Digital culture: the shifting paradigm of systems librarians and systems departments

Rene J. Erlandson

Introduction

The changing identity of libraries has been the topic of many articles and books in recent years. Most of these discourses center on the cultural shift from the traditional conceptual model of library as a place, to a vision of a library that defies physical and geographic boundaries. At the core of these discussions is the understanding that libraries are not static institutions. The shared cultural understanding or definition of 'library' has developed over time and will continue to evolve. Today, the library is at once a building, a collection, a staff, an assortment of services and a disembodied virtual entity. Are there correlations between the institution's evolution and the development of systems librarian positions and library systems departments? How have the cultural changes affecting libraries altered the role of systems librarians and library systems departments? What is the future for systems librarians? These are questions we will explore further.

Cultural evolution and development of system departments

In the 1970 edition of Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn postulated that scientific advancement is a 'series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions', where 'one conceptual world view is replaced by another' (p. 10). Kuhn theorized that catalysts, or change agents, instigated the metamorphoses from one way of thinking to another. Paradigm shift catalysts embodied both previous knowledge and new discoveries which challenged previous or existing frameworks. During the twentieth century, the conceptual view of libraries as isolated place-based institutions underwent a revolutionary transformation to the library as an entity unrestrained by physical or geographic boundaries.

Prior to the 1960s, libraries were largely isolated. Collections were processed, housed and used locally. However, several catalysts would force libraries in the United States and the United Kingdom out of isolation into collaboration, and lead to the development of systems librarian positions and library systems departments. Two of these catalysts were the development of mainframe computers and the onset of an economic crisis.

The development of mainframe computers and their subsequent availability to large universities and municipalities in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1960s led librarians in institutions with access to computer departments to begin exploring ways to harness the technology for use in libraries. As early as 1962, Marjorie Griffin predicted that one day there would be regional catalogs in the United States that would facilitate inter-library loans, including automatically generated ILL requests for items not found in local catalogs (Griffin, 1962).

In 1969, the Birmingham Libraries' Cooperative Mechanisation Project (BLCMP) was formed in the United Kingdom. Funded by a grant from the Office of Science and Technical Information, the project conducted an 18-month feasibility study of the cooperative use of machine-readable catalog (MARC) records at Aston University, the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Public Libraries. Additional grants were procured throughout the 1970s to study the feasibility of MARC record use for the automation of other library processes, like circulation (Stubley, 1988).

Economic stagnation combined with growing inflation in the United States during the 1970s caused funding problems for many libraries. As administrators struggled through the economic crisis, they looked for ways to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Institutions with multiple geographic locations, like colleges and universities, identified duplication of cataloging processes within libraries as one area where cost savings might be reaped, if work-flows could be combined and processes streamlined with automation. In addition, as budgets shrank librarians began exploring the possibility of systematic sharing of collections. The desire to decrease the costs associated with processing incoming library materials, coupled with the desire to decrease the capital spent on collections while still providing users with materials, combined with the availability of networked computer technology led to the development of consortia in the United States in places like California, Ohio and Illinois. Small groups of libraries began to partner with each other to use computer technology to automate library processes and develop union catalogs representing multiple institutions in multiple geographic areas. Formation of these partnerships in the United States and the United Kingdom began to erode the conceptual model of libraries as isolated institutions.

As library administrators made the decision to incorporate computer technology into traditional library operations in an effort to automate processes and cut costs, libraries needed staff to implement the technology. An examination of classified advertisements of open library positions from the American Library Association periodical, Library Journal, documents the impact technological implementation had on librarian positions in the United States throughout the last half of the twentieth century and into the next millennium.

The August 1964 issue of Library Journal included a position announcement by the St. Louis Public Library asking for a librarian 'to head technical processes in large public library . with opportunity to explore library applications of data processing' (p. 3049). A later ad in the December 1, 1964 issue of Library Journal sought a 'Head Cataloger III' with the Suffolk Cooperative Library System in New York and stressed the 'opportunity to work with Univac 1004 and taped drive units; procedures automated' (p. 4830). In the March 1, 1965 issue of Library Journal, the University of Massachusetts Library notes in an advertisement for multiple technical services librarian positions 'Automation being studied' (p. 1206).

As library administrators in the United States and the United Kingdom targeted technical library processes for implementation of automation, technical services librarians and catalogers were given the opportunity to acquire technology skills that augmented the traditional technical services skill sets and principles taught in library science programs. These catalogers and technical services librarians who explored implementation of automated processes and incorporated computer technology into their daily routines and work-flows were functioning as early systems librarians.

During 1970, advertisements for open Computer Systems Analyst and Systems Analyst positions were found in Library Journal. Systems-related positions were hired by libraries to manage the installation of cable and equipment that was needed to facilitate the technical services migration from paper-based processes to streamlined digital work-flows. In the February 15 issue of Library Journal, University of California Santa Cruz advertised for a Systems Analyst Librarian, which required an MLS. The position would oversee one programmer and five key punchers. However, not all positions required an MLS. In the January 15, 1970 issue of Library Journal, the Virginia State Library required only 'experience in library operations' (p. 180) for the open systems position they advertised.

Another catalyst in the paradigm shift of library culture, which also affected the development of library systems departments in the United Kingdom and the United States, was the creation and growth of library cooperatives and consortia. As mentioned earlier, the Birmingham Libraries' Cooperative Mechanisation Project (BLCMP) was formed in the United Kingdom in 1969. Throughout the 1970s additional grants were obtained to continue funding various applied technology studies for cooperative members. By 1977, the grant-funded initiative had developed into a fully independent entity, BLCMP Library Services Ltd. Libraries throughout the United Kingdom were able to obtain access to other computer-based housekeeping products by joining the cooperative. As libraries joined BLCMP, individuals within local libraries were assigned responsibility for implementing the new system (often within technical services) or additional positions were created to shoulder this responsibility (Warlow, 1994: 131).

In the United States, the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) was organized in 1967. OCLC was born out of a desire by college and university administrators in the State of Ohio to reduce costs and share resources. However, the Ohio consortia quickly recognized the potential of joining with other consortia to develop a national endeavor and opened up membership beyond the geographic borders of Ohio. Within eight years of organizing, OCLC allowed several other library consortia to become co-operative members of the organization, including the New England Library Network, the Pittsburgh Regional Library Center, Federal Library Information Network, Amigos, PALINET, Missouri Library Network Corporation, Illinois Library & Information Network, Southeastern Library Network, Inc. and the State Universities of New York (OCLC, Inc., 2005).

The growth of OCLC in the United States corresponded to an increase of technology-based librarian positions across the nation. In the...