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Ask Imps Archive

Wednesday, August 25, 1999

Who has the authority to make changes in divisional libraries, the IMP-created committees or the divisional libraries themselves?

August 27, 1999

Your question is a timely one. However, it is framed within an either/or context which is probably unanswerable as such. While we want decisions to be made quickly and effectively, our present interconnected environment will not support decisions made in isolation, since they may have major implications elsewhere. Joint decisions or those which will require input from others will probably become more common.

Michael Leininger
for Imps

August 31, 1999

Feel free to elaborate on you questions if we haven't answered them sufficiently above.

Caleb T-R
for Imps

Wednesday, July 21, 1999

IMPS - In between all of the charges which have been passed on and tasks which have been completed on your list of action items are these particularly interesting topics:

  • Review career paths for support staff.
  • Support staff specialization in information service or technology; training issues

    I have found no further discussion of these anywhere on the web site. Can you tell us what's happening?

    Pam Burke

    Wednesday, July 21

    Movement on these particular action items is a bit further down the road. When the imps discussed responsibility for various action items, it seemed obvious that these two topics would be the responsibility of the Public Services Management Committee, with input from Sheelah Britt and Robin Deadrick. The circulation and processing committees would play an advisory role, and of course the MIT Personnel Office would have to be involved.

    A major reason why action on these issues will not be immediate is that all the PSMC members have yet to be seated. Catherine Friedman, the new Head of Dewey library, has begun only this week. Steve Gass, the new Head of Barker library, will not begin until mid-September. Changes in these two areas will have significant impact on public services support staff in each library, and the heads of all libraries need to be involved in these discussions and decisions.

    In the meantime, charges for these and other PSMC action items have been created and should shortly be posted on the imps web site. Please keep visiting us.

    michael finigan
    for the Imps

    • Wednesday, July 21, 1999

    IMPS -
    Thanks for sending out minutes, I was wondering why you weren't doing this before, I think it'll help.

    While communication is on your mind, here's another question.

    Most of the responses to questions in your archives are written by Caleb. As a previous web master, I am probably a little more sensitive to this issue than some - but I'm wondering, is Caleb just getting stuck trying to figure out how to answer all these questions? Or are you discussing these issues, and he's reporting your collective response?

    I think that people would appreciate knowing that their questions were provoking conversations in your group, rather than just stressing out the one person who maintains the web site.

    Thanks,
    Pam Burke

    Thursday, July 23, 1999

    The ImpActs posted on 7/21/99 hopefully answers your first question. The imps also think it'll help.

    We appreciate your concern for Caleb, and please rest assured we haven't stuck him with responding to our inquiries. A response to "Ask Imps" is directed to all imps. If it's a cut and dried issue for which the answer is quite obvious Caleb, as a member of the imps communications team, has often taken the responsibility for getting back with a quick response. If the issue requires discussion or further investigation, there is an electronic discussion and consensus amongst imps before a reply is posted. When a question doesn't lend itself to this kind of discussion, it finds its way onto our agenda at the next meeting. We certainly take inquiries seriously, and welcome them. Please keep them coming.

    for all the imps
    michael finigan

    July 9, 1999

    About the customer service program: Will this be created by the PSCC? Or will they just direct its creation? The wording is, "The Public Services Coordinating Committee will provide public services staff with *a report for the creation of* a customer service program that will provide context for performance measurement." It is unclear what this "report" will be.

    July 9, 1999

    The above message refers to the Charge for the Customer Service Program. This charge is was taken from the PMTF Recommendations.

    Our sense is that the PSCC will direct the creation of the Customer Service Program. We imagine that they will involve and consult staff as necessary. Many staff have already contributed with their participation in the What is Customer Service? workshops.

    As for "what will this report be?", as you say, it is unclear. The report will be to the IMPs, and will include the things mentioned in the charge. It is a topic worthy of further discussion in a future IMPs meeting.

    Caleb T-R
    for IMPs

    June 10, 1999

    Dear Imp-Com,

    In response to your answer to Karen on the ISPs, you had mentioned that Imps didn't want to take credit for the ISP experiments around the system and therefore had not reported on them. I disagree that reporting on these trials is tantamount to taking credit for them. In fact, I would count on Impcom to report on any Redefinition-related news in the Libraries. How else are we going to know about it? Why not go over to Dewey and Rotch and find out how ISP models are working? The ISP is particularly relevant to the customer service focus of the Imps, and is a matter of great, perhaps the greatest interest to staff in all of the landscape of Redefinition. I certainly want to know more.

    Please keep the narrative thread going! Without Imp-Com reporting Redefinition -related news, there will be an information void and possibly malaise.

    Shana

    June 10, 1999

    Before I respond, let me remove this foot from my mouth...

    My earlier quote about not wanting to report on others' work was poorly phrased.

    The primary reason nothing we haven't reported on the pilot ISPs at Dewey and Rotch is because we know nothing about them.

    Part of Karen's message talked about how the Imps pages hadn't been updated in a while and that the Pilot ISPs could be moved to the Inbox and Outbox sections.

    At the time, my thinking was that the IMPs web site was a vehicle for the Implementation Leadership Group to communicate the work we are doing and plan to do. Therefore, since the IMPs hadn't done any work on the ISP, I still considered it to be on the "todo" list.

    There's a larger issue though: is the role of Imp-Com to communicate the work of the Implementation Leadership Group, or is it to communicate all work done on the implementation of Public Services Redefinition, no matter who carries it out?

    It's pretty clear that the latter is what's expected of us.

    My first reaction is defensive: how can we tell Public Services staff what's going on if we don't have information to give? How can I "go over to Dewey and Rotch"? Who has time for that?

    My next reaction is sympathetic (and hokey): one of the things I truly enjoyed about the redefinition process was the inclusiveness of the process and the feeling that everyone was participating. Effective communication on the part of Imp-Com can help to bring us all together as staff by virtue of us all being in tune with the Implementation process.

    We always appreciate comments and criticism from staff, constructive or otherwise. We hope that by you telling us what we're doing wrong, we can right it in the future. Look for updates on the ISP projects and other Implementation activities soon.

    Caleb T-R
    for Imp-Com

    June 8, 1999

    I've noticed a lot of brief minutes lately. I finally asked the author of one set why this was being done and I hear it's part of this Public Services Redefinition process. Somewhere in the process of not attending all of the Town Meetings, I missed this one, so I'll take the time now to voice my opinion against this new procedure.

    I'd rather see the full minutes by email. I'm much more likely to read the minutes as I'm going through my mail than to follow a web link and read them there, or to remember to go back and read them on the web later. So I'm finding myself getting behind on the goings on of those groups who publish shorter minutes to all-lib.

    But, as it seems this was a desired enough change that many groups are now following it, I'll make another suggestion. That is that the brief minutes include more than just an agenda. That they say a little bit about each topic, and if the reader really wants to know the full details, then they have to go to the web version.

    Christine Moulen

    June 8, 1999

    Thanks for your comments.

    I've had another look at the Internal Communications Task Force Report and the only thing I can find relating to the content of minutes is the following statement:

    (Section G-6, Miscellaneous norms)

  • Minutes of meetings should generally be limited to brief descriptions of decisions and action items. A minutes template should be designed to facilitate the process on the web.

    So the suggestion was made that minutes be "limited" but never specifically that expanded versions be available on the web. By no means is this practice a "new procedure"; it's more of a trend.

    You bring up an interesting problem though, that of too much versus too little information. Who needs to know what? Who is being left "out of the loop"? Why?

    Unfortunately, the Implementation Leadership Group doesn't have the resources to address this issue at this time.

    Under construction is are Internal Communications Facilitators (outlined in the aforementioned ICTF report) who may be responsible for exploring issues such as this one.

    Until then, it's up to the individual committees/teams/groups to decide what is the best way to publish minutes and communicate with the Libraries staff.

    Caleb Tucker-Raymond
    for Imp-Com

    • May 12, 1999

    Dear IMPS,

    I'd like to acknowledge the fine job that Caleb did in facilitating the Humanities staff meeting last Thursday [May 6, 1999]. He met with a great deal of resistance, and in my humble opinion, he handled it very well.

    Few support staff would have felt compelled to take on this difficult task, and I think his work should be acknowledge as being far beyond the call of duty.

    Sincerely,
    Pam Burke

    May 21, 1999

    Thanks Pam for your support and encouragement. We hope to post the notes from the What is Customer Service workshops soon, including the thought-provoking issues brought up in that meeting with Humanities staff.

    Caleb

    May 11, 1999

    The new home page is very nice!

    The inbox/outbox areas haven't been updated in a while (Feb/March, respectively, and it's now May). I'd love it if I could look at these pages on a frequent basis and see which things are underway.

    For example, Rotch has now been operating a pilot ISP since January, and this doesn't show up ANYwhere I can see. Also, I just learned that Dewey has already tried one ISP model and has temporarily abandoned it, and is looking at how to make it work better, and it would be nice if that was on the list, too.

    Also, you could list which groups are now meeting for the first time, and which will be forming later, and when.

    Thanks for all your your hard work!

    Karen Mueller-Harder

    May 21, 1999

    First, all of us Imps would like to thank Oliver Mentken of Rotch Library for designing the new Imps logo.

    Karen, you raise the serious issue of slow communications by the IMP-Com group. For example, it's taken me almost two weeks to respond to your question. We're working to correct this problem and to bring the pages up-to-date so please bear with us.

    The ISP projects in Rotch and Dewey were initiated before Imps began to even think about getting one started. One reason we never reported on it was because we didn't want to take credit for something we have had nothing to do with. We also haven't maintained any kind of official communications lines between Imps and the pilots.

    Caleb

    March 26, 1999 is the Task Matrix also starring Keanu Reeves?

    I'm not sure. Please check with the Underlib Funny Movie List.

    Caleb

    March 25, 1999

    1. Will the Task Matrix be posted on the Web? I'd be interested to view it at more leisure and at closer range than I was able to during the presentation on the 25th.

    2. One of the interesting tidbits to come out of the meeting, though (as far as I know) unrelated to Implementation, was a side comment from Margaret about a new entrance to Barker. I found out more in post-meeting chats. Could the Communications Group or subgroup somehow devise a way of soliciting and posting information about various library-specific renovation -- or other -- projects, particularly in the interim period between now & whenever the "Internal Communications Facilitators" get geared up? For instance, proposed Hayden current-periodical display in the Map Room; new entrance to Barker; that kind of thing. I guess I'm looking for something that would be a successor to "Library Notes" but more up-to-date, since I don't know of anything currently filling that function.

    3. How frequently are comments sent to this page posted?

    1. Yes, the Task Matrix and other graphics displayed at the Town Meeting will be on the Web. It is a document that doesn't lend itself to a quick view as an overhead, and I'm sure many others would like to take a leisurely look at it. Individuals who used graphics as part of their presentations will be sending their files to impcom, and they will be posted as soon as possible. Be on the lookout.

    2. Well, there has been talk about replacing the front doors at Barker with something more attractive, and the doors at Rotch were looked at as an alternative. There has also been discussion that, if the financial resources came our way, there could be a totally new entrance to Barker between the elevators that would open into the reading room, where there would be an ISP, reference terminals, study carrels, etc. I think these two concepts were what were in mind when the new entrance to Barker was mentioned.

    It would be nice to have a communications vehicle such as you envision set up, one that would keep everyone filled in on what is happening in every library. To be honest, however, the IMPs communications subgroup has neither the time nor the mission for such communications. We will do our best to get the word out on what is happening with the implementation process throughout the Libraries, but for the kinds of things you mention, some other vehicle would need to be set up by staff with the time and skills to keep it going. Until the Internal Communications Facilitators are geared up, maybe something on the staff web page akin to the "News" section of the Libraries home page could be established by some willing volunteers.

    3. There have been few comments to "Ask Imps" before the Town Meeting. Our goal is timely communications, and if it is okay with the correspondent to post a comment to the Ask Imps archive, an impcom member will do so as soon as possible.

    Michael

    March 25, 1999

    I have a question about the Public Services Committees Template. I can't tell from reading it whether there will be any collections representation on the PS Coordinating Committee. My sense is that if the Coordinating Committee includes representatives from major functions such as reference, circulation and processing, there needs to be representation from collections. It is entirely possible that I am misreading or misunderstanding this so go ahead and straighten me out if that is the case. I do think it would be a problem to have a PS Coordinating Committee that included all PS functions except collections.

    March 25, 1999

    There was never any intention of not having representation from collections on the Public Services Coordinating Committee. Since CMG will remain as is and there will be no new Collections Committee as with all other functions, we will have to determine how Collections will choose their representative to the Public Services Coordinating Committee. Sorry that this is the impression that this left.

    Deb

    March 22, 1999

    Dear Imps,

    I cannot find anywhere a list of the user groups. I would find having such a list available on the web very useful. Have I missed something, or if not, would you investigate adding this to the web site somewhere?

    Thanks

    Nina

    March 22, 1999

    The user groups are linked under the 'Action Items' section on the main page. Click on 'Outbox' (action items we are no longer working on) and follow the bullet about user groups.

    The actual document is an email that Ginny sent 1/5/99 and is part of the redefinition page.

    We have since updated the links to reflect the different sections for user groups and primary and secondary functional areas of responsibility.

    The Communications Sub-Group (impcom@mit.edu) is always interested in hearing thoughts on the organization of the page, what could be done better and what sorts of problems people are having.

    Caleb

    November 11, 1999

    Since this question was originally asked, there have been many changes to the User Groups. An up-to-date listing of User Groups is now available.

    Caleb