From Big Ideas to Real Talk: A Front-line Perspective on New Collections Roles in Times of Organizational Restructuring

Academic libraries across North America are restructuring to meet user needs in an e-preferred environment, resulting in major changes to traditional collection development roles and workflows. Responsibility for collection work is increasingly assigned to functional librarians dedicated to collection development activities across a broad range of subject areas, often serving an entire faculty or college. This paper discusses the history, process, and outcomes of the transition to functional collection development roles at two mid-sized universities. Both Carleton University and the University of Guelph support a wide range of undergraduate and graduate research needs from a single central library, but have implemented a different type of organizational design and are at different stages in the restructuring process. One year into their new functional roles, Carleton’s librarians are preparing to assess the state of change around collection development in their organization, and identify next steps for the restructuring process. By contrast, the University of Guelph has worked with a functional team model for ten years, and is undertaking a 10-year review to assess whether the original goals of the reorganization were met. How does collections work compare under a functional team model, compared to a traditional liaison model? Both perspectives offer strategies for consultation and change management that may be helpful to other institutions restructuring their collection development activities.