Cultural Change or Problem-Solving: SharePoint Technology to the Rescue

This presentation tells the story of releasing positive energy among Technical Services workers in the face of challenges and distrust. Technology, exemplified by SharePoint as a workflow tool, is an unlikely solution, but it worked for the BMCC Library. Today’s collection management has changed because of the emphasis on electronic resources. E-book acquisition has created a few more steps compared to buying print books. Staff still cling to their old habits and have difficulty recognizing that the integration of new workflow results in more than a cataloged item on the shelf. We persist in collecting statistics based on hand counts on paper, even as we copy and paste information into Excel files. When the data collected by different units don’t match, or a colleague’s work is devalued because of ambiguity, conflict simmers. We must always ask ourselves “what are we doing right?” Is the simple desire to keep accurate statistics a strong driver for change? How do we extend our shared commitment to the library mission of student success into organizational performance? It was clear that a new plan was needed to organize the workflow among our collection development, acquisitions, and cataloging departments. The Library devised a technological solution for collecting data and calculating statistics, using Microsoft SharePoint as an all-encompassing platform to streamline operations, maintain quality, and facilitate decision-making by organizing, sharing, and managing information. The presentation will describe how various features of SharePoint, such as document library, wiki pages, and workflow were systematically tested. The most important test was to implement SharePoint to provide the library a complex, but complete, electronic collection development workflow. Reliable and faster data resolved departmental tension. The collection development workflow relies on constructive input from acquisitions and cataloging. Fiat lux, fiat latebra, SharePoint lets the light shine on back office operations. Appreciation and collaboration among staff are enhanced