Knowledge Exchange - the Assessment Method

When Jen Salvo-Eaton was designing the Knowledge Exchange program, she determined a need for assessing its success. The Access Services Supervisors decided to create an anonymous aptitude test that would be administered to every staff member and supervisor before the Knowledge Exchange training began, and then again upon the completion of the program. I was tasked with organizing and editing the questionnaire, based on the input of the Access Services Supervisors.

The questionnaire consisted of six questions for each of the Access Services departments (with the exception of Offisite). The first question was the same for each department: On a scale of 1(Low) to 10(High), please rate how familiar you are with the following department’s policies and procedures. The other five questions would pertain to specific policies for the department that the Supervisors felt every staff member should be aware of.

The questionnaire was taken by 34 staff and supervisors from Access Services, and below are the initial results (with the familiarity rating and the percentage of questions answered correctly):

Circulation, 6.12 familiarity rating, 47.6% correct

Delivery Services, 3.97 familiarity rating, 16.5% correct

Interlibrary Loan, 4.21 familiarity rating, 44.1% correct

Library Privileges, 5.79 familiarity rating, 84.7% correct

Reserves, 5.38 familiarity rating, 63.5% correct

Stacks, 5.81 familiarity rating, 67.6% correct

(Fun Facts: The question most people answered correctly was “What is the shortest length of time someone can rent a locker for?”; the question most people did not answer correctly was “What type of items can be requested through Delivery Services?” If you do not know the answers to these questions yourself, you should seek them out.)

The Knowledge Exchange is an entirely new approach to interdepartmental learning, and as we move further along we are adjusting the program as needed. Similarly, this is the first time we have attempted to assess one of our projects in this manner, and in retrospect there are certain changes I should have made, to help the questionnaire be more uniform. The test should have included at least one multiple choice question and one true or false question for each department, as well as a long-form response. Instead, one department was heavy with true or false questions, while another department was devoted to long-form responses, and a third department asked questions solely with numeric answers. I feel the disparity of the questions may have influenced, in part, some of the disparity between departments in the number of questions answered correctly (and may be reflected in the amount of change when the questionnaire is administered the second time).

So far there has been a lot of positive feedback from staff about the trainings they have received. It will be interesting to see how their experiences will translate into improved knowledge and understanding of the various departments. Fortunately, we now have an assessment tool that will help us determine that. Stay tuned.

Now that My Time has arrived can Flex-time be far behind?

Now that My Time -- the university web-based time management system -- has become part of the landscape of the University, is it time for a conversation exploring the possibilities of flex-time also becoming part of the picture?

Many years ago, I asked a director about the possibility of flex-time being implemented here during the summer -- four days on three days off -- the answer was, “no.” And, that “it would be impossible to keep track of staff time.” Although there could be a myriad of other reasons that could make the implementation difficult, My Time may have eliminated that roadblock.

My Time is a time keeping system that provides NYU with a system for tracking time worked and time off balances. It also provides employees with online access to vacation, sick and personal time balances. Could My Time possibly make a dream come true?

What is flex-time? It is a variable work schedule, in contrast to a standard 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday schedule. As employees try to find a balance between work and personal obligations, flex-time could possibly be the answer for many. Often, many life events (for example doctors’ appointments, school, childcare, and elder care obligations) cannot be accommodated by a traditional nine to five schedule. Access Services hours of operation lend themselves to accommodating a new paragon for scheduling staff.

What are some of the benefits of flex-time for the employer?

There have been many studies that indicate that flex-time improved job satisfaction, increased productivity and loyalty. Companies who have implemented flex-time have less burned out employees, unplanned absenteeism and a higher retention rate of their top performers.

It may be early in the process to look at other applications for My Time. However, it can never be never too early to start the conversation.


Flex-time studies:
Current Population Survey (CPS) 2004 Workers on Flexible Shift Schedules

National Study of employers (NSE), 2008:
www.familiesandwork.org/site/research/reports/2008nse.pdf

RFID chips don't save the Library World (yet)

A few months ago I had the opportunity to attend, and present, at an Access Services conference in Atlanta, GA. There were over 150 people representing dozens of libraries across the country. The program consisted of many interesting topics discussing various issues that most libraries all seem to have in common: customer service, staff management, collection management, and statistical data collection, to name a few.

One presentation, by Catherine Jannik Downey from Georgia Gwinnett College Library, stuck out in my mind as it dispelled a couple of myths I have been holding on to. GGC Library is a small but growing library that recently moved into a new building. Starting with a small collection it was(financially) feasible to convert from their existing barcode system to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips as well as being able to upgrade equipment in the new facility.

When I first heard about RFID chips for books a number of years ago I was thrilled with the possibilities. Patrons walking out the door would have any books in their bag automatically checked out to them as they pass through the security gates. Shelf reading could be done with a wave of a wand across library shelves. Missing books could be tracked down anywhere in the building. Teams of library ninjas could seize unreturned materials from dorm rooms…

It turns out patrons still have to visit a circulation point to have their books checked out and that sometimes the antenna misses a book or two and patrons can leave with uncharged materials in their bag (and set off the exit alarms). Shelf reading wands do not necessarily read the books in order and metal shelves can deflect chip radio signals. Chip signals are not strong enough to track down missing materials. And campus security would probably frown on a team of ninjas.

The RFID chip is not a dead idea though. Companies like UPS and Fedex would not be using them if they did not work very well, but those companies have a great deal of automation and materials are generally handled only by people trained to do things a certain way. Libraries don’t have that luxury. We let people paw through our books and often training patrons is limited to a well worded sign.

But times are changing and so are libraries. Some, for example, have moved toward off-site storage facilities and the RFID chip could play a role in moving materials in an efficient manner. And the cost of converting existing collections could be balanced by limiting it to those materials that are housed outside the traditional library.

RFID technology has the potential to change how libraries operate, but for now they are not ready to take over the library world for a variety of practical reasons that are as yet cost prohibitive to try and overcome.

So until then I will keep working on plan B: the Force and Jedi Knights.



(yes, this entire post was written as an excuse to post this video)