Andrew Hibel, HigherEdJobs: Dr. Paustenbaugh, please briefly explain your path that led you to your current position as well as some of your duties as University Librarian for Brigham Young University.
Jennifer Paustenbaugh, University Librarian, Brigham Young University: I was fortunate that my first professional position after graduating from Indiana University with my M.L.S. was as assistant to the dean of university libraries. I learned from, and worked with, a number of very talented people and got a wide variety of assignments. It gave me the big picture view of what large research libraries do. My husband is also a librarian; I followed him to Oklahoma State University (OSU) where he was recruited as a department head by the OSU library. We ended up staying there for 23 years because we both had great opportunities. I had four very different positions in the library that gave me experience running several specialized reference and research services, raising money, and finally serving as associate dean for planning and assessment. A last-minute opportunity to attend a two-day workshop at Brigham Young University (BYU) in 2006 allowed me to see what a fantastic physical facility and collections they have. I already knew from being active in professional organizations that they had some remarkably talented and innovative librarians on staff who were working on really interesting projects. I also came away impressed that BYU as an institution is so mission driven. So when I was invited to apply for the position of university librarian in 2012, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
As university librarian I provide the overall strategic direction for the Harold B. Lee Library. I represent the library to the university administration, to donors, to other academic libraries, and to organizations of which we are members. I really enjoy any opportunity to engage with BYU students and faculty — not just to tell them about the interesting things the library is doing but, even more importantly, to hear how we can better support their success.
Hibel: How have academic and research libraries changed in the past decade?
Paustenbaugh: The increased move to electronic content is one of the most obvious things that has changed academic and research libraries in the last decade. In 2005 the majority of academic libraries were purchasing e-journals but fewer were purchasing e-books. Despite the many complaints we get from our patrons about the continued clunkiness of e-book platforms, at the Lee Library we saw e-book use surpass print use in 2014. In 2005, large digital collections created by commercial publishers and by libraries were relatively new; today using the adjective “digital” to describe these collections that we purchase and make available seems practically superfluous. So as academic and research libraries buy fewer physical items and put lesser-used items into storage, it has allowed us to rethink our physical spaces and services — sometimes in very dramatic ways. At the same time pedagogical practices have really changed so that there are greater expectations for collaborative learning and projects. Innovative libraries have become as important as the classroom or the laboratory as places where engaged learning takes place.
The collaboration that is happening in the learning environment is also happening in the research environment. This means academic libraries are doing things that are new or new to them. We’re supporting data management — now required by many federal funders; we’re engaged in the digital humanities — a field not officially recognized by NEH until 2006; we’re partnering with, and in some cases running, university presses; we’re partnering with faculty and with learned societies to host journal publishing; we’re partnering with our colleges of graduate studies to facilitate the publication of electronic theses and dissertations; we’re advocating for openness — open access, open educational resources, even open pedagogy — and in many cases taking the lead on our campuses; we’re driving discussions about digital preservation and trying to meet the enormous challenge of extending the life of the vast amount of digital content that is being created daily. Beyond even the retooling this implies for our staffs, we are frequently looking for people that can help us move forward in these areas, even if they don’t have the traditional education that we’ve looked for in the past. It is hard to think of a field (academic librarianship) or an institutional entity (academic libraries) that has changed more radically in the last decade, and yet I think the next ten years will bring even greater changes.
Hibel: How do you envision libraries evolving?
Paustenbaugh: The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), of which BYU is a member, has spent the last two years working through a strategic thinking and design process. As I’ve taken part in the process, I will have to admit that the highly participatory vision ARL has built of the research library of the future (in this case a 20-year time horizon) has shaped and confirmed my own thinking. While I think the library as place will continue to have relevance and that we will continue to license content that cannot be acquired in any other way, the main contribution of the library will be as an integral collaborative partner in the teaching, learning, and research processes. I think the challenge will be in figuring out how to scale our collaboration but definitely not in having to make the argument that we bring something really essential and valuable to the table.
Hibel: What do you think are the three biggest trends currently affecting academic libraries?
Paustenbaugh: There sure are a lot to pick from but if I have to limit it to three, one of them would be the continued transformation of academic libraries as learning spaces. The exciting thing about this particular trend is that it definitely isn’t a one-size-fits-all phenomenon. There are some great examples of transformations — or some entirely new buildings — where those involved have done an exceptional job of listening to the input of key stakeholders and creating spaces that actively facilitate the type of learning that is happening on those campuses. This is an iterative and ongoing process so getting it right means not resting on your successes.
Another major trend has to be open access (OA). The library has such an important role to play in continuing to advocate for OA in whatever way is feasible for the setting you’re in.
A third trend, and one that I think we are just on the cusp of seeing as the next really big trend to affect academic libraries, is Open Educational Resources (OER). On many campuses where OERs have started to gain traction the library has been at the forefront of these efforts. Because of the kind of skills librarians already have, we’re in an excellent position to help faculty navigate the wide variety of resources that constitute the current array of OER repositories and to help them understand Creative Commons licenses that underpin them.
Hibel: Brigham Young Library ranks as one of the best university libraries. What factors help your library achieve this notable reputation?
Paustenbaugh: It never hurts when you are in a beautiful building in the center of the campus! We have a wide variety of spaces, exhibition areas, and specialized reading rooms that work for individual and group study as well as events. We recruit excellent student employees who provide many front-line services, which allow our librarians more time to work with teaching faculty. The BYU faculty is very focused on providing a graduate-level research experience for our undergraduate students, which translates into fairly high expectations of library use. We try to take advantage of that synergy between librarians, who are looking for ways that library resources/services and their skills can enhance what is being taught in the classroom, and faculty, who demand the use of peer-reviewed research and primary sources in assignments. We have really strong IT staff who are proactively looking for ways that technology can be applied to problems that we’re working on or to provide a better user experience. I also think there is a strong culture of continuous improvement, so we collect a lot of data that helps us understand student needs for information services, and then we use that data to make meaningful improvements.
Hibel: How are online learning and degree programs affecting the way libraries are utilized by students?
Paustenbaugh: That is such an interesting question. By choice BYU’s activity in this area has been fairly limited so far. Based on what I’ve seen elsewhere, online degree programs can test how robust the library’s delivery of digital content is and whether you really are successful at delivering it 24/7. Unless students understand how to get to the high-quality electronic resources that their academic library licenses, they will be more likely to rely solely on what’s available on the open web. Students in these programs absolutely depend on being able to get to electronic resources on their schedule, which even more frequently than residential students involves full-time employment and family as well as different time zones. They may also need chat and other online services at times that libraries are not used to providing. My observation is that often librarians have far fewer interactions with faculty teaching in online courses, so these faculty may be even less aware of library resources that could enhance their instruction than faculty teaching in a face-to-face setting.
Hibel: How have the types of positions and type of work in university libraries changed?
Paustenbaugh: As I mentioned before, academic and research libraries are taking on new roles that library staff haven’t necessarily been educated for through formal degree programs. We are looking for ways to appropriately integrate new technology into almost everything we do. We are constantly upgrading, retooling, and learning new skills. This makes our profession an exciting one to be in, and it means that we should be recruiting people who are clearly dedicated to lifelong, professional learning. In addition to a broad range of professional and technical skills, we need people who have great interpersonal skills, who can collaborate with colleagues inside and outside the library, and who see themselves as true partners with faculty in the learning process. I also think that we need to be more welcoming to people who may not have come through a traditional education program (i.e., the M.L.S.) but who bring critical skills and new perspectives into the library.
Hibel: In the age of digital content, how have libraries transitioned from the days where students used their university library to meet up with classmates, friends and enjoy the atmosphere of the library?
Paustenbaugh: At BYU students are still using the physical library heavily as an academic and social meeting place and our gate counts give no indication that this is a declining trend. Because physical spaces on most college campuses is at a premium we, like other libraries, have been experimenting with spaces that appeal to different types of users. For instance, we’ve been piloting a collaboration space that supports interdisciplinary, project-oriented teaching with a strong focus on social innovation. We also have study spaces that provide alternative types of atmospheres like our study space with piped-in classical music (a suggestion from students!). In addition to innovative spaces and unique special collections that are a motivation in and of themselves to make a trip to the library, we sponsor a very active programming schedule that gives students and faculty more reasons to come to our building.
Hibel: Our final question–what aspect of working in academia are you most passionate about and why?
Paustenbaugh: For me there is nothing more exciting than learning — really pushing yourself intellectually — and from that creating new knowledge, developing new insights, making new discoveries. All of those things can and do happen in academic and research libraries. I think that is why I love libraries and the kind of energy they give off. They are not just the repositories of learning but are really the intellectual lifeblood of the university.