Reorganization of the Knowledge Access Management (KAM) Division
| Date | 01 September 2005 |
| Published date | 01 September 2005 |
| Pages | 343-361 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830510621766 |
| Author | Ken Bierman,Brad Eden |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THEME ARTICLE
Reorganization of the Knowledge
Access Management (KAM)
Division
Ken Bierman
Knowledge Access Management, UNLV Libraries,
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, USA, and
Brad Eden
Web and Digitization Services, UNLV Libraries,
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, USA
Abstract
Purpose – Aims to provide a summary and analysis of the organizational changes of the UNLV
Libraries Knowledge Access Management Division since it was previously described in Library Hi
Tech.
Design/methodology/approach – Describes and analyzes the significant and unanticipated
changes in organization structure that occurred as the UNLV Libraries attempts to respond to the web
and digital scholarly information world.
Findings – Several alternative organizational structures to respond to web and digital initiatives are
described. The process used to select an organization structure that was not anticipated three years
earlier is documented.
Originality/value – This article provides useful reading for academic library administrators
contemplating organizational change to respond to the web and digital information world.
Keywords Worldwide web,Digital storage, Libraries, Organizational restructuring
Paper type Case study
Introduction
When UNLV’s Lied Library opened in January 2001 the UNLV Libraries was, and still
is, organized into four divisions – Public Services, Collection Development and
Management, Knowledge Access Management, and Special Collections. As explained
in more detail in an earlier article (Eden and Bierman, 2002, pp. 90-91), the Knowledge
Access Management (KAM) Division replaced the previous Technical Services
Division sans Acquisitions and with the addition of the Library Systems department.
When Lied Library opened, KAM consisted of two departments – Cataloging
(renamed shortly thereafter to Bibliographic and Metadata Services) and Systems. In
August 2001 a new Digital Projects Librarian position was filled, reporting directly to
the Division Director. Due to an unusual set of historical circumstances, most staff in
the Cataloging department had significant HTML knowledge and experience, and the
department had major responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Libraries
web site. Because of a grant that the then head of the Cataloging department, Dr Brad
Eden, had received, many staff members in the Cataloging department became
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
Reorganization
of the KAM
Division
343
Received 1 February 2005
Reviewed 30 March 2005
Accepted 25 April 2005
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 23 No. 3, 2005
pp. 343-361
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830510621766
knowledgeable with digitizing source material and organizing it for public
presentation. On average, Cataloging staff spent approximately 60 percent of their
time cataloging and 40 percent of their time on web and digital initiatives. More
information on this unusual arrangement can be found at (Eden and Bierman, 2002).
At the request of the division director, Dr Eden prepared his ideal vision for the
future of the UNLV Cataloging department (Eden and Bierman, 2002, Appendix,
pp. 101-103). In summary, this vision encompassed traditional cataloging with an
increased focus on cataloging electronic resources, web site development and
management, digitization efforts, and digital project management. In the short-range
future, the vision included the development of an electronic text center to assist faculty,
staff and students in their endeavors to compile numerical and statistical data using
metadata standards, to publish research electronically, and to explore opportunities
provided by electronic publishing and the archiving of locally-produced research
initiatives (i.e. an institutional repository). In the longer-range future, a full-fledged
electronic publishing center housed in the Libraries and serving the entire institution
was envisioned. Dr Eden’s vision for the UNLV Cataloging department is today
perhaps best exemplified at the University of Oregon Libraries, where the Metadata
and Digital Library Services department has responsibility for traditional cataloging
as well as coordinating campus efforts to create and maintain an archive of dig ital
scholarly output and assisting faculty and students in developing content management
systems for their own collections of materials (Hixson, 2004).
In June, 2002 the Dean of Libraries expressed his concern that such an expansive
vision was inappropriate in the long run, because it concentrated too many activities
into one department resulting in a span of control that was too great for one individual.
At an all-staff meeting on June 11, 2002 he challenged the UNLV Libraries to move to a
new paradigm emphasizing both electronic/digital collections and electronic/digital
services. His catch phase for this redesigned library was a “web-centric” library (some
staff at the UNLV Libraries have suggested that “techno-centric” might have been a
better choice of words). He announced that the Libraries would spend fiscal year
2002/2003 planning for the creation of a new department that would bring together
many of the disparate elements of web development/maintenance, digital projects,
digital production, and other related activities. He stated that this new department
would be part of the KAM Division, and that most of the new positions requested in the
next biennium would be targeted for this department. He envisioned that the
Bibliographic and Metadata Services department would gradually relinquish its web
development and digital projects activities to the new department. He emphasized that
the next 12 months would be spent planning for the creation of this new unnamed
department that would have its formal birth on July 1, 2003. He asked the KAM
Division to prepare a discussion paper outlining alternative organizational structures
for the future, which would form the basis of discussions throughout the Libraries, to
inform him in making a final decision as to what organization structure would be
implemented.
Time for review and reflection
Responding to the dean’s request, division director Ken Bierman put together a small
team consisting of Brad Eden, Bibliographic and Metadata Services department head;
Kyle Felker, library web manager; John Mess, Digital Projects librarian; and Jason
LHT
23,3
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