Towards the 21st Century in electronic library service provision

Prepared by Suzette Boyd, Director of Library Services and Janet Smith, Technology Librarian, both of Methodist Ladies’ College, Melbourne

Presented at the Digital Library Technology ‘97 Conference 
28th-29th August, 1997, Sydney 

"The resolve to not accept the future but to choose one, is strong in the aspirations of MLC"(1) 

MLC is a Uniting Church School for girls from K-13 in Melbourne. It has a present enrolment of over 2200 students. The College is divided into four separate schools, (Junior, Junior Secondary, Middle and Senior Schools) each with its own Head , Curriculum Co-ordinator and Subject Co-ordinators. There is also a Community Education School which operates after hours and during school holiday periods. Senior students may also undertake a Business Studies Course, a Hospitality Course and they may study a first Year University subject while choosing from a full selection of VCE subjects. The Walton Library services 1800 students from year 7 to 12. 

Laptop Program 

Laptops were introduced as a requirement for all Grade 5 students in 1990. Most students lease their computer from the school over a 3 year period. As from the start of 1996 all students from year 5 to year 12 were using laptops in the classroom, which means that there are now over 2000 laptops in use in the College. 

School network 

MLC has a Computer Department which is not connected to any faculty. It is staffed by a Computer Manager and five technicians who are responsible for the efficient running of the networks, laptop maintenance, selection and purchasing of equipment and software and hardware installation. (2) 

During January 1997 a major upgrade was undertaken to the technology infrastructure of the College. There now exists an ATM network with access from approximately 1000 points across the Kew campus. Every staff member has a network point at his/her desk, there are 250 desktop computers for both curriculum and administrative purposes and there are about 600 network points for laptop use. By the end of 1997 remote access from home for staff and students will be a reality. 

Staff and students have access to fileservers for storing and exchanging documents and unlimited access to electronic mail and the Internet (via an ISDN link) is available from all network points. 

Educational trends 

Education in the 21st Century will be closely aligned with society, place a greater emphasis on adaptability, be more mastery-oriented and be anywhere, anytime learning. 

Historically, the role of technology in education has been peripheral, with new technologies being added to the traditional teacher-centred model of instruction.(3). With the introduction of laptops at MLC the trend has moved away from "computerising" towards an approach based on Piaget’s "constructionism" , whereby knowledge is "built by the learner not supplied by the teacher." (3) A culture of collaborative and independent learning is developing whereby student and teacher are both learners and the laptop is as ubiquitous as pen and paper. 

The test of good teaching will be how well students are able to access information from a variety of sources. A new generation of information literacy skills will be needed to cope with the plethora of electronic information being produced. 

Issues for Management of the Walton Library at MLC 

"We are in the age of revolution, not incremental improvement, and we have the opportunity to re-invent what the library is and what quality value-added library service is. Librarians cannot just react to the realities of today’s information requirements, they have to influence them."(4) 

1. Goal-setting, Objectives and Action Plans - Planning for change

The aim of the Walton Library is to provide a dynamic environment for independent learners and to provide services and curriculum resources of the highest quality and relevance. The library program embraces technological change and the promotion of reading. Our library is seen as a leading innovator in independent school libraries in Australia. (Mission Statement, Walton Library) 
Four years ago there was an almost complete turnover of staff with the brief to "take the library into the 21st century". We were encouraged to "take risks" and to "think big". At the start of 1993 there was an initial appointment of a Director of Library Services, a technology librarian and two teacher-librarians. 

During this time, the Walton Library has made significant and far-reaching changes. These changes have been in response to educational trends, the philosophy of MLC and new developments in technology. So where are we now and where are we going.....yearly strategic plans!! 

The priority for 1993 was "putting our house in order", in 1994, it was to "choose our own future", in 1995 it was to "lead the way" and in 1996 and beyond, "moving out into the community." 

Teams

At the start of 1993, a team structure was established in the Walton Library. To begin with the teams were Education, Technology and Media Services, User Services and Collection Management . Each team had a leader who was a member of the Management Team which was led by the Director. Teams met once every two weeks with the brief to formulate an aim and objectives. By the end of 1994 Action Plans had been written for every objective for each team, resulting in a hefty procedures manual for it was thought, every single task to be undertaken by the library staff. At the present time new action plans are written every other week as new procedures are constantly being put into place. 

Team leaders have become more focussed on results and are setting goals rather than waiting for direction. There is still the need for reminders that goals must continually be redefined and staff roles reassessed and that team leaders are expected to lead, be focussed and forward-thinking. 

2. Staffing - Planning for change 

The current staffing of the Walton Library includes a Director of Library Services (also a teacher-librarian), four other teacher-librarians, a technology librarian (0.8), an acquisitions librarian, a serials librarian (0.8), 3 library technicians, 2 media services staff and a 0.8 shelver. 

Specialists 

Staff are taking on more specialist roles than is usually seen in a school library. 

Each teacher-librarian is attached to a school and teaches information skills, takes reading enrichment classes and attends all meetings, assemblies and activities for that school. 

The technology librarian is responsible for the maintenance and development of the Library automated system, the CD-ROM network and in conjunction with members of the education team selects software. She also has a whole school responsibility for researching technological developments. The Serials and Acquisitions librarians concentrate on developments within their area. However all Walton Library staff are involved with the clients and it is understood that exceptional customer service is one of our primary aims. 

Professional Development 

Generous Professional Development opportunities are available to all staff at MLC. The Library staff in particular, because of our profile, our far-reaching responsibilities and wide areas of interests are regular attendees and presenters at conferences. Professional Development is part of all our job descriptions and it is indeed expected that we will make ourselves available to attend conferences whenever the opportunity arises. Staff taking part in Professional Development activities are expected to provide a full report of the activity for other members of the library team, to have planned ways that they could implement ideas gained from the activities and to present a written report for the college newsletter. 

Once a term all library staff have a meeting with the Director where job descriptions are redefined and challenges and possibilities are addressed. Everyone has the opportunity to change and experience professional growth. 

3. Development of the Electronic Library- Planning for change 

To prepare our users for the "2nd era of the information age,"(4) the Walton Library has been proactive in investigating and installing the latest technologies. Where possible, all the electronic resources of the library are available on the school network. This means that students and staff from any network connection, anywhere in the school, can access via their laptops all electronic services available from the library. There are 28 desktop computers and over 20 hub connections to the network available for users working in the library. 

Access to electronic Information 

Emphasis is on students being able to logically and simply access information available. An extensive range of resources is provided - on-line subscription data bases (like EBSCOHost and Electric Library), indexes, newspapers and reference materials on CD-ROM, the library catalogue and the Internet. Access is either through the Windows 95 start-up menu or through the library Home Page. 

A CD-ROM server with 49 drives is housed in and maintained by the library, with DiscPort Executive for Netware as the package used to network the CD-ROMs. Because all students have a laptop and the potential to connect to the network, only CD-ROMs with networking capabilities are purchased. Occasionally specialist single-user CD-ROMs are made available on a local drive. Customised programs have been written to monitor the number of licensed copies available to our clients and to keep statistics on usage of each of the CD-ROMS. A copy of our purchasing policy is available on our Home Page. 

Home Page - http://www.library.mlckew.edu.au
The library Home Page is in the process of being redesigned and updated, with a more corporate look designed to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for electronic access to information. All library staff have responsibility for a particular area of the Home Page, generating content, checking sites and finding links. At present our site contains comprehensive links to the Key Learning areas, reference materials, libraries around the world, news and literature sites. At the start of 1998 our URICA catalogue system will have full Web functionality and be available through the Home Page. 

4. User Services - Planning for change 

Originally User services existed as a separate team, however as time progressed it was clear that EVERY member of the library staff should make User Services a priority. All staff members are aware that Service to our users is our "raison d’etre". The library is committed to providing a service that includes "real-time" information delivery and "improvements in customer-valued productivity" (4). All our staff are involved in rostered duties, which include circulation, media services enquiry, information, and research assistance desks. Emphasis on service to our staff and students and client satisfaction is paramount. 

Some special User Services projects where the whole library staff came together to work as a team include the production of "User Guides for Electronic Resources" and the Walton Library Home Page on the World Wide Web. 

"User Guides for Electronic Information" 

With the increase in the number of CD-ROMs available on the school network, there was a need for a system of enabling our students to independently access these resources.The very large numbers of students requiring assistance at any one time in the library has created demand for some sort of guide to our CD-ROMs. These were written by the education team, checked by other staff members for usability, formatted, word-processed and collated by yet other staff members. They are freely available to all library users and have now been bound for sale to other libraries. We have recently produced the third edition. This has been one of the most satisfying and worthwhile projects the library staff has undertaken and has had a tremendous impact on our services to users. For example every CD-ROM has different "downloading" procedures and even if the library staff are familiar with all the databases, to be able to check a user guide when explaining how to download to a user, is very reassuring (for both!). User education as part of User Services will be dealt with under Education and Training. 

5. Education and Training - Planning for change 

The Walton Library "has demanded the enhancement of the skills and understandings of Library staff of the new technology and in turn their capacity to learn with and not just teach the end users about their services."(5) 

In view of this the education team of the library has undertaken some initiatives to prepare our users for the 21st Century. 

Information Literacy Skills Development 

Teacher -Librarians work with teachers to address the learning dilemmas of electronic information. These classes take place in the library either in the Global Learning Centre or in the research areas where students have access to the printed resources and can access the wide range of electronic resources either from their laptops or desktop computers. Teacher-Librarians also work in teams in classrooms where students can connect to the school network via mobile hubs. 

Training of library staff 

There are 6 key trainers on the library staff who undertake to become "experts" in particular databases. They then train the rest of the library staff, so that everyone is familiar with what is available to our users. 

Information Networkers 

A course in Information Access has been offered to students both during class time and after school. Training is conducted on accessing the Internet and CD-ROMs and information literacy research skills. It runs over sixteen weeks and assessment is by worksheets and a test on completion of the 16 sessions. Students who score over 80 percent are offered the opportunity to become the next group of trainers. Each graduate wears an Information Networker badge to identify them to other students and teachers as someone who has the skills to assist others in accessing the school network and electronic information. During 1998 this course will be available on the school network and will be accessible from home and make possible the dream of ‘anywhere anytime’ learning. 

Search option on the Intranet 

Most students and staff after choosing ‘netsearch’ in Netscape will choose the current default search engine, which is often not the best way to begin a search. To encourage users to be discriminating searchers we have developed a guide to search engines "SEARCH", with a description of how to use selected and recommended engines. This is accessible from the MLC Intranet and is on the first screen when students log on to the Internet. 

Professional Development for teachers and administrative staff 

The Library acts as a Professional Development provider for the College. Teachers can book to attend individual or small group or whole faculty sessions on addressing the dilemmas of electronic searching, Home Page development, using e-mail, incorporating the Internet into the curriculum and other areas on request. To encourage teachers to take advantage of these opportunities the Professional Development Department will arrange for an emergency teacher to take teachers’ classes while they come to the Library for training sessions. 

Parent Evenings 

As a fee-paying school it is our responsibility to provide information for parents about the sort of educational developments that are occurring. This includes developments like Internet access and CD-ROM technology. There has been a huge demand from our parents to advertised evening sessions offering "hands-on" the Internet and CD-ROMs. Interestingly, the popularity of these evenings with parents has stimulated a greater interest from the teachers in also undertaking training. 

6. Marketing - Planning for change 

Visitor’s Days 

Due to the large number of requests received by the Walton Library for information and advice, it was decided to offer a program of Visitor’s days for people in other schools and libraries. Part of the MLC philosophy is to share information with others and to encourage community access to our experience and knowledge. Once a term, or more often on request, administrators, computer personnel and librarians from other schools visit the Walton Library where they meet with senior members of the library team. The program includes strategies for the development of an innovative library, development of an electronic library and the Internet at MLC. 

Technology Expo 

Every second year a Technology Expo is held to showcase the latest in educational technology. This also is a great motivator in encouraging the administration to favourably view requests from the library for an expansion of its technology. This sort of activity is an excellent public relations exercise for the school, with the library at the centre of activities. 

7. Physical environment - Planning for change

John Worthington(6) in planning the Virtual Library says 

"Despite the dramatic changes in function and technologies, it was clear that the library is a repository of knowledge, a focus for reflection and a centre for exchange. The implications for librarians commissioning new space and for their architects is that any new addition must provide spaces that create identity, absorb changing technology and provide easily accessible spaces that enhance human exchange. The technology and management styles will keep changing, but the building shell stays as a long-term asset or hindrance."

The library is housed in a 23 year old purpose-built building, over two floors. A great deal of consideration has been given to the physical layout of the Library since the installation of the new technology. Having two floors has enabled us to separate our functions quite successfully. On the top floor we have private study areas, a television studio, a Global Learning Centre, a New Media Centre and a recreational reading area. Downstairs there is space for two classes to undertake research and enough space for another 20-30 students undertaking individual research among the reference and non-fiction collection, around the serials and newspapers or on the computers or from their own laptops.

Bookstock 

The non-fiction, reference and serial collections are also housed on level one. The fiction collection is on the upper level in the reading areas. Physically, the book stock would apear to be the heart of the library's operations. This is not necessarily the case however, as when MLC students come to the library to undertake research the first thing they do is to sit down at a computer....either to search the catalogue or one of our electronic resources. There is much training to be done in guiding the students through all sources of information! It's wonderful to see that the teachers are now following the students lead and beginning to move more comfortably between the books and the computers. See under Collection Management for the reengineering that resulted from this situation (outsourcing and a greater need for staff to be available to assist students) and under Future Directions for further planning of facilities. 

8. Collection management - Planning for change

Reengineering 

Sylvia Piggott (4) says "reengineering involves three processes......first you develop a strategic vision, then you analyse and design the reengineering process, and you follow up by implementing the process. As the processes are reengineered, jobs are reengineered as well, thereby optimising the business and making it more competitive." 

There is no specialist cataloguer on the staff of the Walton Library. Cataloguing was done by the teacher-librarians, with the technicians undertaking the data entry. 

In the past two years there has been some reengineering of library operations. Because of the demand for the teaching expertise of teacher-librarians and the need for an extra staff member to be rostered on the research desk, it was decided to outsource our cataloguing and end-processing. Our records are downloaded from ABN directly onto our URICA system. Of course there is still some original cataloguing done from local purchases and for fiction, but any in-house cataloguing is now done by the library technicians. 

The long-term goal is to reduce back-room work for most of the staff, so that eventually most staff will be working "on the floor" assisting users, running training sessions, working with students and teachers in the classrooms and conducting classes in the library. And it is wonderful to have fully processed books arriving as soon as two weeks after purchase and shelf-ready for our staff and students. There is no cataloguing backlog in the Walton Library, but "vast improvements in customer-valued productivity" (4) 

Electronic ordering 

Streamlined ordering procedures were implemented two years ago. The acquisitions librarian uses the Internet to order directly from the University Co-operative Bookshop in New South Wales. Baker and Taylor Link is also an invaluable selection tool with on-line ordering facilities directly to the United States. Other electronic systems are being investigated, as it is imperative that all options are covered in order to provide the best service for our users. 

Future Directions - facilities

" If librarians do not make the most of the opportunities opening up they will be left behind and ousted from a position of considerable potential by systems planners and analyists. The virtual library already exists. It is but a short step to the virtual librarian."(7) 

Libraries are undergoing rapid change along with developments in information technology and communications. This change will accelerate because the major format in which information is held will no longer be print held on site, but electronic access to multiple information formats that may be held anywhere. The school library will become a communications and information centre with training, research and active learning its primary functions. 

At the Walton Library we have identified the following areas of priority for facility planning.

• To provide facilities that accommodate individual learning styles of students and are adaptable to all users’ needs.
  The spaces need to be flexible (convertible, expandable, contractible, versatile) to adjust to changing needs. There needs to be a variety of areas and they must be accessible on a user demand basis. There must be a variety of learning resources available. Students are now taking more responsibility for their own learning and will be learning in groups, as individuals and in places other than the classroom. The learning environment should be designed to enhance learning and performance for everyone. The development of a whole school Information Skills Continuum to address the issue of Information Literacy will place greater demands on the staff of the Library, while at the same time increase the profile of the teacher-librarians as the vital link between teacher, student, curriculum and success.
• To provide facilities to accommodate emerging and innovative technology. 
  Vast amounts of data are now available in a variety of formats. There will be a decrease in the number of non-fiction books purchased and a dramatic increase in the availability of electronic information which will be available from home or wherever. The Internet has provided a global bookshelf and the possibility of wireless networking and other advances in communications will increase mobility. 
  In school curriculums there is an increased use of multimedia, computer-assisted learning and a growing demand for interactive packages. There is also a trend towards the integration of libraries and computing services. 
  Students are now producing their own curriculum materials and presenting their work in new formats using multimedia. Students need access to technology, both traditional forms of audio-visual resources together with current computer based technology and emerging technologies. For students to work with sound and video in particular, studio areas are required. We will require multi-function spaces with interrelated functions in shared spaces, flexible cabling and a variety of learning areas. 
• To provide training facilities that will enhance the learning opportunities for our community. 
  There will be less emphasis on collecting and reference and more on improving access to real-time information. Teachers will be requiring continuous upgrading of skills and students are increasingly being expected to be self-starters and thinkers with research skills as a key competency. There is an enormous challenge to provide training spaces and support for all our users (staff, students and the community) in this "second era of the Information Age."(4) 

Providing facilities for fee-paying community access is high on the agenda of future directions for the Walton Library.

The Challenge : choosing our future (8) 

If we are to position ourselves to choose our own future we will need:

• to build credibility by identifying areas of support from within our organisation
• to encourage staff who are committed team members, rather than having the attitude
  ‘I just work here’ 
• to encourage experimentation and risk-taking
• to build skills across all staff
• to have a set of beliefs that are identifiable in the form of a mission statement

and that are compatible with the mission of the parent organisation

• to value human resources and not allow technology to rule
• to improve performance through the use of technology
• to think and act entrepreneurially
• to market ourselves and our library
• to be accountable and continuously evaluate our role and performance
• to be prepared to throw off the old if it is no longer mission critical
• to aim for and expect the best performance from ourselves and our staff
• to make decisions with ‘the big picture’ in mind......and not exhaust ourselves with trivial change!!

Copyright 1997: Suzette Boyd, Janet Smith 

 References
1. Loader, David. 1995 'Letter from the Principal to MLC staff.' Link, vol. 17, no 30, pp 1-5.

2. Smith, Janet & Carroll, Felicity. 1995. Making the virtual information experience a reality: he MLC library's experience of using electronic media to promote independent learning. Proceedings, 7th Information Online and On Disc Conference and Exhibition 1995, Sydney, Information Science Section, ALIA pp. 221-238. 

3. Loader, David. 1993. 'Reconstructing an Australian School', in Reflections of a learning community: views on the introduction of laptops at MLC, edited by Irene Grasso and Margaret Fallshaw, Kew, Methodist Ladies' College, pp. 9-16. 

4. Piggot, Sylvia E. A. 1995. 'Sylvia Piggot at the Bank of Montreal: Reengineering information services for the 2nd era of the information age.' Infomanage: The International Management Newsletter for the Information Services Executive, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 1-3. 

5. Maling, Jillian et al. 1995. Managing new educational environments. LETA 1995, Conference Proceedings, Sydney, pp. 14-23. 

6. Worthington, John. 1994. Planning the virtual library, The Architects Journal, 18 August, pp. 24-25. 

7. Cleeve, Marigold. 1994. Capturing utopia. Librarian Career Development, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 31. 

8. Boyd, Suzette. 1997. Choosing a revolution, Scan, vol.16, no. 1, pp. 11-14.