Build a great project team

Teamwork, teamwork and teamwork! One of the biggest challenges with renovation projects (whether they are physical or digital) is the teamwork aspect. Even in very small libraries or libraries which employ only one librarian, knowing how to build, manage and work in teams is an important part of the job. The team may only consist of you and your direct supervisor, or it could include architects, building planners, other project managers as well as you, your staff and your supervisors. Even your users are an indirect but important part of your team. Of course, not all members of the team will have the same experience, which is both a blessing in that different minds can often come up with creative and interesting designs, and a curse in that everyone is coming from different backgrounds, so communication about needs and expectations can go awry. Add into the mix the usual assortment of group challenges such as personality issues and different ideas about aesthetics, amount of finances available or even what the function of a library is and the situation can quickly escalate into something you wish you'd never begun in the first place. This section includes some practical ideas for getting the most out of your team.

Collaborating with other departments to meet patron needs

In order to serve the needs of a variety of users, collaboration with other departments in the institution or company may be a viable option to reduce workload and increase opportunities. In hospital libraries, there is sometimes the need for a renovation or expansion project to serve consumer health users through patient libraries, consumer health information services, and consumer health websites and links. In many communities, there is a growing need for consumer health information, and libraries are a significant source of health information for nearly all population groups. Hospital libraries almost always have an opportunity to expand their consumer health services to empower patients to become partners with their healthcare providers. The healthcare providers themselves often have a vested interest in the benefits of improved or even existing consumer health services, so the hospital library can often gain support and collaboration from key groups in their hospital. This support may come in the form of space in an oncology unit for a small patient resource centre, as seeking information is a coping strategy for many cancer patients. These units can also provide direction on what types of information to include on an expanded library website or on the shelves. Promotion of the new collection or resource centres can also be a key collaboration piece. Presentations, promotional cards, bookmarks and posters can be distributed by both library staff and the medical staff on the units if they have enough buy-in to the consumer health expansion. Patient and family education is a key part of many health care roles, including that of the librarian. Working together toward a common goal can not only ease workload but also increase excitement about the project at hand.1

Sometimes control over the renovation project is not entirely in the hands of your project team, and even collaboration is sometimes not an option. When we surveyed North American librarians about their renovation projects in 2007, we received some interesting comments about the amount of input they wanted or received. For example, some of the librarians working in large corporations or government departments were disappointed to find that they had little or no control over managing their projects. One librarian was quite dismayed that they were not consulted about their furniture needs because their re-design was part of a larger design process within their organisation. Because the designers assumed that they knew what the library required, this led to much frustration and the need to modify the design. In this case it behoves both parties to get to know each other. If you suspect that you are not being consulted and have special requirements, try connecting with someone in the facilities department or on the project management team so that they know you are interested. Sometimes these issues are simply a matter of miscommunication. If you know that a renovation is planned that will affect your space, find out what you can do to be a part of the team or at least be consulted. Others were happy to have someone else do the planning and then come to them to review the plan and still others were able to manage the entire project from start to finish. Although we all hope that every department will automatically know with whom they should collaborate on projects of this nature, this is not always the case. Very large organisations may hire a consultant who is unfamiliar with libraries and their needs. Don't wait for them to come to you.

How project knowledge transfers within project teams

Knowledge management is a crucial element within any project team. All members of the team will have tacit knowledge based on their job descriptions, background, interests, etc. When working in a team environment, it is essential to share and exchange knowledge in an appropriate and efficient way between team members. Knowledge management is really about encouraging the members of your team to share knowledge and ideas between each other and create an end product that adds genuine value to your organisation. In renovation and revitalisation, all team members have an idea of what the ideal end product will be. The real challenge comes in assimilating those ideas into a shared idea that will work not only for employees but also for your users.

Events and changes within an organisation will often challenge a project team while in the midst of renovations and revitalisations. These events can often be discrete, but their outcomes can sometimes be catastrophic. Examples are:

 downsizing or other large re-organisation initiatives

 termination of a long-term relationship with a supplier

 departure of an entire project team, high turnover or gaps in the age distribution of a unit

 significant company growth.2

The smaller an organisation is, the more significantly changes will be felt. Often, special libraries are found within smaller organisations. Knowledge management is embedded in traditional work practices and human values held between the persons present in an organisation, and if those persons shift in their roles or leave the organisation completely, the 'homeostatic knowledge management equilibrium' is inevitably disturbed.3 Therefore, more explicit and formal initiatives should be in place for a project team, to account for and prepare for any shifts that may take place.

Knowledge management benchmarks for the team

Knowledge management benchmarks can be described as 'kernel knowledge' and 'ephemeral knowledge'. Kernel knowledge refers to generic project knowledge, and ephemeral knowledge refers to specific project knowledge.4

Kernel knowledge:

 is an intangible but essential asset

 is a core resource from which all future resources and benefits will stem

 is akin to the 'core competencies' of an organisation

 needs to remain within a team in order for it to succeed

 needs to be nurtured in order to sustain long-term quality performance

 allows project teams to complete independent projects repeatedly

 is constantly being improved and created in new forms.

Ephemeral knowledge:

 is project-specific knowledge

 is useful for one project, but will probably never be used again

 is only active and useful during the lifetime of a project

 has no evidence or guarantee to be useful again in the future

 is rarely created or modified by project teams

 is generated externally, affecting the project team (i.e. by regulatory bodies, suppliers and customers).

By translating these types of knowledge into the specifics relevant to a special library renovation project team, you can couch these intangibles in much more recognisable language.

Kernel knowledge for the special library renovation/ revitalisation team includes:

 knowing the overall trends of the needs and expectations of your users

 understanding how various job roles help your special library function effectively

 knowledge of your collection and how it can be housed efficiently

 understanding the flow of users and volume of use in the library.

Ephemeral knowledge for the special library renovation/revitalisation team includes:

 individual user needs and requests

 architectural knowledge

 IT knowledge

 project management knowledge.

Kernel knowledge is generally project-generic, meaning that it could be applied with equal success to a variety of team projects over time. For kernel knowledge to...