SPEC Kit 339: Innovation and R&D · 51
It is expected that the leadership in our information technology, digital collections, and preservation departments is
always empowered to explore projects informally and to propose formal R&D for external funding. As a result, it is also
the case that other departments such as Reference, or Bibliographic Services, will occasionally propose a custom service
or application development.
Most are idea-generated by departmental heads or staff and develop through cross-functional project teams.
Personally, I am really against the skunk works approach. I strive to encourage innovation throughout the organization.
To me R&D has value being library-wide effort rather than being in silos. Obviously, there might be some teams or
some projects that have more R&D needs than others, but we are not interested in creating barriers around who can or
cannot do R&D. I think it can actually damage the organization.
Project basis vetting through library management group
R&D activities are also embedded in other units, as well, including the Entrepreneurial Library Program, Center for
Educational Resources, Conservation and Preservation, Scholarly Resources and Special Collections.
R&D activities are undertaken as needed by appropriate staff.
R&D activities are undertaken on a case-by-case basis by various functional units.
R&D activities may originate in any unit. Typically, units engaged in R&D activities are those that have a public services,
instructional, or technology focus (Digital Initiatives Learning, Research, and Engagement).
R&D tends to be focused on an interest of a person or a group. R&D in IT focuses around new service and software
exploration, such as the development of mobile applications.
There is no formal staff or structure. We recognize the importance of it and want the organization to be flexible enough
to allow for different units to engage in R&D activities as necessary. Most of our efforts are on a small scale, and our
resources in general are limited, so this approach suits us well.
This often comes from liaison librarian opportunities, working with student government, or as part of a research leave
by librarians. We recently hired a Head, Digital Initiatives, who will be working in a lot of this area.
We do have a full-time position in our Library Technology Systems Department that is devoted primarily to R&D. Other
R&D effort is drawn as needed/available from other departments including Digital Library Initiatives, Special Collections
Research Center, Reference, etc., in ephemeral working groups focused on the project.
We have a new User Experience/Assessment Librarian and a long-standing Assessment Team, and a Web Development
Team. Both groups have routinely undertaken R&D type activities. In addition, individual departments and professional
school libraries have used pilot projects to experiment with new approaches to doing their work and providing user
services.
We have had a Director of User Research since 2005 who has involved a diversity of staff members in ethnographic
studies ranging from studying the undergraduate research process to space planning. The director recently left this
position to pursue new employment opportunities. The website interface/architecture project and preservation needs
assessment are both grant funded studies carried out by a P.I. in the library with staff members from a cross section of
library staff members chosen for their specific skill sets.
We incorporate R&D activities into each librarian’s position description to encourage capacity building.
We typically utilize staff from our Web &Emerging Technologies, Systems, Digital Initiatives units, supplemented by
others throughout the Libraries depending on the topic/field being explored.
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