Dowling College Library, a self-governing department with no director, has a unique organizational structure. It is a flat organization with each full time member having an equal vote. The Department Coordinator, elected by peers, has the same one vote as the others and has no authority over her peers. The Library reports directly to the Provost. The 7 full-time faculty librarians are responsible for running all professional aspects of the library. There is an Information Services Director, a non-librarian with an MBA, responsible for a hierarchically structured clerical staff and overseeing facility management. This position frees and enables the librarians to do their professional duties without being bogged down by clerical tasks but the two different organizational structures within the library offer the potential for conflict.
This poster session will discuss the pros and cons of our unusual structure and examine some of the following:
Dowling College Library has a flat organization with no director. The librarians are responsible for the professional administration of the library and the Director of Information Services, a non-librarian MBA is responsible for both the administration of the physical plant and the clerical staff, thus freeing the librarians to perform their professional duties. The librarians report directly to the Provost. Like other academic departments, the Department Coordinator is elected by peers but has no authority over his/her peers. This unique structure is at once empowering and constraining.
Peer Management Is Empowering!
Peer Management
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