Keeping up with a fast moving slow thing:

Mergers in higher education from the perpective of a private college librarian

Hilah Geer, Head of the Library

Høyskolen Campus Kristiania

mail: hilah.geer@c-k.no

Goals for the presentation

Share librarian experiences from CK’s merger that may be of interest to other libraries supporting higher education in Norway.

Describe the before and the after. Include just enough detail to allow for a useful dialog across institutions.

• Part 1: pre-merger

• Part 2: post merger

• Concluding thoughts

Questions to consider

1. Organization: Where to best restructure our work and working relationships?

2. Culture: What changes will we embrace right away? What is worth fighting to maintain? What do we just have to let go of?

Point of interest: Academic institutions are generally conservative and slow moving. They are extra challanged during a merger when they have to move fast .

Part 1: pre-merger 2005-2011

First a short history

• 1914: Norsk Korrespondensskole (NKS) is founded by Ernst G. Mortensen.

• 1964: After 50 years NKS has 80 000 active students. • 1976 NKS is organized as a foundation (stiftelse) • 1986: NKS høgskole is established. College-level

programs via electronic distance learning (fjernundervisning)

• 1999 NKS-gruppen is established and enters into campus-based higher education with the acquisition of Merkantil Institutt(MI) Oslo Markedshøyskolen (OMH) Norsk Reiselivshøyskolen (NRH)

Part 1: pre-merger

CK Snapshop # 1 (Fall 2005)

• Campus Kristiania (CK) is the then new name• The main Oslo Campus has just moved to a new

location in downtown Oslo• CK is comprised of:

– NKS nettstudier. – Merkantil Institutt (MI) offers vocational (fagskole) programs in

merkantile subjects and applied arts. (Additional campuses in Stavanger, Bergen, og Trondheim)

– The college: Oslo Markedshøyskole (OMH), Norsk Reiselivshøyskole(NKH). Soon merged into Markedshøyskolen (MH)

.

Part 1: pre-merger

Defining characteristics for the library in 2005

1. Serving a private campus-based college with under 1000 students.

2. Dedicated to the college to the exclusion of CK’s other teaching institutions.

3. Supporting studies in subject areas limited to organizational management

4. Mandate prioritized students and teaching over faculty research.

5. An expectation from Dean that information literacy would be integrated into the curriculum. (Academic line of reporting)

Part 1: pre-merger

Collections

• Focus had been on the immediate resource needs of the students

during their studies and the faculty both in developing curriculum and teaching.

• Ease-of-access and optimal use of resources took precedence over permanent collection building (analog or digital)*

• Licensing and interlibrary loan a major basis of knowledge access• Retrospective collection projects considered, but as yet not

prioritized.

*This strategy reflects on the college’s circumstances and in no way should be taken to negate libraries with collection development mandates independent of public service and programs. Quite the opposite, it reflects on the crucial roll of collection-focused mandates, such as those at the universities and national libraries.

Part 1: pre-merger

Library space: physical

• Located in the center (heart) of campus 75 seats

• Only the college was allowed access.

• Close contact between faculty, students, and library staff

• Librarian awareness of subjects, coursework, and

required-reading was high

• Fostered an informal, academic work environment.

• Very popular: constant requests for more space.

Part 1: pre-merger

Library spaces: virtual

• Web page: – Defined within frames designed by Markedhøyskolens marketing

department. – We wanted more flexability, but it adequately served our work

with one college, one subject area, and one servicepoint.

• Library Intranet: – library staff tool for sharing internal routines, technical info, and

current service issues. – Essential to maintaining quality public service with student

assistent labor. – Based on simple html pages on internal network drive

Part 1: pre-merger

Information Literacy

• 1st semester academic reading and writing course:– Basic searching, source evaluation, and reference tecnique. – 6 hours total: lecture, excercises, open house

• Voluntary BA workshop. Held annually in conjunction with proposal submission. Often 80% attendence

• Initiatives by request. – Beste example: assignment-related workshops with faculty and

staff from Forbruker & Media.

Part 1: pre-merger

Roll in academic administration: required reading

Work was manageable within the MH curriculum. Growth was relatively gradual. One secretary (UUV) worked with one librarian to coordinate and trouble shoot. Their system and working relationship developed gradually. The assistant dean could approve extra resources in a pinch.

Details of the work: • Check reading lists before course approval by the department (Undervisningutvalget) • Make changes as needed in collaboration with the faculty member.• Links are made to library full-text collections• Currency of book titles is checked• Books er made available in the library• Arrangements are made for materials not using standard distribution chanels. • Support faculty when required reading is unavailable during the semester• Book store contact• Internal and external contact related to usage contracts(i.e. Nowaco, KopiNor osv.)

Part 1: pre-merger

Roll in academic administration: Academic publication services• Cristin superbruker: registering new users, informing users about the

service and requirements related to reporting.

• Annual DBH reporting of scientific works in level 1 & 2 publications.

• Recommendations for further library involvement include:– Secretary for Research Committee– Pre-publication administration and support– Publication channel evaluation/open access fund management– Internal reporting of CK publications not included in DBHs point system– Internal reporting that provides more subject detail– Internal reporting that shows collaboration, internally, nationally,

internationally

Part 1: pre-merger

Part 2: post-merger 2012 til present

Part 2: post-merger 2012 til 2015

• 2012 Høyskolen Campus Kristiania is founded.– MH, NKH, NHCK are organized as faculties.– Library moves into a seperate building seating 300

• 2014 NHCK moves into city-center campus. Libraries merged

• 2014 distribution of college degrees in Bergen and Trondheim begins.

• 2015 Library opens service to all CK studenter. Oslo Library is expanded to seat 500

Part 2: post-merger

Changes in scope of library service

In 2012 serving: In 2015 serving:

1 faculty 3 faculties

5 BA programs 1 MA 12 BA programs 1 MA

1 location seating 75 3 locations seating 500

1500 users 7500 users

Only college students College, vocational and distance students

90 reading lists to check annually Over 200 reading lists to check annually

Using existing web/intranett design Using Independent web/intranett design

Part 2: post-merger

Unanswered transition question #1

Managing reading material (pensum)

Can we engage in improving proceedures and systems across departments in way that improves quality as well as efficiency?

1. Should we push for a new document management system? How helpful will FS’s system «emnebeskrivelse på nett» (EPN) be?

2. Can ease in collaboration with faculty prior to approval improve quality of course materials as well as access?

3. Should we just check holdings or should we be assessing acquisition of optimal formats for students?

4. Should we just inform that KopiNor’s 15% rule limits course content? Or should we absorb the extra costs? How could we budget for this expense? Could we offsett costs by cooperation with a copy shop and our accounting department?

Part 2: post-merger

Unanswered transition question # 2

Information literacy

How important is it to be integrated into the curriculum?

• Should we do the organizational work (dancing backwards in high heels) to reintegrate into the curriculum?

• Or should we instead it let og and focus on independent library initiatives?: seperate worshops, writing center development, new reference initiatives.

Part 2: post-merger

Unanswered transition question #3:

Location location location

Large remote library vs small centrally-located library

• Should we work to relocate the Oslo library back into smaller more fragmented spaces in the heart of the organization?

• Or should I work to draw other elements out to the library: events, helpdesk, career services, student support, enourage to development of a writing center?

Part 2: post-merger

Concluding thought:

We are in an period of rapid change in the library profession and it is often hard to get our institutions on board.

That said, can libraries take advantage of an imposed organizational change, like a merger, as leverage when working to mondernize services?