Personnel costs and patterns in libraries - Library Finance: New Needs, New Models

Library Trends, Wntr, 1994 by Barbara L. Dewey

Abstract

Personnel cost projections are becoming a key component in overall library planning. Strategic plans and the results of a process of defining visions and values provide critical guides to where and how personnel should be allocated. The article also examines factors such as accountability, new programmatic initiatives, and client-centered approaches in terms of examining personnel costs. A review of studies related to personnel costs and allocation reveals the need for predictive cost models in this area. In general, personnel allocation must be done not from formulas but based on programmatic priorities determined through careful planning.

Introduction

Essays, research papers, and editorials related to library personnel issues have become more and more prevalent during the past two decades. Creth (1989) noted that the personnel literature from 1939 to the present has consistently dealt with a broad range of issues related to professionalism, job assignments, status and role concerns, credentials, and compensation (p. 144). Personnel costs, with the exception of compensation concerns, have not, until recently, been the focus of studies and articles.

Several major environmental factors now make the discussion of personnel costs an essential component of library planning. These factors - declining budgets, the reality of constant change, the need for continuous innovation, and a more client-focused approach to library operations have a direct impact on the cost of defining and doing "business" in libraries. If these factors were not enough to bring administrators to their spreadsheets and calculators, they bring about a host of other events that also have a dramatic effect on library personnel at every level. Organizational restructuring, application of computer technology, professional/support staff job analysis, reassignments and the attendant training and staff development needs, and expanded personnel programs, such as job counseling, are all actions and activities resulting in one way or another from the external environment. These are, in addition to salary and benefits, major personnel cost factors for libraries.

Strategic Planning

Personnel costs or any other costs of doing business in libraries should not be studied in isolation of mission and programmatic priorities. Therefore, it is important to begin with the library's strategic planning process. What is the mission of the library? What are the goals? What are the priority programs which carry out these goals? What is the external environment in which these goals will be carried out? How does the environment affect mission and goals? Answers to these questions provide a framework for developing budgets and analyzing costs, not only for human resources but for all areas.

External Environment

Personnel needs and accompanying costs must be studied in relation to the external environment. All types of library organizations exist within, and are constantly responding to, that context. This article focuses on the context of higher education - the university environment. Library planning is affected in different ways by other contexts - communities, businesses, public sector organizations, and the federal government - in terms of their defined mission and their plans for carrying out that mission.

Higher education is experiencing rapid change, and, at the same time, severe budgetary constraints. Student population profiles are changing. Universities and colleges are either more diverse or are striving to achieve greater diversity among students, faculty, staff, and in the curriculum. More nontraditional students are taking part in the higher education process. Technology as applied to the educational process is changing the content and process of teaching and research. All of these factors affect the way libraries are planning and delivering programs and services.

The University of Iowa's strategic plan, Achieving Distinction, was developed to provide directions and priorities over a five year period (1989-94) for all campus units (University of Iowa, 1990). The university library was already in the process of developing its own plan (University of Iowa, 1990). The university has been in the process of strengthening programs selectively in accordance with its priorities. Criteria for determining institutional enhancements and reductions reflect critical higher education issues found throughout the country. The primary criteria include the quality of a program and its centrality to the university role and mission. Once quality and centrality are established, the secondary criteria are:

* student demand * potential for excellence * external impact * cost (University of Iowa, 1992).

Budget requests, including those for personnel, must be linked specifically to these criteria. Iowa's strategic planning process is just one example of the growing practice of directly linking costs with program priorities.

Accountability

A major environmental reality is an ever-growing emphasis on accountability and evaluation from internal and external sources. Library professionals must take control of methods for determining the cost and benefit of programs, services, and operational activities. Additionally, the articulation of cost/benefit must be carefully developed and implemented. Failure to address the accountability of all aspects of the library operation may result in an inability to clearly define and justify programmatic needs and priorities to internal and external audiences. Furthermore, the inability to provide cost/benefit data could also result in outside agencies taking over this activity, resulting in potentially inaccurate methodologies, outcomes, and interpretations. An ongoing planning process should include clear statements of the mission, goals, and implementation plans as well as the cost and benefit of program priorities to the institution.