Staff Time and Costs for Cataloging.

Abstract

Staff Time and Costs for Cataloging For years now, automation has had a major impact on technical services, and will continue to do so. Very different views of its effect on technical services staffing exist. One view expressed by Phelps and Getz, based on their cost study research, is that the scope for reduction of labor costs in technical services due to automation is relatively limited as long as libraries continue to acquire and own materials in traditional ways.[1] However, within the Iowa State University Library (ISUL) there is the perception by some, and certainly the hope by many, that automation will allow reductions in staffing and costs within traditional technical services, providing the opportunity for shifting staff resources to new service areas. Research on the longitudinal impact of automation on technical services personnel time and costs will shed light on what is happening to staffing costs and patterns. In 1987 the Technical Services Division of the Iowa State University Library began a longitudinal study of all personnel time and costs. Staff record all time worked in a week according to defined tasks grouped within cost centers. Exact salaries with benefits are collected for each staff member. From these data the amount of time spent at tasks and within cost centers, as well as the associated costs, can be calculated. The data analyzed in this article cover sixteen sample weeks over a three-year period. The purpose of the research project is to investigate changes in task times, staffing patterns, and personnel costs as automation is expanded. The study also provides a wealth of management and planning information. The Iowa State focus on actual measurement of time spent at tasks over a multi-year period identifies both continuity and change in the amount of time spent on all activities. This perspective provides the opportunity to analyze the changes in tasks and the time spent on them as automation expands and improves. Because actual salaries can be assigned to the task times, cost analysis is also an ongoing result of the study. In this article, cataloging personnel time and costs are highlighted. At the time of sample week sixteen, technical services at ISUL was divided into two departments, Cataloging and Acquisitions (see figure 1). There were 15.8 faculty, 1 professional and scientific position, 50 support staff, and about 370 hours of student assistants weekly. On the average, 3,100 hours (including paid leave) were worked weekly. The Cataloging Department was divided into three sections: Monographic Cataloging including pre-order searching, Serials Cataloging, and Catalog Management. Staff involved in Cataloging tasks include Library Assistants I, II, III, and IV and faculty catalogers. Student hourly employees work in various support activities. Time and Cost Study Methodology Task and Center Definitions To facilitate analysis of all technical services time, centers divided by tasks were established. All actual work is grouped into seven centers, and an eight center, Leave, tracks sick leave, vacation, and holiday time. One hundred thirty total tasks are divided among the centers as shown in table 1. Table : TABLE 1 Technical Services Centers and Tasks Number of Centers Tasks Ordering/Receiving/Claiming 27 Cataloging 14 Volume Preparation 19 Catalog Maintenance 21 Automation 12 Conversion 14 Miscellaneous 20 Leave 3 The time and cost study centers are defined as follows: 1. Ordering/Receiving/Claiming: Includes all the order, receiving, and claiming functions as well as the maintenance of associated files, but not the selection of materials. …