As the demand for repository services increase, many struggle with developing effective staffing configurations and workflows. Most of you don’t have a full-time staff member dedicated entirely to the repository. So how do you manage?
One solution is to fold scholarly communication activities into other roles. Digital Services Librarian Margaret Heller employs an effective tactic at Loyola University Chicago, which she explains in more detail in her post, “Low Expectations Distributed: Yet Another Institutional Repository Collection Development Workflow.” Margaret has about 50% of her position dedicated to managing LUC’s repository, Loyola eCommons. So how does she handle the ever-increasing influx of content? In addition to having a graduate student assistant for about 10-15 hours per week, Margaret gets help from liaison librarians.
“The breakdown of work is roughly that the liaisons promote the repository to the faculty and answer basic questions; I answer more complex questions, develop procedures, train staff, make interpretations of publishing agreements, and verify metadata; my GA does the simple research and data entry.”
In addition, Margaret mentions some specific tools that they use in order to streamline their workflows, such as Excel, OpenRefine, and Asana. Spreading the work out among several people, and incorporating that work into activities they are already doing (such as meeting with faculty), means that no one person has to carry the full burden.
