December 1995
QUESTIONS WE ALWAYS NEED TO BE ASKING OURSELVES, OR
WORDS FOR SECTION HEADS TO LIVE BY



SECTION-LEVEL QUESTIONS:

- Are the staff in my section working at appropriate levels?

- Do I have a realistic time expectation for accomplishing this
amount of work?  Consider jury duty, sick leave, vacation,
unexpected projects, etc.

- Have I assigned anyone a 125% job?

- Are the performance standards for each position reasonable, and
could they be done by anyone filling this position?

- Is there a continuing need for more real, ongoing, production
catalogers?

- What other tasks draw catalogers away from doing cataloging?

- Should new positions be created as casual staff rather than as
GA?

- How do I balance the various priorities within my section (e.g.,
acquisitions vs. cataloging work for CJK)?

- Are we incorporating individual and departmental (and cluster?)
goals into our daily work and priorities?

- Have we sufficiently streamlined processes?

- Have we sufficiently identified priorities?



DEPARTMENT WIDE QUESTIONS:

- What is our optimal organizational model?

- What is the appropriate balance between time spent managing and
time spent cataloging, on a section level and on a department
level? 

- How many managers should there be for how many staff?  

- When should a specialized unit be brought into existence, or go
out of existence?
 
- How do we process non-Roman, non-CJK languages?

- How do we ensure appropriate professional development and
continuing education for all staff members?

- How do we improve/provide for system competency outside our
department?

- When it is appropriate to provide cross-training activities, and
how is it decided who and when?

- How can we promote more self-reliance among the copy catalogers,
so we can bounce fewer questions and problems?

- What issues should be discussed on a departmental level vs. a
Section Heads level?

- What mechanisms do we have/need to follow through with
suggestions or concerns raised by department members?  What role
does Section Heads play in this process?




- We need to continually evaluate new technology and resources for
implementation in our processes and determine the most cost-
effective options.

- We need to make sure we are doing the right things right.

- We need to accept that we cannot do everything.  We must focus on
what we really need to do and identify priorities.

- We cannot get more staff, and we'll try hard to keep all our
existing staff.

- We will always have the same amount of work each year (or more).

- There is an expectation for Library-wide and national
participation.

- Administrative and technical support will always be needed.

- We will continue to streamline processes to reduce redundancy and
improve throughput.