Presentation

One Foot in Both Worlds: The Challenges of Working Across Departments and Meeting Our Goals

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Abstract

Throughout the profession, archivists have had to ‘dig deep’ to approach challenges due to budgetary constraints that have led to a decrease in staff. This is a reality for many in the world of academic libraries and archives. One solution to this problem is the creation of positions that work cross-departmentally, both in the archives and other library departments. This presentation will provide insights into how the UW–Whitewater Archives and Area Research Center staff has adapted our daily practices and risen to meet these challenges as a team. We will share our unique viewpoints as a manager, new professional, and student, and our solutions that help us juggle management responsibilities, working in multiple departments, and at different campus locations.

We will start by presenting our major challenges, which include consistent communication among archival staff and other supervisors, balancing archive needs with other job responsibilities, and the unique needs of remote staff. Communication is essential to managing staff, expectations, workload, and unexpected complications. Our communication style helps us to leverage ties between the campuses and navigate the expectations of numerous departments. Additionally, we will share insights into how we set priorities and balance competing responsibilities. We will provide our archival colleagues with practical solutions to their own staffing, communication, and workload concerns.

How to Cite:

Motszko, J., Jones, M. & Oakey, A., (2023) “One Foot in Both Worlds: The Challenges of Working Across Departments and Meeting Our Goals”, MAC Annual Meeting Presentations 2023(1).