Many thanks to all who participated in our second virtual roundtable on Monday, April 20.
Elizabeth Edwards (University of Chicago) and Lisa O'Keefe (Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University) facilitated a discussion about supporting our colleagues and our library organizations. Staff needs One institution established several teams to manage different aspects of this crisis, including remote work, employee wellness, and continuity of service. Others have umbrella groups managing continuity of service along with all other aspects of organizational response. Several institutions have used surveys to explore staff needs during this time. These instruments have tried to strike a balance between giving people room to express concerns with gathering actionable feedback. Surveys have included questions about:
Responses to these surveys seem to indicate that despite its limitations and tech challenges, folks have generally settled into their new reality. Many of the outstanding questions have no good answers:
Ongoing work This crisis has clearly demonstrated the need for programmatic assessment to support decision-making. One institution has seen a strong response rate to a brief and highly targeted campus survey exploring how the library was meeting the needs of instructors, researchers, and learners. Others are looking to existing data to inform decisions about interim and future library services. For example, understanding space allocation and typical patterns of use by patrons and employees will be critical as libraries think about how to safely reopen their physical buildings. Since patrons and employees naturally cluster around entries and service points, extra care will need to be taken to ensure appropriate social distancing - or alternate strategies, like the removal of furniture or the creation of a "drive thru" - until the spread of the virus is less of a concern. In closing, a participant shared a three-zone model that can be useful in thinking about where individuals and organizations are right now: the comfort zone, the learning zone, and the chaos zone. We are collectively moving through the chaos zone, so we should approach our work, our colleagues, and ourselves with empathy and sensitivity. Join Library UX Chicago on Monday, April 20 for an informal conversation about assessing staff needs in our new and unexpected work environments. We will meet via Zoom on Monday, April 20 from 2pm-3pm Central.
RSVP to attend or share by emailing Elizabeth Edwards at [email protected]. Please also contact us with your ideas for future discussion topics! Many thanks to everyone who attended our first virtual roundtable on Monday, April 6.
In a round-robin discussion facilitated by Abby Annala (Loyola University), we shared successes and challenges that we have experienced as our organizations have moved online abruptly - or as long-time remote workers. Challenge: Understanding workplace needs Several institutions have surveyed their staff in order to understand challenges in the current work environment. Findings are informing communication strategies, including minimizing the numbers of emails that are going out since volume of email and also number/range of distractions both emerged as issues. Qualtrics has made some of its experience management tools available for use, including a Remote Work Pulse tool developed specifically for this crisis Challenge: Shifting from time or team-based work into mostly independent work, especially unstructured tasks like research Many of us are used to working with other people, or with meetings and deadlines to structure our work. Flexibility can be both positive and negative. Managers should be empathetic to the struggles folks are experiencing; everyone should work with their managers to set realistic expectations. Consider accountability partners or other structures for checking in as it can be difficult to stay on task if you're only accountable to yourself. Challenge: Lack of boundaries or balance between home and work In this environment, it's easy to feel pulled to work too much - or to be pulled away by family or other responsibilities. Just because we're working online doesn't mean we're working all the time. If possible, do something to transition between "home" and "work", even if it's just a symbolic gesture: Get dressed for the day, including with shoes or real pants, or physically clear your workspace at the end of the day or the work week. Challenge: Time management, staying focused Set realistic expectations for yourself as your ability to get things done is necessarily different right now. Making this "mental compromise" can be helpful. Keep a project or priority list, but don't aim for your "normal" levels of productivity - take at least one thing away per day. Or make a list of three things you have to accomplish and start with the hardest. Put projects on your calendar as appointments so that the time is reserved and you'll get reminders. The Pomodoro method can be useful for focus and structure. Break down your tasks into 25 minute work cycles. Toggl and Asana are great tools for time tracking and project management. Challenge: Too many meetings Meetings are serving different functions right now: in addition to checking in and doing work, meetings are providing opportunities to stay connected. It's hard to strike a balance when people's needs for information and connection are different. Hopefully the longer we are distributed, the better we'll be able to gauge when meetings are actually needed, as well as to find other ways to fill in the gaps of informal workplace socializing. Use your meeting hours to determine your actual availability to get work done - you can spend 20 hours in meetings OR you can spend those hours doing work. This is an opportunity to change communication patterns, to think about which meetings could be emails, and to develop more effective meeting practices. The Basecamp Guide to Internal Communication has many great ideas for productive and transparent communication practices. Library UX Chicago has launched an informal discussion series to give us opportunities to share ideas and stay connected with our professional community.
We hope that these conversations, like our coffee chats, will make space to brainstorm strategies for the challenges we're facing. Our first conversation, held Monday, April 6, focused on remote work in libraries. If you have suggestions for future topics, please contact us In keeping with the CDC’s current guidelines for event planners, Library UX Chicago has decided to cancel the Rapid Space Assessment event scheduled for Friday, March 27. We hope to reschedule this event later this year.
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