Academic Library Leadership Issues and Challenges: An Informational Interview with Peter Sidorko, Librarian of the University of Hong Kong
Founded in 1911 during the British Colonial era, with the aim of competing with the other Great Powers opening universities in Mainland China, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. Supporting the learning, teaching and research needs of the whole University community, the HKU Library is set up with the commitment to develop and deliver a wide range of resources and services dedicated for engaging the users in the efficient use of library resources in all formats. It was the commitment to promoting a strong intellectual environment and IT infrastructure in libraries that brought Peter Sidorko to the HKU Library over 13 years ago. A seasoned librarian with an established career of working in libraries throughout Australia, Peter Sidorko was hired in 2001 as the Deputy Librarian for HKU before becoming the current University Librarian in 2011. In his current position, Peter Sidorko oversees HKU's library network, comprised of one Main Library and six other subject branches that serve a student population of over 27,000. In the following interview, Peter Sidorko discusses the ways in which he uses his participative management style to work closely with staff and faculty in supporting the unique academic environment at HKU. Furthermore, he speaks Journal of East Asian Libraries, No. 162, February 2016 2 about the deep collaboration with other university libraries in Hong Kong through organizations such as JULAC (Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee) and other services like HKALL (Hong Kong Academic Library Link Xiang Gang Gao Xiao Tu Shu Lian Wang He also openly discusses the current challenges facing the field and the promising goals of supporting the unique collections that have made HKU a world renowned academic institute. Patrick Lo (PL) Could we begin this interview by first introducing yourself, for example, your training and educational background, and your major roles and duties at the University of Hong Kong Libraries? Peter Sidorko (PS) My name is Peter Sidorko, the University Librarian here at The University of Hong Kong (HKU).1 I have been serving as the Director (of the HKU Library) since 1st January 2011. Prior to that, I was the Deputy Librarian [at the HKU Library] I have been working for the HKU Libraries for over 13 years. Prior to coming to Hong Kong, I was working as a librarian in Australia. My first library job was at the State Library of New South Wales2 working as a cataloguer, and I think that was 1984 or 1983. That was a long time ago. So I have over 30 years of experience in working in the library profession. So while I started at the State Library [of the New South Wales] it was only in a six month temporary position as a cataloguer, which I soon realized was not my area of interest. I went to New Zealand after that for a year, and worked in the Canterbury Public Library3, which is one of the biggest public libraries in the South Island. And I was a reference librarian, and I realized that was my area of interest. So after that year, I went back to Australia back to Sydney and from there, I worked at The University of Sydney4 then The University of New South Wales 5 and then The 1 The University of Hong Kong Homepage. Available at: http:/www.hku.hk 2 State Library of New South Wales Homepage. Available at: http:/www.sl.nsw.gov.au 3 Canterbury Public Library Homepage. Available at: http:/canterburylibrary.org 4 The University of Sydney Homepage. Available at: http:/sydney.edu.au 5 The University of New South Wales Homepage. Available at: http:/www.unsw.edu.au Journal of East Asian Libraries, No. 162, February 2016 3 University of Newcastle6 before coming here [to Hong Kong] Moving higher in the hierarchy, gradually and successively, before coming here. My last position in Australia was at the University of Newcastle, where I was the Client Services Manager for the Information and Education Services Division, which was an amalgam of library, IT, and teaching and learning support. So I had dual responsibilities for library and information services (LIS) in the form of faculty liaison, reference service, and information literacy, etc. But as well as that, IT, customer service support such as managing computer labs, managing software on campus, and desktop support for most of the faculties. So it was very much a hybrid position, and it was really the reason why I came here, because HKU at that time (2001) was looking at doing something similar to its library and IT integration, and that didn't really kick off. But anyway, that's kind of my background. PL: Have you always wanted to work as a librarian as your lifelong career since early childhood? PS: No! My graduate degree was in mathematics purely. Back when I was studying, I studied things that I was interested in I didn't study for a career. Mathematics was my main interest, so I did a degree in Pure Mathematics. After that, I was thinking of what to do perhaps a career in teaching, perhaps academia might be of interest. But then I was inspired by my aunt, who was a librarian. She sparked an interest in me, and I went from there basically. PL: What aspects of your aunt's work as a librarian actually inspired you to become a librarian? PS: It was just interesting the things she was doing and it was just something I had never thought of, and it was just a spark. PL: Could you describe a typical day at work as the Director Head Librarian of the HKU Libraries? PS: Some days are more typical than others. If we look at today, there are some things happening today. Well, there's this interview meeting with you that is 6 The University of Newcastle Homepage. Available at: http:/www.newcastle.edu.au Journal of East Asian Libraries, No. 162, February 2016 4 something different. We're having a major book sale in the [HKU] Main Library today and tomorrow, so that's why I was a little late I was opening this book sale. You should go and buy some! Only HKD$20 a book, so true bargains down there! And then this afternoon, I have a meeting with some of my staff because one of my senior staff, who has been in the library for a long time 25 years is leaving us in ten days' time. And so we have a meeting as to how to hand over his unique duties. So that's a fairly typical thing in terms of administration, not in terms of staff retiring, we have very few staff retiring. And then this evening, we have a book talk we'll be hosting. So that's a kind of fairly normal day. So it's a mixture of administrative things, meetings, and special events, etc. PL: How would you describe your management style? PS: Well, in my previous interviews, I say my management style is "participative" so I stick to that. That's been my style. You need to adjust your management style to the climate of the organization, though. I have to say that because sometimes participative just doesn't work, or there are limits to how much participative management you can share among your colleagues. PL: How would you describe "participative" in the context of library management? PS: Well, it's making every individual staff member in the organization take responsibility for their own actions, and taking responsibility to make decisions, etc. So I think we've had pretty good success over the years that I've been here. I certainly know when I first came in 2001, there was a very different culture in this organization. Even fairly trivial issues were escalated to a senior level that was inappropriate (laughs) PL: Would you say that this kind of centralized decision making via a higher authority approach is very typical among many organizations in Asia, regardless it is profitor non profit making organizations? PS: You know, I can't that was certainly my opinion when it first happened. But I would say now that it was really more to do with I think that's a part of it but it's Journal of East Asian Libraries, No. 162, February 2016 5 more to do with the inherent culture of the organization, rather than the ethnic culture (laughs) But the two have come together. Absolutely! The organizational culture has perpetuated that ethnic culture. It's very much topdriven. So I think we've moved away from that quite significantly now at the HKU Library. PL: But do you see the advantages of switching to a more democratic, a much flatter organizational culture for an academic library like the HKU Library? Would you say this is more appropriate for the current environment? Because everybody's talking about that regardless of where we are North America, Europe, Singapore, Indonesia, or Hong Kong. PS: Well, I think the obvious benefits are that trivial matters are not escalated to a high level. Decisions can be made at the coal face [Editor's note: Coal face is an Australian and British expression meaning doing the actual work of a job. But, there's risk with that, and part of the problem is encouraging people to take risks particularly when they come from a culture, an organizational culture, that does not reward risk taking and actually has a punitive approach to errors or mistakes. Whereas I've always, well, I don't think I've ever, in my 13 years here, chastised anybody over a mistake that they've made, but simply helped them to see the way of their mistake and purpose, and how they can do things differently. PL: Or they can learn from our own mistakes. If you don't make mistakes, you will never make any progress or learn anything. Do you agree? PS: Yes, I totally agree. PL: Or sometimes it is difficult to say "this is a mistake!" PS: Sure, and there is this 'face' issue in Asia as well. But you know, we have a reasonably flat structure at the HKU Library. I have a Deputy [Librarian] and then we have a series of division heads, and each of those division heads very much manage their own environment really successfully. And now they tend to escalate any issues to the Deputy rather than to me. So that gives me more quality time to work on other is