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FROM A ONE-PERSON LIBRARY TO A MULTI-PERSON LIBRARY:
Staff new role in the medical faculty library of Helsinki University |
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Laitonen P. (National Library of Health Sciences, Helsinki University, 00290 Helsinki)
Alanne, R. (National Library of Health Sciences, Helsinki University)
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The role of the librarian changes lot in the processes in which a one-person library becomes a part of a multi-person library. This is the case in the University of Helsinki: in 1999, all the clinical one-person libraries were fused with the National Library of Health Sciences.
There can be seen four phases. First, the role of the librarian in a one-person library:
- For historical reasons the one-person librarian had multifaceted duties, varying from secretarial tasks and financial management to a professional librarian's duties.
- Because of the multifaceted job ”you had to know something about everything”.
- You had to be independent and self-reliant: being the only librarian, you were responsible for all the duties.
- Even in the 1990s, the duties were mainly ”manual”: for example computerised information was rare.
Before the 1990s many committee reports were published with the same kind of demands:
- Demands for centralising certain tasks.
- Co-operation: possibilities of teamwork.
- Deletion of overlapping acquisitions aiming at budget savings.
- Demands for team libraries: In 1966, there were 47 independent one-person libraries; in 2003 there are 9 Terkko-affiliated one-person libraries.
There was an organisational amendment pressure both in the university and in the hospital: the one-person libraries were affected by the following changes: duties included only library and information tasks; also, information technology was used more.
The third phase is the librarian's new role in the multi-person library:
- Librarians' co-operation.
- Intensifying teamwork: independence has changed into a need to harmonise of different standpoints - to so called ”interactive independence”.
- Support of colleagues is close: you need not to know everything.
- New information technology and new programmes: a new area to learn and a new tool for the librarian to organise information.
Fourthly: What we need to succeed in this process?:
- The staff’s own attitude: a concept of what will happen can be unclear and produce anxiety.
- Professional skills can help adapt to changes: library staff’s strongest skills can be benefited.
- Team leaders' position: they are the filters of the most important tasks.
- The role of the library manager:
1. Competence to see the needs of the medical clinic which the one-person librarian is leaving.
2. Let the librarian find his/her own skills and position in a multi-person library.
3. To be an encourager and a promoter of the staff all through the processes.
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