Public Library Strategic Plan Melendra Sutliff Sanders & Team Organizational Profile The Manhattan Public Library

is located in Manhattan, KS, a city of approximately 54,000 citizens located in north central Kansas. While the location of the city is geographically remote, the Manhattan community is more diverse than one would predict because of the presence of Kansas State University, which attracts international students and faculty, and Fort Riley, a large military post located 10 miles outside of Manhattan. Manhattan Public Library (MPL) employs approximately 42 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff members. MPL provides entertainment and informational resources to the residents of Manhattan, and has over 40,450 registered card holders. Additionally, MPL is utilized by many of the citizens of surrounding towns and is the largest library in the North Central Kansas Library System (NCKLS). The administrative offices of NCKLS are housed within the Manhattan Public Library building, and MPL shares many staff members with NCKLS. With more than 67,000 square feet, MPLs collection contains 162,745 items including books, DVDs, and CDs, as well as downloadable audiobooks and ebooks. MPL is open 3,796 hours per year, and the library provided 661 programs for children, teens, and adults in 2011 with a total attendance of 19,615 people. MPLs Mission: The Manhattan Public Library provides an environment where the people of our community can readily share resources that are cultural, educational, and recreational expressions of our society in support of a free and democratic society. MPLs Current Ability to Meet Its Mission The Manhattan Public Library provides a variety of resources and programs in an effort to meet the mission outlined above. MPL has extensive collections to meet the needs of children, teens, and adults, as well as an interlibrary loan program to provide resources to and from other libraries. In addition to print materials, MPL provides access to electronic resources such as TumbleBooks, and to databases provided by the State Library of Kansas. MPL also strives to provide up-to-date computers and technology for patrons. In addition to print and electronic resources, MPL strives to provide relevant programming to the community. Statement of goals For the upcoming fiscal year, the Manhattan Public Librarys overall goal is to increase community involvement through better promotions. We plan to implement this through

improved social media promotions. This will be accomplished by investing the part time PR position with the authority to oversee a team of library employees from library departments including childrens, teen, adult services, and information technology services. Within the team, we will formalize social media procedures and create a long- term plan for social media marketing with specific goals. Through these efforts, the library will be more able to identify and reach out to marginalized populations who may not know of the library services available to them. For instance, children of lower income families may already be active patrons at the library (i.e., through public school activities); however, improved promotions involving both the children and adult departments of the library would increase adults participation. These proposed changes will also produce a number of organizational changes at the Manhattan Public Library. Through incorporating staff members from different departments, interdepartmental collaboration will be encouraged, as will a more cohesive social media outreach plan and the encouragement of joint programming. These changes will be detailed in subsequent sections. Organizational Structural Analysis Structural Dimensions On the whole, the Manhattan Public Library has a more Mechanistic organizational structure with a rating of 3.625 out of 5 (higher being more mechanistic). MPLs more mechanistic structures reflect a high division of labor between departments and fairly tall hierarchy of authority in relation to the size of the library. However, a strong push for communications between departments and attempts to create innovative programs and marketing keeps the library from becoming too rigidly structured. Formalization is medium (Ranked as 3.5 out of 5): There is a written policies manual for the library There are few written procedures Managers are given significant autonomy in how they oversee their staff Specialization is high (Ranked as 4 out of 5): Individual departments perform specific duties exclusive of other departments There is very little cross-training of tasks between departments There are few library wide committees and/or meetings outside of the weekly managers meetings Hierarchy of Authority is relatively tall and narrow (Ranked as 4 out of 5): See attached organizational chart

Centralization is medium (Ranked as 3 out of 5): Managers are empowered to use professional authority to hire and fire personnel, establish and allocate budgets, and create departmental goals. Staff input is solicited for the process of planning departmental and library goals Management encourages innovative ideas for solving problem Managers and Administration make decisions related to far-reaching goals and plans Organizational Technology Analysis Measuring the workflow interdependence and the degree of task uncertainty within the structure of the Manhattan Public Library (MPL) shows that the librarys current organizational structures fit its task technologies well. MPL has a medium level of workflow interdependence as well as a relatively low degree of task technology uncertainty throughout the library with 1) a low variety of tasks and 2) a high degree of analyzability of those tasks. At first glance, it may seem overly broad to analyze the workflow interdependence and task uncertainty for the entire organization. However, because MPLs main goal affects multiple departments, this level of analysis is necessary. Workflow Interdependence: The majority of MPL workflow is either pooled or sequential in nature giving MPL a low level of workflow interdependence, 2.7 out of 7 with lower numbers equaling lower workflow interdependence: Pooled Duties: Departments perform the majority of their tasks independently: 5 out of 7. Sequential Duties: Tasks that are performed by multiple departments are sent from one department to another in a step-by-step fashion: 5 out of 7. Reciprocal: There are few collaborative ventures between departments at the library. However, collaboration is increasing due library wide marketing attempts: 2 out of 7. This means that the workflow interdependence at MPL rates as a 2.7. This rating comes from the workflow calculation (pooled duties rating (5) x 0) + (sequential duties rating (5) x 0.3) + (reciprocal duties rating (2) x 0.6). Task Technology: As a whole, MPL has a medium degree of task technology uncertainty, 5.165 out of 7 (with a higher number indicating lower uncertainty). While there is a high variety of task within some departments, the majority of tasks and procedures throughout the library have low variety. This same phenomenon is apparent in the analyzability of tasks. While some departmental tasks are difficult to analyze, overall, many of the tasks can be analyzed:

Low to Medium Variety: There is a great variety of tasks within individual department, such as the Reference and Adult Services or the Childrens Services Departments; however, from a general outlook, the tasks of the library as a whole have a low variety: 5.33 of 7 with a higher score indicating lower variety. 1. While daily activities within certain departments vary, the overall activities of the library are fairly standardized: 5 of 7. 2. Departmental priorities support library-wide priorities and are performed in a generally consistent manner: 5 of 7. 3. The majority of the tasks performed throughout the library are repetitive in nature: 6 of 7. High Analyzability: There is a relatively high degree of analyzability of tasks at MPL: 5 out of 7 with a higher score indicating higher levels of analyzability. 1. There are clearly established processes for many of the routine procedures of running the library: purchasing, processing, and cataloging materials, budgeting, circulation, shelving, and shelf reading the collection. There are fewer established procedures for reference, readers advisory, and programming: 5 of 7. 2. The majority of library duties can typically follow a set sequence of steps: 5 of 7. 3. The majority of day-to-day practices at the library vary little: 5 of 7. Technology Fit to Structure As noted previously, the overall level of organizational structure for the Manhattan Public Library is moderately mechanistic at a 3.875 out 5. This fits fairly well with the task technology uncertainty rating of 5.165 out of 7 and the workflow interdependence of 3.33 out of 7. However, MPL is attempting to become a more innovative organization by expanding their services and developing new community partnerships. For example, the Computer Lab is offering new classes for tablets and e-readers, and the Childrens Department has formed programming partnerships with a number of community groups, like the Sunset Zoo. On the other hand, there have been struggles in other departments, such as the Adult Services Department, which experiences extremely low turnout for adult programming, leading them to cut these services entirely. With this in mind, we believe the current fit needs some adjustment. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Core competencies Large and active Childrens Department Strong Reference Staff Up-to-date technology resources for community

Tech-savvy staff

Synergies Dedicated and involved staff Effective leadership at the unit level Supportive leadership Strong computer technology support Established library and community programs Proximity of North Central Kansas Libraries System Weaknesses: Weak cultural leadership -Management is unsure of how to encourage interdepartmental collaborations, resulting in inadequate cross-departmental communications; Increased conflict and non-cooperation between departments; increased levels of perceived inequity between departments -Inflexible policy enforcement negatively impacts customer service Resistance to innovation within Adult Services Inconsistent marketing Opportunities: General Environment: Economic: Manhattan has been largely unaffected by the recent economic downturns that have affected libraries across the country. As a result, MPL has had a relatively stable budget and has not experienced funding cuts. Technological: Broad accessibility to home computing and Internet, Mobile technology Sociocultural: Expansion of social media, increased minority population Task Environment: Customers: Supportive community; population increasing; additional potential population growth due to projected National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Labor Market: Stable, highly educated labor market, but generally low pay scale Programming Competitors: Flint Hills Discovery Center, Kansas State University, Sunset Zoo, Parents as Teachers Information Competitors: Google, Amazon, Hale Library (Kansas State University) Potential partnerships: Flint Hills Discovery Center, Parents as Teachers, Fort Rileys Parent to Parent, Dorothy Bramlage Public Library

Internal Environment: One issue that spans across various aspects of the internal environment is that the current structures of the library inhibit interdepartmental collaboration even though employees have expressed interest in collaboration. Employees: High level of education among all employees Culture: Generation gap between older employees and more recent hires Management: Promotion of previous assistant director to director; new assistant director Threats: Loss of state funding resulting in 2% budget reduction E-book publisher conflicts Conglomeration of book vendors Negative public perception of librarys relevance and future usefulness Application of SWOT Analysis to Proposed Change Library programming makes up a large component of MPLs strengths, as well as its opportunities for outreach. Programming includes One Book, One Community, an annual event for which a book is selected for Manhattan to read as a single community, and visits from authors. The childrens department provides sufficient and appropriate programming; examples of this include READ with a Dog, which encourages children who have trouble reading to read to a non-judgmental listener, and multiple storytimes, which encourage early literacy. While the current facilities and resources are sufficient to meet the needs of the community, MPL is in the process of soliciting funds to extensively expand its Childrens Department; this will provide greater opportunities to increase and improve programming for children. Adult programming is not nearly as extensive as childrens programming and is an area where the library needs to improve to meet its mission. In addition to adult programming, providing regularly scheduled computer classes would help the library meets its technology mission. Regarding internal weaknesses, resistance to innovation within Adult Services is likely as the current internal environment and departmental culture are well established. Adaptation may involve a redefining of management techniques to influence employees behaviors to accommodate new interactions with the internal environment of the library and the larger external environment of the community. Management may influence the existing work culture by communicating a clear purpose for the changes and ensure, work expectations are balanced with appropriate rewards to gain employees belief in and desire for the anticipated adjustments. Contingency & Structures

Statement of Organizational Changes Planned: While the Manhattan Public Library has maintained a reasonable fit between its organizational structures and the environmental contingencies in the past, the library is facing changes that require greater innovation. Therefore, MPL needs to adapt its practices in order to create a more organic structure. To further this process, we propose the following update to the librarys mission statement: The Manhattan Public Library provides educational and recreational resources that support a free and democratic society. Through creative programming, cultural and lifelong learning opportunities, and community connections, Manhattan Public Library strives to be an accessible and responsive information center. One key aspect of this change is a greater emphasis on promotion of library events and services. Such promotions have had limited success in the past; this difficulty is noted as inconsistent marketing in the SWOT analysis. Inconsistent marketing has res ulted in low attendance at programs that should have been popular, such as visits by famous authors, as well as at programs that MPLs staff thought were marketed well. MPL staff members have also noticed that teens do not come to the library or attend library programming as much as other age groups, even if those teens were actively involved with the library as children. MPL would like to find ways to market the library more effectively to these teens. We propose that the library create a team to deal with library promotions utilizing social media outlets. Such a team would draw members from various departments across the library, including the Adult Services department, Childrens Services department, Teen Services department, and IT. The team would be headed by a dedicated Public Relations specialist. We believe that by incorporating staff members from the aforementioned departments, there will be an increased emphasis on interdepartmental collaboration, as well as a more cohesive social media outreach plan and the encouragement of joint programming. How will changes influence the librarys contingencies and structures: Structures at the departmental level: The proposed changes to MPLs mission statement would decrease analyzability and increase variety. Currently, MPLs promotions have not captured the attention of the community, reflecting one of the librarys core weaknesses --inconsistent marketing. The lack of creativity in promotions, which stems from the weak cultural leadership, another weakness noted in the SWOT analysis, is a possible culprit. Added task variety would allow team members to be more flexible and creative, which would give the library additional ways to fulfill its mission.

Contingencies at the departmental level: MPL currently has a medium level of formalization, and the changes proposed will do little to change this aspect. Due to the additional guidelines and goals necessary to establish the promotional team, the process of creating it and of setting up the teams strategies will require an increase in formalization initially. However, we expect an eventual decrease in formalization from the creation of the promotions team. Additionally, the jobs of team members will become less specialized as they take on a broader variety of responsibilities. A more detailed structural analysis can be found in the appendix. Structures at the interdepartmental level: Currently, the level of workflow interdependence within MPL is relatively pooled. However, a strong push for communications between departments and attempts to create innovative programs and marketing keeps the library from becoming too rigidly structured. Although a social media team would not necessarily alter the predominant workflows between departments in the library, it would allow for a higher degree of reciprocal interdependence among those employees on the team and increase interdepartmental communication among Adult Services department, Childrens Services department, Teen Services department, and IT. Although these changes will probably affect the employees on the Promotions team more than the other employees within each unit, the coordination of schedules and ideas necessary to implement the team will impact, to some degree, each employee in the departments involved with the team. Contingencies at the interdepartmental level: By creating the team with individuals from multiple departments, the interdepartmental communication and interaction will increase. Ideally, this will eventually lead to fruitful partnerships between departments. Increasing interdepartmental workflow and promoting communication between departments will provide opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas and strategies as the team collaborates on bigpicture issues, while many of the smaller tasks may remain pooled. For example, the decisions about how to integrate new social media platforms and marketing techniques within the librarys website, OPAC, and current social media platforms would be a key focus of team discussion as the team negotiates both individual campaigns and long-term marketing plans. While specific tasks involved in promotions could be accomplished by individual departments, the act of planning together would increase synergy at MPL. Ideally, the success of the social media promotional team would inspire and support the development of like teams throughout the library, such as an interdepartmental committee for community outreach and joint programming, leading to an overall increase in organic structures.

Structures at the organizational level: In order to meet the proposed goals and to support MPLs mission statement, an innovative strategy is key. Although efficiency is important, successful promotions require a level of creativity that is encouraged by an organic structure. Contingencies at the organizational level: Because the team is established outside the regular organizational structure, the hierarchy of authority will become more complicated. Subsequently, centralization will decrease; while the PR specialist will be overseeing the team, no one on the team reports to the PR specialist. However, their lack of official authority, the PR Specialist will need to utilize transformative and servant leadership techniques to motivate others to effect changes with the use of social media. Implementation: The current organizational resources and structures are in a good position to support the aforementioned changes at the Manhattan Public Library. The existing hierarchical structure of MPL, including the director, Human Resources, the Public Relations staff member and other library staff will play a role in support and implementation of the strategic plan. The director of MPL is an essential part of MPLs structure and will be able to provide the overview and crucial insight that will make this undertaking successful. One of the most important areas is the development of new policies and procedures involving social media outreach; as director, she has the experience to help craft effective guidelines for staff members to follow, while recognizing how these changes will potentially impact the wider MPL community. Because the strategic plan involves only limited staffing changes and potential training, we believe that MPLs Human Resource department will be supportive of the plan, particularly because the benefits of increased social media presence is expected to increase patron attendance at library programming. Such an increase normally leads to an increase in circulation and improve perception of the library as integral to the community. As MPL currently keeps statistics on program attendance, measuring the effects of new promotions will not be difficult. Similarly, measurements of Facebook and Twitter following will be done using social media analytics; ultimately, the goal will be to compare program attendance and social media traffic to establish a correlation between the new promotions and community involvement. Other measures of success include greater interest in partnerships with the library by community groups and augmenting circulation statistics.

Further, the expansion of social media training among staff members at MPL will provide employees with a skill set that is highly valuable in todays workforce, yet relati vely inexpensive to acquire. We also believe that Human Resources will see the value in the interdepartmental elements of the proposed strategic plan. By increasing cooperation and collaboration between different departments, we hope to promote a more cooperative and, ultimately, more innovative culture within MPL. This will be measured by administering perception surveys to all staff members, including staff who do and do not participate on the PR team, one year after the team is implemented. Bringing essential expertise to the venture, the Public Relations specialist will play an important role in the implementation of the new strategic plan. The presence of a social media team, under the guidance of newly formalized policies, will benefit from his/her knowledge and experience. Due to the organic structures inherent in interdepartmental teams, the day-to-day procedures will be at the discretion of the Public Relations specialist, although major decisions about policies or specific programs will be handled by the team, with possible involvement by department heads and/or the library director. The Public Relations specialist will act as a liaison between the social media team and the director of the library. Initiative demonstrated by individual staff members has already increased the social media presence in the Manhattan Librarys community. This has led to an opportunity to increase support among staff at the library to augment the social media presence for additional purposes. Moreover, we believe that the broader staff of MPL will be enthusiastic about the project and support the innovations that stem from the changes, as they will bring greater attention and large numbers of patrons into the library. The changes in organizational structure under the strategic plan will ultimately be minimal. The two main changes proposed include the modification of Public Relations job description to include managerial duties and a formalization of the existing social media team. We would like to note that while these changes will marginally increase the overall mechanization of MPLs structure, we see the changes as the beginning of a movement toward the creation of more teams and greater interdepartmental partnerships. Presuming the success of the team, it will present the opportunity for further collaborative teams. Greater collaboration and increased team structures will support more horizontal communication, increased task variety for individuals, further inter-unit interactions, and innovative opportunities. Ultimately, such changes will lead to a more organic organizational structure and, eventually, we hope such partnerships within the library will also provide a model for increasing library-community partnerships.

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Organizational Change: This team will operate outside regular chain of command, and, while the Public Relations specialist will oversee team meetings and work, s/he will have no direct authority over the members of the team. Due to this, the current library hierarchy could be challenged. The interdepartmental aspect of the team is uniquely outside of traditional management within the library. It will require a number of adjustments to current operations, including: 1. Team members will need to be scheduled by their managers to have time dedicated to teamwork and for team meetings. i. This will require that the team coordinates with department managers in creating a regular schedule of meetings. Meetings do not necessarily need to happen often, but they should be timely. More frequent communication can be performed asynchronously (e.g., through e-mail). ii. This may require shifting some tasks from PR team members to colleagues within their respective departments. 2. Cross-departmental communication will need to be promoted both during scheduled teamwork time and outside of team meetings. 3. Although this new task could be a significant portion of individual team members work, it will be difficult for managers to both oversee and evaluate the employees contributions to the team. i. This will be mitigated to some extent by good communication on the parts of the PR specialist and departmental managers. 4. The PR Specialist would need to be aware of both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. i. Intrinsic rewards: Social benefits of the changes would include broader daily interaction among staff members, increased impact on librarys growth and development, and increased skill set for individual team members. ii. Extrinsic rewards: Possible rewards in this category would include recognition for teams success and potential for future professional advancement. 5. At this time, we believe that team members from individual departments will not rotate, due to the necessary skills required of the social media team. However, if any individual team member is not fulfilling his/her duties, the PR specialist will have the authority to seek replacement staff from the appropriate department. Direct Costs: Because the staffing expenses will remain largely static as a result of this change, the most significant direct cost will be the increase in programming expenses. This increase will be consequence of great community involvement and interest in library activities. The time team members spend on teamwork will most likely take away from time spent in their individual departments. This could lead to a need to readjust individual departmental duties. Currently,

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promotional duties are done piecemeal by individual departments, creating a larger workload for each department and duplication of effort. Through an interdepartmental promotional team, the marketing workload for each department will decrease as the interdepartmental collaboration creates a streamlined workflow. This will free up other employees to take on any duties that members of the promotional team can no longer fulfill. Another cost that will need to be addressed is how supervisors will handle their staffing. Presently, supervisors do not consult across departments when scheduling employee shifts. However, with the creation of an interdepartmental team, such consultation will be necessary and may require more adaptability from supervisors and other staff in order to accommodate the team. We also speculate that employee interest in the project will spur the need for training beyond what the PR staff member can provide. This may lead to the need for expanded opportunities for training and continuing education, which would decrease specialization. Library online catalogs are increasingly integrating social media platforms within their user interfaces. As such options become available, the PR team will need to evaluate and integrate them into the OPAC. Currently, some such options come with a free version and a paid version. If the platforms are popular within MPLs online catalog, the library may need to move to paid versions of the most successful tools. Even without utilizing the paid version, these platforms require a skilled IT staff member to integrate them within the online catalog and troubleshoot possible glitches. Indirect Costs: While we believe there would be few indirect costs associated with this change, there are a number of personnel issue to consider. Although we believe that the plan will help encourage interdepartmental cooperation and promote a more collaborative culture at MPL, there remains the possibility for increased conflict both within departments and between departments. For example, in the past, Adult Services staff and Circulation Staff have complained that Childrens is the only department with fun things to market. The creation of a collaborative team may help resolve some of this tension, but it could also create tension between the social media team and other non-team staff members. The creation of stronger relationships between members of different departments may lead to a decrease in productivity within those departments, as socializing might increase due to these same relationships. However, cross functional teams and committees will likely offer more benefits by promoting the exchange of information, helping develop new ideas, and

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encouraging new organizational practices and policies. If team members are unable to work together due either to antagonism or a lack in work focus, increased costs could result, as productivity could be compromised. In such a situation, both HR and the department managers involved could be required to take action, leading to further cost. Assuming the team does not negatively affect productivity and interdepartmental cooperation, indirect costs would be negligible. They could include funding managerial training for the PR staff member, increased funding for programming, and further customer service training for all staff members as library patronage increases. One final area will be an increased need for all staff meetings, so that staff members not involved with the social media team and their community outreach efforts will be kept abreast of programs and promotion.

Appendix SMART Analysis Specific: Creation of Social Media Promotions Team in order to enhance promotions and increase community involvement in library programs for all ages Goals: -Increase Facebook & Twitter following -Increase attendance at library programs, specifically adult and teen programs -Increase joint programs offered by library (Teen & Childrens, Teen & Adult, Childrens and Adult) -Increase interdepartmental collaboration throughout the library -Increase community partnerships Measurable: -Using social media analytics, such as HootSuite, measure social media, library website, and library OPAC traffic -Using current practice (taking a head count) to track program attendance -Track number of programs offered jointly by library -Survey of interest in creation of other interdepartmental teams -Track newly formed community partnerships Achievable:

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-Increase of 3% attendance of library programming overall -Increase of 5% following on social media resources overall -Increase community partnerships by establishing 2 new community-library programs Relevant: -Increase attendance and following will increase circulation -Increased library use will strengthen the role of the library in the Manhattan community -Increased social media presence will make the library a contributor to the Internet community -Increased collaboration via interdepartmental teams will promote creativity and innovation on the part of library staff Time Specific: -Increase social media following by 2.5% within 6 months and 5% in a year -Increase attendance by 3% over the next 2 years? -Increase joint programming to 2 programs in the next 6 months and 6 programs in the next year -Create second interdepartmental programming team within the next year Organizational Structures Analysis Regarding Proposed Changes: Structural Dimensions Initially, the proposed changes will minimally impact the Mechanistic aspects of MPLs organizational structure, with the most significant change taking place in the decrease in specialization within individual duties of team members: 3 out of 5 (higher being more mechanistic). Previously 3.625 out of 5. Formalization is medium (Ranked as 3 out of 5): Policies and procedure will not change significantly Procedures within the Marketing Team will be more organic than typical procedures in individual departments

Specialization is high (Ranked as 2.5 out of 5): Individuals from isolated departments will interact with each other more Team member communication will educate all team members about other departments tasks Hierarchy of Authority is relatively tall and narrow (Ranked as 4 out of 5): Organizational chart will not change at this point

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Centralization is medium (Ranked as 2.5 out of 5): Team will foster increased interdepartmental communications Staff input is solicited for the process of planning departmental and library goals Management encourages innovative ideas for solving problem Managers and Administration make decisions related to far-reaching goals and plans Organizational Technology Analysis The workflow interdependence is likely to experience the most significant change due to the proposed team because of the significant opportunity for increased reciprocal workflow leading to a rating of 4.5 out of 7. However, MPLs task technology uncertainty will not be as significantly impacted throughout the library with 1) a low variety of tasks and 2) a high degree of analyzability of those tasks. Workflow Interdependence: This will lead to a more organic structure to the library as a whole because it will significantly increase the level of reciprocal workflow and marginally decrease the pooled duties (4.5 out of 7) with lower numbers equaling lower workflow interdependence: Pooled Duties: Departments perform the majority of their tasks independently: 4 out of 7. Sequential Duties: Tasks that are performed by multiple departments are sent from one department to another in a step-by-step fashion: 5 out of 7. Reciprocal: There are few collaborative ventures between departments at the library. However, collaboration is increasing due library wide marketing attempts: 5 out of 7. This rating comes from the workflow calculation [(pooled duties rating (4) x 0) + (sequential duties rating (5) x 0.3) + (reciprocal duties rating (5) x 0.6) = 4.5]. Previously 2.7 out of 7. Task Technology: As a whole, MPLs task technology will not change significantly with this change; however, task technology uncertainty will increase slightly, 4.83 out of 7 (with a higher number indicating lower uncertainty). Previously 5.33 out of 7. Low to Medium Variety: There is a great variety of tasks within individual department, such as the Reference and Adult Services or the Childrens Services Departments; however, from a general outlook, the tasks of the library as a whole have a low variety: 4.83 of 7 with a higher score indicating lower variety. 1. This change will introduce a minor increase in departmental task variety: 4.5 of 7. 2. Departmental priorities support library-wide priorities and are performed in a generally consistent manner: 5 of 7.

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3.

This change will marginally decrease the repetitive nature of tasks: 5 of 7.

Medium Analyzability: There is a medium to high degree of analyzability of tasks at MPL: 4.33 out of 7 with a higher score indicating higher levels of analyzability. Previously 5 out of 7. 1. There are clearly established processes for many of the routine procedures of running the library: purchasing, processing, and cataloging materials, budgeting, circulation, shelving, and shelf reading the collection. There are fewer established procedures for refere nce, readers advisory, and programming. This change will add another area that has few established procedures: 4 of 7. 2. The majority of library duties can typically follow a set sequence of steps: 5 of 7. 3. Some of the day-to-day practices at the library will increase in their variation: 4 of 7.

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