good performance from a sub-ordinate officer would expose them and put them in a precarious situation. In other words, the team leader for computerization was expected to handle a Herculean task of not only achieving 100% automation of the library but also transforming it into a library with substantial collections in digital media with no support worth its name from other senior colleagues or the top management in the Library with staff that had neither skills nor motivation to work and the Institute authorities, while supportive of providing funds for equipment and software, had their hands tied down with the Government directives to cut down on manpower.
The new responsibility of head of the Computer Applications Division, Central Library at the IIT Delhi, posed challenges that were very unique. The Division was completely paralysed when it was handed over to me. The library LAN was down with network equipment out of service. In any case, there was no service worth its name that was made available to users on the network. Moreover, there were a lot of expectations from the authorities and users community since I had just returned from a sabbatical as a Fulbright Fellow in Library and Information Science. I already enjoyed a good reputation in the eyes of authorities and users for the good job I had done in the Serials Division before going on the sabbatical leave for the Fulbright Fellowship in the Library and Information Science in 1997–98. While my contributions and services at the Serials Division was duly acknowledged by the library users and the faculty, the change in responsibility gave me an opportunity to implement new skills acquired by me during my Fulbright sojourn. The Institute authority and the users expected new changes and developments, having faith in my capabilities and devotion to work. The reputation that I had built in the eyes of authorities gave me support in terms of additional fundings, manpower, moral support, etc., that would not have been forthcoming if not for the reputation I had earned.
I was fully aware that I had an uphill task that required a lot of patience, hard-work, belief in oneself, and traits that my team members could look up to and follow. Leadership is all about taking up responsibilities, facilitating, directing, guiding, steering, acting as a conduit and inspiring and motivating the members of your team. The leader requires a few basic personal traits and a range of techniques for implementing his or her goals and vision.
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 cannot 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 done rather 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 expect your team to follow you unless you literally lead them in all spheres of activities, be it in work, punctuality, sincerity or the number of hours that you put in on the job. You need to be the first to reach the workplace, if you expect your teammates to be punctual. You cannot expect people to be punctual unless you yourself are punctual. Moreover, you are also required to lead your team in technological skills. You need to update yourself with new skills so that you can talk to your IT personnel in their own lingua-franca. Your teammates should be fully convinced that 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 demonstrate passion for it. Several colleagues advised me not to take things personally, if someone gets in the way of accomplishing your assigned job, 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 things personally and deal with them passionately. While constructive criticism aimed at improving functions and services should be welcomed, actions that are designed and planted to create hurdles need to be dealt with firm hands. While being flexible if the circumstances demand is also necessary, it is also important to be firm, if the situation so demands. Without mixing words, it should be made clear to one and all that the stumbling blocks planted intentionally in the path ...
