The ways people read, receive and find information continue to change significantly. Changes in technology and community demographics have contributed to altered expectations of the library. We determined to meet people where they are, engaging them in learning experiences and helping them get materials and information to achieve their goals. We affirmed that we will be agile, creative and passionate in pursuit of this purpose. We present more programs than we did a decade ago and support for both digital literacy and 21st century skill development has become a priority. We also engage in more partnerships that help to advance broad community goals. We are more focused on service outcomes and impact on the community. However, our existing organizational structure supported traditional models of service, including focusing on “just in case” staffing for public service points. New expectations created a tension in allocation of staff time that resulted in inadequate support for creating impactful learning experiences, meaningfully engaging our community in new ways, and providing easy access to a wealth of resources, in both traditional and emerging formats. It became clear that a major re-alignment of our existing organizational structure with allocation of staff in accordance with new library priorities and goals would allow us to better meet the needs of our community while staying true to our core values of Access, Learning, and Community.

The realignment process began with the formation of a design team comprised of a broad representation of staff. A consultant helped us in our initial meetings to think about how staff might be organized. Beyond the core design team, this creative process involved many conversations with individual staff who shared their ideas and concerns.

The process led to a new structure that included the formation of three new departments:

1. Access Services,
2. Learning Experiences, and
3. Community Engagement.

We assigned some current staff to these new departments and also planned for operational changes (e.g., creating a new Call Center and implementing a new library-wide wireless communication system) that would allow us to maintain an excellent, yet efficient, service level for our existing departments. With the new departmental structure, we formed a new management team comprised of some existing managers and some newly promoted. This group took on the challenge of determining the positions needed in each department and position responsibilities. A separate task force focused on the logistics of implementing the realignment. Early on in the process, we chose to be transparent with staff about what was happening and why. Although this resulted in some stress and anxiety about how specific individuals would be affected by the changes, we believed that involving as many staff as possible and communicating openly would result in long-term staff engagement. We addressed concerns and questions head-on in a series of FAQ documents and short, weekly updates. Information was provided with as much specificity as possible, without veering into unhelpful speculation. Five months after the initial design meetings, we implemented the realignment in January 2014.

We already see staff engaged in their new responsibilities with enthusiasm and fresh perspective, as well as positive outcomes in the following areas:

• Our new Access Services department combines technical services (i.e., acquisitions, cataloging, processing), collection development, and materials handling into one group. The goal is to unify the entire life cycle of our collections, both physical and digital, and become more efficient in how we select and handle materials. The new structure will enable us to move into more digital collections while managing the reduced staffing needs for processing and handling.

• One aspect of our new Community Engagement department focuses on outreach efforts and partnerships. By investing additional staff in this area, we already see stronger partnerships forming with local preschools, schools, and a community health center. The other aspect of the department focuses on virtual services, including the development and management of our main website, specialized websites, and social media platforms. This team includes a manager, web developer, content strategy coordinator, and a production specialist. Plans for a new website that will encourage community connections and content contribution are well underway.

• Creating a Learning Experiences department allows us to develop more creative programs and learning environments for adults, teens, and youth. Learning also includes increased digital literacy initiatives through our Digital Media Labs, additional technology classes (including non-English), and more individual appointments. Our Learning Experiences team is also developing an experiential, interdisciplinary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) learning lab with a special focus on middle school students.