IT folks carry the stigma of being particularly non-collaborative, but the stereotype of the loner programmer barricaded in a cubicle is not necessarily accurate. The growing number of collaborative projects between library public services and IT departments make it necessary to examine relationships and create excellent communications for resulting success. This program will discuss proven management and collaborative techniques for building relationships, through self-assessment and teambuilding techniques, and will offer a glimpse into how strong relationships between IT and public services libraries can lead to award-winning and innovative projects.

2. AToolkit for Building Collaborative Relationships with
your IT department

3.  Introductions
 Defining IT
 Self-Assessment
 Roles &
Responsibilities
(RACI)
 Everyday
Interactions

4. Varies across library organizations

5. Appreciating both our differences and similarities

7. Traditionally:
 Service and work oriented
 Loyal
 Respect authority/tend to accept others'
opinions as their own
 Provide stable/standardized service
 Constantly changing rules causes stress

8. But seeing more:
 Helping others be the best they can be
 Assume responsibility in times of conflict
 Outstanding group leader/Self-confident
 Decision makers/Independent
 Need for accuracy can lead to inflexibility
 Can be demanding and difficult
 Can easily become tired, stressed and fatigued

9. Traditionally:
 Same as where Library Professionals are now
trending

10. But also:
▪ Non-conformist and innovative
▪ Use imagination and innovation to deal with problems
▪ Can tend to nit-pick and overdo simple issues
▪ Can easily become tired, stressed and fatigued

11. And can be:
▪ Impulsive, fearless, crave excitement
▪ Value privacy and tend to keep important issues to
themselves

12. RACI is a project management tool that clearly
lays out roles and responsibilities for any activity
or group of activities
A RACI Chart is used to identify activities or
decisions and the individuals or groups involved
in answering:
The RACI Model

13. 1. What has to be done?
2. Who must do it?

14. Responsibility - The person or position responsible for
doing the activity (the work)
Accountability - The person or position accountable
to ensure the activity happens
Consulted - The person or position who should be
consulted prior to decision or action
Informed - The person or position that needs to be
informed of the decision or action after it is made

16. When to use Raci:
For employees to get a clear understanding of the
role and responsibilities around the work process
To improve the understanding of function
between departments and responsibilities within
one's department
To clearly define the roles and responsibilities of
team members who are working on a project

17. How to use Raci:
Hold meetings to introduce the concept/model
and get buy-in
Define functional roles and activities
Conduct workshops to assign values to the chart
Revise/revisit as necessary

18. It is often a political process which
confronts three elements of roles and
responsibilities:

19. Role Conception: What people think their jobs are
and how they have been trained to perform them
Role Expectation: What others in the organization
think another person's job is and how it should be
carried out
Role Behavior: What people actually do in carrying
out their job

20.  Clearly understood individual expectations

21.  Clearly understood individual expectations
 Reduced redundancy in tasks
 Clearer communication (what is really
necessary)
 Reduced levels of approvals in process
 Greater focus on the value add of a process
step

22.  Assists teams in charting roles and
responsibilities in a consistent manner
 Clarifies individual and organizational roles
and responsibilities
 Identifies accountabilities
 Eliminates misunderstandings

23.  RACI is a useful and effective decision making tool
that helps to define roles and responsibilities. This is
used to identify inefficiencies of organizational roles
 It helps to resolve any functional issues that arise
within departments or between individuals
 The main objective of RACI chart tool is to eliminate
role confusions and to able to deliver the product or
service successfully to the customer and contribute to
the long term organizational objectives

26. Preparing for the day-to-day
• Terminology/Lingo
• Hallway Conversations
• SLA’s
• Tickets

27. The ultimate goal:

29. On the web:
http://cslinsession.cvlsites.org