College and Research Libraries A Practical Methodology for the Study of Job Components and Staffing Needs Barbara I. Dewey A methodology was developed to analyze components of all positions in the library system at the University of Iowa in order to identify staffing needs. Current job activities and levels were examined, and staff were asked to indicate how the activities making up their positions might change over the next three to five years-the time period for the full implementation of OASIS, the automated library system of the University of Iowa Libraries. • ~e Univer.sity ?f low~ Li?~aries IS expenencmg significant change. The automated library · system, OASIS (a NOTIS- based integrated system), is being imple- mented, and a shift in leadership has oc- curred. Under the direction of Sheila D. Creth, the library began a strategic plan- ning process and developed a visionary statement of how the institution should look and respond in ten years. 1 This docu- ment enumerated many areas in which development and expansion of services are needed. It was clear that current staffing levels were not adequate nor would they be suf- ficient to achieve the goals and objectives identified through the planning process, including implementation of OASIS, greater emphasis on user-education pro- grams, the use of new information tech- nologies such as CD-ROMs, and a more subject-based approach for collection- management activities and technical ser- vices. This supported earlier conclusions of serious staffing inadequacies in a 1985 self-study and a 1986 faculty review of the university libraries. PRIOR RESEARCH Methods of task analysis, the study of discrete job components, were the focus of the preparatory literature search for the Iowa study. Most relevant studies concen- trate on (1) job analysis techniques for ex- amining or developing job classification systems; (2) job evaluation techniques- examining the quality of an individual's work within promotion and salary-setting systems; and (3) work flow in the current environment. No studies specify metho- dologies for analyzing how individual job components might change in response to environmental changes. The business literature recognizes the importance of examining personnel re- sources as an integral part of an organiza- tion's planning process. In their examina- tion of organizations implementing major change, F. L. Ficks and J. W. Suzansky note that all changes should be derived from long-range goals and should require some framework with which to examine and track all major work activities. 2 The li- brary needed to address staffing require- ments at an early stage in its planning pro- cess and continue to monitor its staffing situation during and after implementation of OASIS and other new or expanded pro- grams. The staffing study, therefore, was to be a tool for continuous examination of specific personnel needs based on major goals and objectives of the organization. In 1974 Myrl Ricking and Robert Booth Barbara I. Dewey is Assistant to the University Librarian at the University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242. 107 108 College & Research Libraries completed the broadest library job analy- sis study to date. Its intent was to deter- mine the nature of the work itself, relating specifically to the skills, aptitude, level of responsibility, and knowledge required to accomplish tasks. This study was under- taken by the lllinois Library Association, the American Library Association, and the illinois State Library. An extensive stand- ardized task list of over 1,600 items was created. The list enumerated every dis- crete library task that could be identified. Tasks were listed under eight functional subsystems: (1) collection development, (2) collection organization, (3) collection preparation and maintenance, ( 4) collec- tion storage and retrieval, (5) circulation, (6) collection interpretation and use, (7) management, and (8) staff development. 3 In a study examining staffing levels and utilization in U.S. health sciences li- braries, Leslie Beth Rothenberg, Judith Lucianovic, David Kronick, and Alan Rees designed an index to measure an employ- ee's involvement in twenty-seven related job tasks selected to represent the range of library tasks. This study focused on the consistency of task content to professional status. It concluded that library personnel are often employed at job levels inconsis- tent with their professional status. 4 Two studies analyzed staffing patterns in academic branch libraries. Charlene Renner and Barton Clark used eight varia- bles to determine optimum staff size in the thirty departmental libraries of the Uni- versity of illinois. They examined faculty served, instructional units taught by that faculty, monograph budget, total serial and monograph acquisition budget, hours open per week, circulation, number of volumes, and average number of student hours per week. The amount of special- ized reference service was not included. A model of a typical departmental library was developed using a mathematical for- mula consisting of the median values of the eight variables. The Illinois depart- mental libraries were then compared pro- portionally to the model to see if staffing was adequate, high, or low. 5 Carolyn Snyder and Stella Bentley ex- amined staffing utilization in branch li- braries at Indiana University. They com- pared the perceptions of public services March 1990 staff to the actual recorded time it took to accomplish broad categories of tasks (pub- lic services, technical services, collection development, and administration). 6 The University of California system has been particularly progressive in the use of task analysis within the context of a total management system by linking library staff activities with objectives and opti- . mum staffing levels. In two works, Betty J. Mitchell demonstrated how a specific task is related to the desired level of service and appropriate staffing level. 7 The literature did not reveal specific methodologies that would accommodate all of the elements needed for the Iowa study, which were (1) discrete task analy- sis for each position in the library system; (2) an ability to analyze the effectiveness or efficiency of each activity; (3) a way to determine how each activity might change over a specific length of time under de- fined environmental conditions, i.e., im- plementation of a library automation sys- tem; and (4) the opportunity to examine individual activities from both the individ- ual and systemwide perspectives. There- fore, a methodology was developed spe- cifically for the Iowa staffing utilization study. STAFFING HISTORY The University of Iowa Libraries experi- enced a drastic reduction in staffing dur- ing the period 1981-82. Seventeen posi- tions were cut, or slightly more than 10 percent of the full-time staff. Even before these cuts were initiated Iowa ranked 66th in support and 40th in professional staff- ing but 29th in collection size, according to the 1980-81 Association for Research Li- braries statistics. 8 Some positions were added during the 1980s, and in 1987-88 the university librarian negotiated a com- mitment to add eight new positions over a three-year period. Still, according to 1987-88 Association for Research Library (ARL) statistics, Iowa ranked 29th in col- lection size and 56th in total staffing. It ranked 37th in professional and 79th in support staffing. 9 The vice-president for academic affairs requested more specific identification of how and where addi- tional positions would be used in future years before further allocation of person- nel resources would be considered. The li- brary administration initiated a staffing utilization study to identify additional li- brary staffing needs. It was completed during the 1987-88 academic year. METHODOLOGY A survey method was used to gather data on current and future staff activities. Three instruments were developed: (1) an individual position survey, (2) a depart- mental analysis survey, and (3) a stand- ardized activities list. The survey was ad- ministered to all staff. ACTIVITIES LIST With the assistance of department heads and library administrators, a standardized activities list was developed to accompany the two surveys and to serve as a standard- ized method for describing discrete activi- ties performed throughout the library sys- tem. Loosely patterned after the Rickings and Booth task list, it was tailored to opera- tions at Iowa. Activities were generalized whenever possible so that they would ap- ply to similar activities across departmental lines. The activities list aimed for a level of specificity that would allow for both dis- crete activity identification and ease in col- lecting and analyzing the data. The list of 475 discrete activities was divided into broad functional sections: • general (consisting of broad administra- tive activities including personnel func- tions) • technical services and related activities acquisitions bibliographic searching cataloging binding and marking • collection development, management, preservation selection/ collection management preservation and repair • public service and related activities circulation, reserve, stack patron assistance interlibrary loan • shipping and receiving • library automation INDIVIDUAL POSITION SURVEY The individual position survey con- sisted of an instruction sheet and a chart Practical Methodology 109 containing six questions. Its purpose was to obtain information on current activities and the employee's best judgment about the same activities in future years. Every- one was instructed to examine the stand- ardized activities list in its entirety and check off activities pertaining to his or her position. Once the activities were listed, staff filled in the rest of the survey form. It consisted of various questions for each ac- tivity, including the following: • percentage of time required to perform the activity: respondents were given four ways to describe the time element for each activity-yearly, monthly, weekly, or daily • the level of importance of each activity to the position as denoted by three choices: less important, important, of critical importance The next set of questions concentrated on an analysis of each activity as it might change over the next three to five years. Respondents were asked to answer the following questions: • how the activity will be affected over the next three to five years, taking into consideration the implementation of OASIS, new programs, or other changes predicted by selecting from the following choices: activity will be elimi- nated, activity will not change, activity level will increase or alter in some way, or unable to determine • percentage of time required to perform activity in the future using the same four time period choices as before • appropriate position level for each activ- ity as it will appear in the future using three choices: librarian, merit (support) staff, or student assistant The individual position survey was pre- tested during its development by one li- brarian and one support staff employee prior to general distribution. DEPARTMENTAL SURVEY In addition to filling out their own indi- vidual position survey, department heads (representing thirty discrete units) com- pleted a departmental survey form. Its purpose was to provide an opportunity for department heads to review survey in- formation on individual positions and to 110 College & Research Libraries develop a cumulative staffing needs sum- mary. First, department heads were asked to group staff similar in function into job families such as reference librarians or cat- alogers and to show the full-time equiva- lency {FTE) for each job family. They were then asked to collect information for each job family using a chart format. Individual or combinations of activity codes were used whenever possible: • a description of current departmental activities and the level at which they are currently performed described in quan- titative or qualitative terms (Examples of ways to describe level included types of public service desk staffing and hours this staffing is available, number of ma- terials ordered per month, levels of ac- ceptable accuracy for activities, circula- tion rate per month, number of materials to be cataloged per a certain time period, and number of volumes added per time period.) · • a description of departmental activities and the optimum level at which they should exist, taking into consideration the department's plans for the future, the implementation of OASIS, changes in current practices to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness, and any other factors that might include altered expectations • a list of activities that will no longer be needed once automation is in place or can be eliminated due to greater effi- ciency • a list of external restraints that might prohibit the department or unit from performing at its optimum capacity, in- cluding examples such as space limita- tions, university-imposed limitations on organizational structures, and tech- nological limitations currently imposed on the university At this point the department heads were given an opportunity to identify their staffing needs in a narrative manner for both an interim period, defined as the next one to two years when most of the OASIS implementation would take place, and the long-range period of five years. The fol- lowing sections were completed: • staffing needs for the interim period March 1990 based on the premise of no additional staff • staffing needs for the interim period based on the premise of possible addi- tional staff with justifications • staffing needs for the long-range period based on the premise of no additional staff • staffing needs for the long-range period based on the premise of additional staff with justifications ADMINISTERING THE SURVEYS The study population included 63.5 FTE librarians, 93 FTE support staff, and 43 FTE student assistants. The method of survey administration was as critical to the success of the project as the creation of the survey instruments. Staff needed to un- derstand both the mechanics of the ques- tionnaires and the subject matter re- quested so they could provide the requested data accurately. Preparation for study began with a visit by the study proj- ect director to each department and de- partmental library of the system. Prelimi- nary discussions provided staff with an opportunity to make suggestions concern- ing survey construction and administra- tion. They also allowed the project direc- tor an opportunity to emphasize that the study would be activity based rather than individual position based. It soon became obvious that staff needed more information about the effect of automation on their individual jobs. A symposium was planned and executed entitled ''Library Automation and Orga- nizational Change: An Educational Sym- posium." Symposium speakers ad- dressed public and technical services issues from their libraries' experience. Working sessions followed where staff could talk very specifically about how au- tomation might affect activities within their areas and review all aspects of OASIS. Before they completed the sur- veys, staff were encouraged to review a document entitled ''Designing a Library Future: The University of Iowa Libraries in 1987-1997." After the symposium the surveys were distributed to each staff member. Detailed instructions were given on how to fill out the survey. At these meetings all staff were provided an opportunity to ask gen- eral and specific questions about the entire study. Of particular importance were dis- cussions about the proposed changes tak- ing place because of the planning process and how these changes might affect indi- vidual activities. Staff also received a memo from the university librarian. It de- tailed goals for the study and emphasized that staffing needs were the most critical component of the ten-year plan. Staff at- tending a second round of meetings were divided into three groups: (1) public ser- vices, (2) technical services, and (3) de- partmental libraries. The types of questions raised by staff in each of the meetings were similar. Some wanted to know if they should provide the requested data from their supervisor's point of view or from their own percep- tions (the incumbent's viewpoint was sought). In some cases staff observed that an activity was not adequately repre- sented on the standardized activities list. The project director was available to in- dividuals who still had problems or ques- tions after the group meetings. Depart- ment heads, who filled out both individual position and departmental sur- veys, also attended these meetings, and the departmental survey was described to all staff so that they understood all seg- ments of the study. DATA ANALYSIS The statistical package SAS, mounted on the university's IBM mainframe com- puter, was chosen for the analysis portion of the study because of its flexibility and capacity to develop charts. Data from the individual position surveys were entered. Each individual job activity was flagged by the respondent's department, position level, and questionnaire identification number. All time calculations for each ac- tivity were standardized to hours per week. SAS programs produced charts describ- ing the time spent on all job activities across the entire library system, for each department, and for each position level found in the library system. In addition, data were compiled on activities projected Practical Methodology 111 for elimination throughout the system, by department, and by position level. The same information was compiled for activi- ties projected to be altered in some way once OASIS is implemented or because of new services or change in procedures. Ac- tivity charts in various forms were pro- duced to allow in-depth analysis for sound decision making on staffing needs. The charts were compared in detail with the narrative description completed by each department head in order to develop initial recommendations concerning staff- ing needs. In particular, activities pro- jected for elimination were examined in each department and compared to pro- jected alterations as stated by both indi- vidual and departmental survey results. These comparisons were also examined by position level, e.g., all activities pro- jected for elimination currently performed by librarians. In addition to plans for expansion of cur- rent services or initiation of new services, the need for increased staff resources in a number of areas was projected. The indi- vidual position surveys show at least 362 separate activities that would increase over a three- to five-year period. A list of 63 discrete activities projected to increase more than twenty hours per week was prepared. These activities were in public service areas, particularly user education, and in activities related to retrospective conversion of manual records to complete the automated catalog. The staff projected that a total of 38 ac- tivities would be eliminated in the next three to five years. This totaled 837.55 hours per week. These activities were in filing, typing forms, kardex activities, ac- counting functions, circulation, and mate- rials labeling activities. The library auto- mation project office also provided a list of activities that would be eliminated be- cause of the capabilities of OASIS. This list further confirmed the validity of the data collected from the individual position sur- veys. CONCLUSIONS The project director made recommenda- tions on appropriate staffing levels for each department and for the overall sys- 112 College & Research Libraries tern in a report to the university librarian and the assistant university librarians. In- dividual position survey charts were re- viewed in combination with departmental reports so that the following information could be presented for each department: • current departmental staff • projected increases in new and current activities • activities projected to be eliminated • external constraints for optimum de- partmental performance • staffing recommendations for the fol- lowing scenarios: no staff increases in the interim and long-range period; possibility of staff increases in the in- terim and long-range period Based on the results of the study and subsequent revisions, a request for addi- tional staffing was included in the 1988-89 budget request to the university central administration. The library requested 15 recurring positions and 8.5 nonrecurring positions for 1988-89 and an additional 12 recurring and 8 nonrecurring positions to be spread over the fiscal years 1989-1992. Two positions were granted for 1988-89 but actually these positions were part of a previous commitment to the university li- brarian. Nonrecurring positions were pri- marily for automation implementation March 1990 functions. Recurring position requests were for public services, particularly in de- partmental libraries where staffing is ex- tremely limited. The library administration plans to re- view the additional recurring and nonre- curring staffing requests and put forward another request for the 1989-90 budget. Library administrators continue to stress that the request is conservative in relation to the long-term understaffing. Addition- ally, the numbers included staffing only for OASIS implementation, preservation, and ongoing needs and not for new pro- grams. Library administrators continue to use the study to assist in ongoing reorganiza- tion of several departments and units of the library. Staffing requests reflect some staff reallocations over the next few years. The study provides a method for in-depth examination of activities performed in var- ious functional areas and by different lev- els of staff. It is also used when a position opening occurs to provide specific strate- gies for filling, altering, or reallocating part or all of the position. The methodol- ogy can be readministered by the Univer- sity of Iowa to update the data. It can also be modified by other academic libraries in- terested in examining their own staffing needs. REFERENCES 1. University of Iowa Libraries, Designing a Library Future: The University of Iowa Libraries, 1987-1997 (Iowa City, Ia.: Univ. of Iowa Libraries, 1987). 2. F. L. Picks and J. W. Suzansky, "Work Systems as a Large Scale Systems Design Process," in Human Factors in Organizational Design and Management, ed. H. W. Hendrick and 0. Brown, Jr. (New York: Elsevier Science Publ., 1984), p.309-13. 3. Myrl Ricking and Robert E. Booth, Personnel Utilization in Libraries: A Systems Approach (Chicago: American Library Assn., 1974). 4. Leslie Beth Rothenberg and others, "A Job-Task Index for Evaluating Professional Utilization in Libraries," Library Quarterly 41:320-28 (Oct. 1971). 5. Charlene Renner and Barton M. Clark, "Professional and Nonprofessional Staffing Patterns in Departmental Libraries," Library Research 1:153-70 (1979). 6. Carolyn A. Snyder and Stella Bentley, "Staff Utilization in Branch Libraries: A Research Report," in Energies for Transition: Proceedings of the Fourth National Conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries, Baltimore, Maryland, April9-12, 1986, ed. by Danute Nitecki (Chicago: Assn. of College & Research Libraries, 1986) p.146-51. 7. Betty Jo Mitchell, ALMS: A Budget Based Library Management System (Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1983); and Betty Jo Mitchell, Cost Analysis of Library Functions: A Total Systems Approach (Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1978). 8. Association of Research Libraries Annual Statistics 1980/81 (Washington, D.C.: ARL, 1982). 9. Association of Research Libraries Annual Statistics 1987/88 (Washington, D.C.: ARL, 1989).