Roxanne Sellberg, Northwestern University

“I’ll never look at a reorganization in quite the same way again.”

This comment was representative of those heard at the close of Roxanne Sellberg’s presentation at the 2007 ILA annual conference. Sellberg, Assistant University Librarian for Technical Services at Northwestern University, took listeners on a whirlwind tour of the lifecycle of an organizational structure and referred to reorganization as one of the few tools available to management that has the power to bring profound change to the workplace.

Most reorganizations are triggered by external events—a new manager, a staff turnover, a major change in workflow or a crisis. As a result, disadvantages inherent in the current structure that have been ignored become more obvious. Seeing opportunity, administrators tend to capitalize on the event and issue a call for change—one that, likely as not, is long overdue. Primary concepts are identified, a new vision is developed, plans are made and the restructuring is implemented. After the initial difficulties are overcome, the staff adjusts, the reorganization becomes the norm, the new structure begins to age and the seeds of its obsolescence are sown.

According to Sellberg, reorganizing a library’s Technical Services Department brings with it an interesting set of challenges and opportunities. The nature of the work and the individuals drawn to it make for an organizational structure that leans toward stability and control to the detriment of vitality and risk-taking. Conversely, Technical Services staff tends to care about organizational charts and is committed to the operation—characteristics that make reinventing the organizational chart an ideal way to change direction and influence behavior.

The presentation came complete with caveats for the would-be organizer. Sellberg’s experiences have led her to conclude most successful reorganizations are those solidly grounded in the work to be accomplished while those imposed to keep up with the latest management trends are less likely achieve the desired result. The speaker also cautioned against overuse of the re-organization tool. Profound change, if ongoing, is disruptive, can damage productivity and destabilize the operation.

Roxanne Sellberg closed with a thought for staff and managers alike. “Reorganization brings positive change—embrace it.” Her presentation was sponsored by the RTSD and LAMA forums.

Submitted by Randy Roeder, Newsletter Committee