Libraries vs. IT Departments
Over the years inside some organizations, libraries and IT departments have had difficulty working with one another. Episode 33 of the TechTherapy podcast from the Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the differences and similarities between Libraries and IT departments and, without pointing any finger of blame, discusses why this rift exists. The discussion focuses on academic departments, but a lot of this applies to other types of organizations. (Length of this episode is 13 min, 37 sec.)
Hosts Scott Carlson and Warren Arbogast come up with these differences:
- librarianship is a female-dominated profession; IT is a male-dominated profession;
- libraries have a long tradition; IT is the “new kid on the block;”
- libraries are mission-oriented; IT is task-oriented;
- IT departments are about access; libraries focus on bringing meaning to the access;
- librarians are often tied to academic faculties; IT staff often are not tied as closely to the faculties;
and similarities:
- these are two of the three industries in which customers or clients are referred to as “users”;
- both have issues with people skills;
- both have a constantly changing work environment; technology is at the root of a lot of the change;
- both have uncertainty about the future of their organizations, and this may be at the root of the rift between the two departments;
- there is resistance to change found in the two groups;
- “both groups are throwing things out there to see what sticks;”
- members of both departments feel like they are “second class citizens” inside their organizations.
As a librarian, some of this is difficult to hear. Carlson and Arbogast put this list together in consultation with a number of other people. They did not come up with any suggestions for resolving difficulties between the two departments, however.
What is your take–are there ways we can all get along better?
I think that regular face to face communication (beverages optional) is very important to facilitating an excellent working relationship of any type – most especially between Libraries and IT departments.
I expect that the “I am too busy to explain this to those folks” or an “I can do it myself” attitude could be the root of many conflicts.
I am very happy to report that an excellent team relationship can be built between a busy library and a busy IT department in an organization.
Like marriage, it just takes constant work, and flowers and candy never hurt.
You make some good points. I seemed to always have good relationships with IT folks I have worked with. Part of it was because I am a geek girl at heart and always think they are cool, and am genuinely interested in what they are doing. But I know that is not everyone.
As you have implied, Shaunna, mutual respect is key.
Thanks for highlighting this podcast, Connie. As I listened, I remembered all the times – particularly at librarian conferences – that the library/IT rift was mentioned, how often libraries advanced *despite* IT.
I found the similarities the most interesting. Although their perspective was academic, the shift to heavy electronic research in law practice blurs the line further between information systems and information access providers. Since many law firms have no librarian, the comment in the podcast (paraphrased) about placing library content decisions in the purchasing department, if no-one is adding value to the content, is actually probably a fair statement of what’s actually happening in most law firms.
Shauna’s hit the nail on the head – it’s about the relationship. Not just whether the two departments get along, but whether they need to. The 2008 Law Firm Inc law librarian survey indicated 18% of firm library directors report to the CIO or IT director. I expect that placing these two groups under the same person probably makes relationship building easier.
Being in a bottom-line oriented environment probably helps as well, to orient all groups towards similar goals. I expect that when the organization allows the library to avoid working with the IT department, the library will, even to the point of creating a parallel IT group in the library. Not a good way to create a good bond, or be efficient. Talk about similarities: what about non-library units (marketing?) making their own purchases, content decisions separate from the library? A more integrated purpose can clarify ways to work together.
Having been on both sides of these relationships, one thing that occurred to me was the problem of narrow perspective. Librarians, like most non-IT staff, are not as well versed in technology as the IT staff. Even when they are up on the latest tech and can talk as peers with the IT department, we don’t necessarily look at it from the same perspective of how it fits into the business.
This cuts both ways: the IT department is not going to learn as much about libraries and our services/resources as we want. The demands on IT are broader than those on libraries; I bet law firms without librarians still have IT staff. We can build that mutual respect by understanding the limitations of IT, and being able to explain not just how a technology provides a service but also how it impacts the business and the IT department. It may require us to dig much deeper into a technology than we might normally go. It may also take us out of our comfort zone – IT “isn’t my job” – but make us more educated consumers of IT services.
I agree, David, there is a lot we librarians can learn from our IT departments. If we would take the time to talk with them, learn what they are doing for the whole organization rather than just talking to them about what they can do for us, we would have a much better understanding of the whole organization. Some great thoughts!