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Keywords
Academic libraries, Technology, Staffing, Customer satisfaction, Management
Abstract
The purpose of this article is threefold. First, to introduce into journal literature a multi-year statistical analysis of the daily work required to keep the technologies found in today's academic libraries operational, and to situate this daily maintenance effort in the context of the additional responsibilities of technical staff. Second, given the volume and variety of daily maintenance work and the additional special projects and routine duties of technical staff, to present a parallel assessment of customer satisfaction with the daily maintenance effort. Data about the work and about customer satisfaction with the work are both crucial to understanding the scope of duties and staffing required to provide the hi-tech library services, collections and equipment that will meet or exceed user needs and expectations. Third, to provide examples of how these data are used to support strategic decisions and plans that will move libraries toward their goals.
Introduction
Library journals typically report the plans or results of library projects, focusing on such things as reference service, interlibrary loan, significant acquisitions, digital library developments, usage studies or library renovations. What is missing in the literature is an analysis of the work entailed in providing quality support for the technologies that enable library staff to do their jobs and library users to do what they expect to do in today's libraries. These activities include using computers, printers, databases, scanners, microform equipment and photocopiers. Whether it is called a systems office, technology department or something else, each of today's libraries has a unit that provides support for a growing array of technologies crucial to library work. Though library administrators need data about the activities of this unit to make informed strategic decisions about equipment, personnel, staff training and customer service, discussion of the day-to-day work of this unit is conspicuously missing from library literature. To begin to address this gap, this article provides an overview of the support services provided by Carnegie Mellon's Library Information Technology Operations Department, the library staffs quality assessment of these services, and the kinds of administrative decisions that are made based on data that track and assess these services. In "the best of all possible worlds,"...