Case study

Background information
The University of Melbourne (1995) undertook 'teaching and research programmes for some 30,000 students, supported by almost 5,500 staff' covering a wide range of disciplines (p1). The libraries consisted of the Baillieu Library, which mainly covered the humanities and social sciences, and seventeen (17) branch libraries covering science and technology, law, music and education. The collections were comprised of over 2.1 million volumes and in addition to supporting the University's research and teaching programmes, there was a commitment to meeting regional and national needs. The establishment of the Library comprised 270 specialist and support staff. Both positions in the study were in the information resources division which was 'responsible for ordering, acquiring, accessioning, cataloguing and the physical preparation of library material' (p1). There were approximately 100 staff in the division whose aim was to ensure material availability and access for patrons. The orders section enhanced the Library's service by maximising buying effectiveness of the book vote and by ensuring that procedures were as efficient and flexible as resources allowed. The sixteen staff of the orders section comprised two HEW4s, one HEW3, and thirteen HEW2s. (integration with the Bibliographic Searching Section (BSS) had increased the staff to 25 supervised by John and the BSS head). The serials section supported the university objectives of research and teaching by maximising buying effectiveness and enhancing accessibility by ensuring that serials and periodicals were available in the shortest time. The serials collection comprised 18,000 titles. The section was responsible for all aspects of serials processing apart from cataloguing which was handled by the cataloguing sections. The position description (1993) stated that staff also contributed to divisional objectives and to library-wide activities such as 'strategic planning, service management, orientation tours and in-service staff development' (p2). In addition to the manager, the serials section comprised one HEW5, two HEW3/4s, eight HEW2s and casual staff.

The mission of the University of Western Sydney (UWS), Macarthur stated in the collection development policy (1995a) was 'To provide excellence in higher education, research and associated community service within South-Western Sydney' (p1) and library's activities were directed towards supporting that mission. In 1994, the collection was made up of 225,479 monographs, current subscriptions totalled 3,024, and there were 58 staff. The library goal relevant to the Interlibrary Loans Unit was that of supporting 'research by providing access to materials' (p1) and the collection development policy (1995b) also indicated a commitment to developing the distributed national collection and emphasised the importance of cooperative relations with other libraries. The interlibrary loans unit supported the library's goal of 'providing the means to deliver needed resources to research staff and students' and the concept of access, by the library to the collections of other libraries, mentioned in the draft strategic plan (1996). The unit establishment comprised Wilma and one permanent Assistant Library Technician (ALT). The information desk and loans plus the casual pool provided a total of eleven staff, from assistant library technician to library technician level, for a total of fourteen hours. In addition, loans discharged books returned from interlibrary loan and did some checking whereas the stack services were involved in some retrieval functions.

Position information
Whereas the observation period focussed on Sandra's work in the INNOPAC implementation team, the other aspects of the study mainly focused on her work in the serials manager position. Her position in the implementation team was at the same (HEW7) level and was closely associated with and thereby drew upon her serials manager expertise.

The serials manager was responsible for the effective functioning of the section, and for the provision of a direct enquiry service to users. The position also had to provide input to divisional goals and plans as well as involvement in library-wide planning and service initiatives. The main responsibilities of the position were: to maintain an efficient, fully operational serials section; to manage the budgetary responsibilities of the serials allocation; to maximise the personnel resources available in the section; to assist in communication within the division and the library; to assist in the provision of direct service to users; and to contribute to library service objectives. For a more detailed description see Appendix A.

Sandra did not have a position description statement for the work she did in regard to INNOPAC implementation work, however, her primary function as a member of the implementation team was to be responsible for setting up parameters for the serials and acquisitions modules and to work with the acquisitions and serials working groups to achieve same. Sandra was also to assess and evaluate work flows, plan work involved in entering manual data onto the system, prepare and deliver training in relation to the acquisitions and serials modules, and to document the agreed processes. Sandra was a member of the serials and acquisitions committees, the technical committee, and convenor of the labels committee.

John as the orders manager was responsible for the effective management of the section, for leadership and direction and for input to divisional and library strategic planning goals. His primary responsibilities were complex problem solving tasks and planning the effective expenditure of the monograph budget. The main responsibilities of the position were: to maintain an efficient, fully operational orders section; to manage the budgetary responsibilities of the monograph allocation; to maximise the personnel resources available in the section; to assist in communication across the division and the library; and to contribute to the library's mission and service goals. For a more detailed description see Appendix B.

The minimum training level or qualifications needed to perform the basic requirements of the position for both the orders and serials managers positions were eligibility for professional membership of ALIA and at least four years subsequent relevant experience; or completion of a degree and at least four years subsequent relevant experience; or completion of associate diploma (library & information studies) or other relevant qualification with at least six years relevant work experience; or extensive experience and management expertise; or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education/training. Other essential criteria were: interpersonal skills including group leadership; problem solving skills; ability to implement and manage change; ability to prioritise and maximise resources. A desirable for the Serials Manager position was a working knowledge of ABN, AACR2 and dewey decimal classification.

Wilma's curriculum vitae below was mainly based on her contribution to a job evaluation process which resulted in the reclassification of her position for HEW5 to 6. There was no documented position description available for the interlibrary loans unit co-ordinator's job, however, the Sydney Morning Herald (1996) advertisement for the position, following Wilma's resignation outlined essential criteria as: 'Eligible for professional membership of ALIA, or library technician membership of ALIA plus significant relevant experience; high level information technology skills; organisational ability; excellent communication and interpersonal skills; awareness of and commitment to teamwork; commitment to quality service' (p5E). A desirable was 'reference or inter-library loan experience in an academic library'.

A a