The Pre-Flight Check: Preparing Teams and Data for Migration Preconference Workshop
October 14th, 10:00am-3:30pm
Purpose
Join the LOUIS Team for a practical, cross-functional readiness workshop aimed at:
- Clarifying roles, expectations, and coordination between project leads and internal teams.
- Aligning broader library staff and leadership not involved in weekly meetings.
- Identifying what can be productively done now (data, workflows, staff prep).
- Building institutional buy-in and surfacing local anxieties through facilitated discussions and a focused change management session.
Target Audience
- Library administrators and middle managers who may not be in the trenches but need to understand the implications.
- Staff from smaller institutions with fewer migration-focused personnel.
- Newer employees or those who will inherit system responsibilities post-migration.
- Staff who will be affected by system changes but aren't directly involved yet (e.g., public services, circulation, etc.).
Tentative Agenda
10:00am: Project Overview and Proposed Timeline
- What’s happening, when, and who’s involved.
- Key phases of a migration (procurement → planning → data migration → testing → go-live → stabilization).
10:30am: Who Does What?
- Distinguishing roles at different levels: consortial office, vendor, local library.
- Focus on what libraries can already define: internal project leads, communication channels, decision-making structures.
11:00: Getting Your House in Order
- What libraries can and should be doing now.
- Data cleanup, staff prep, local documentation.
Noon: LUNCH -- Pizza provided
1:00pm: Change Management with Amelia Brister
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- Facilitated session on navigating uncertainty and disruption.
- Strategies for keeping staff engaged before the technical migration starts.
- Language for communicating change to broader staff.
1:45pm: Q&A, Discussion, and Shared Concerns (30 min)
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- Small group discussions to identify anxieties, resource constraints, and communication needs.
- Share back common themes.
2:15pm: Breakout/Working Time
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- Create “migration readiness checklists” tailored to local context.
- Map out who in the institution will take on what roles when migration begins.
- Identify immediate next steps each library can take before vendor selection.
