Executive Summary
In response to the resolution passed by the Academic Assembly on September 8, 2008, and to findings in the ClimateQUAL survey and the report of the Strategic Alignment Group, a task force of academic and non-academic staff was formed to consider the possibilities of creating a climate of inclusiveness in CUL. Its purpose is to encourage all staff to become more engaged and actively contribute to the goals and mission of the library and the broader university community. In doing so, we have recognized the groundbreaking work done by the Strategic Alignment Group (SAG) and have tried not to repeat their efforts, but rather to point out our support of their results and build on them. The task force focused on formulating two interrelated recommendations and suggestions for strategies to implement them. To these we added several ideas for follow-up assessment to measure CUL’s success in developing and maintaining an organizational culture of inclusiveness.
Our first recommendation is to create an overarching Library Forum, of which all CUL staff would be members. We propose a basic committee structure and mention the type of activities and programming that the Forum might undertake to invite attendance and participation by staff of all levels.
The second recommendation is to modify the scope and bylaws of the Academic Assembly so as to allow it to continue as a separate body that addresses issues that affect only academic staff. The Assembly would thus need to meet fewer times per year and provide less programming than it does currently.
We suggest a reassessment of the Assembly’s standing committees and a redistribution of their responsibilities, retaining some in the purview of the Assembly and transferring others to the domain of the new Forum. We feel that career and professional development would be best served by revamping the current Assembly committee into one that would serve both academic and non-academic staff under the Forum. Bylaws for the Forum need to be formulated and the current bylaws of the Assembly modified to accommodate the new dual structure.
We outline the steps to be taken in implementing this revised structure if it is accepted by the University Librarian. In addition, we identify a few strategies for improving the climate of inclusiveness by providing opportunities for staff to share information and make connections and by supporting career and professional development opportunities. Of particular importance is garnering the support of senior and middle managers to encourage and reward staff participation in creating the dynamic of the new environment.
Finally, the task force feels it is essential that we assess the success of this initiative over time, not being too hasty and forming judgments too soon, as it takes a while to establish a comfortable and pervasive cultural base. We list a number of criteria for assessment.
Most immediately, the task force is prepared through a series of public hearings and a survey to assess the receptivity of staff to these recommendations and to play a role in their implementation.
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