2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries

Considering Access During a Library Merge
175
BEST PRACTICES 2012
By Rebecca Aftowicz, Reference Librarian, Comptroller of the Currency Library, with
contributions from Joseph Thornton, Library Technician, Comptroller of the
Currency Library
Change can always be challenging, especially in a work environment. There may
be some who are resistant or some who can feel too personally about a decision.
In the case of my employer and the library staff, we had no choice but to adapt
quickly to the fast-paced organizational changes, and we had to adjust so we could
continue to serve our library customers. On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed
Public Law 110-203, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act which, among other things, abolished the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).
Many of the agency's functions were transferred to the agency where I work, the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), including the functions of the OTS
Library. The merge had to complete by July 21, 2011, and the library transfer had
to occur by December 31, 2011.
When thinking of merging the physical collections of two libraries, one of our
biggest (and most obvious) concerns was space. Not only did we have to consider
the amount of space in the OCC's current location, but we also had to consider our
next move. The OCC is currently in the process of relocating all of its headquarters
offices a few blocks away to another building- with a brand new library.
Fortunately, the linear feet of the new OCC Library will be more or less the same
as the current location, but this was just one other thing to consider during the
transition.
We began by measuring the linear feet of our current space - both the occupied
shelves and the free space. I met with Joseph Thornton, the solo librarian at the
OTS, to assess the collection and, first, determine the must-have materials to
move. Joseph and I measured the linear feet of all the unique historical material of
the Office of Thrift Supervision and Federal Home Loan Bank Board such as internal
documents and publications. (History note: The Office of Thrift Supervision used to
be the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.) We also reviewed the linear files with rare
legislative materials. Then we determined how much space we would need at the
OCC Library for any additional materials.
While we were reviewing the two collections, our Technical Services unit (which is
comprised of contractors) was immensely helpful and added their knowledge and
experience to the move. They did a comparison of both agencies’ periodical
holdings, created documents to show exactly how the linear feet of each library was
utilized, and pulled monographs to transfer. Especially given the time constraints in
this project, their assistance was invaluable.