Change and Institutional Culture

1. Change and Institutional Culture And Academic Libraries

2. Forces Driving Change • Stakeholder demands- accountability & transparency • Technology • Open access/ scholarly communication/ publishing • Budget constraints • Staffing

3. Definition of a Library • Library as collection (of resources) • Library as building or space • Library as function (organization of information) • Library as service- supporting role in the context of the organization

4. Change in Libraries • Competition • we are facing, for the first time as a profession, competition. • competitors are using the ubiquity of the Internet to market and deliver information directly to users, bypassing the library • Perception • everything is on the Internet • everything on the Internet is free

5. Change in Libraries • As a result of competition and perception, the library is transitioning to become more customer focused • Change must be managed through the planning, organizing, human resources management, and coordination/control functions • Not so much that core purpose of libraries is changing, but there is a shifting emphasis on relative importance of various aspects

6. From passive housing and storage of materials Access to information via new technologies Active agency providing information services to users Developing services based on information collections in all formats Macro Changes in Libraries Hernon and Dugan

7. From focus on doing things that best fit internal traditions Focus on need to keep customers satisfied librarians must understand user expectation and attitudes users expect to access information and interact with the library 24/7/365 attitudes include less willingness to accept a lack of quality from libraries; they can now “go elsewhere” Macro Changes in Libraries Hernon and Dugan

8. From the organizational culture of “that’s the way we have always done it” Focusing on continuing improvement and learning Macro Changes in Libraries Hernon and Dugan

9. Managing Change Organizational Understanding and Cultural Sensitivity

10. Institutional Culture • Is the set of values, norms, standards, philosophies, and ideologies that characterize that institution—that is, what people value, believe in, and consider admirable in the institution • The behavior and shared expectations that influences the way in which individuals, groups and teams interact with each other and cooperate to achieve goals Hernon and Dugan

11. Institutional Culture • Examples of culture: • dress code • staff social interaction outside of the library • the manner in which staff is addressed internally (first name; title, etc.) Hernon and Dugan

12. Institutional Culture • Elements of the culture • symbols, such as the arrangement of office space (walls or cubicles; arrangement of the space) • group norms, such as a meeting starting on time (or not) • slogans, such as phrases found in mission statements and signage (customer service oriented) • myths and stories, usually introduced to new staff to reinforce current or past values • ceremonies, such as annual rituals. Hernon and Dugan

13. Institutional Culture • Institutional culture is often the cause of inflexibility in institutions • members can be expected to resist change that force them to abandon established and approved ways of doing things; “we have always done it that way.” • Institutional Culture Hernon and Dugan

14. Organizational Culture • Different cultures within the larger organization • Across departments and divisions • Within departments and divisions • i.e. differences between reference, cataloging, circ, etc. • The organization’s culture may, or may not be the same as the institution’s culture. • What characterizes our libraries?

15. Organizational Environment • Is a set of forces and conditions inside and outside of the organization that have potential to affect the way the organization operates Hernon and Dugan

16. Organizational Environment • External environment • set of forces that have profound effects on the internal environment: • competitors • perceptions of the library • stereotypes of both librarians and library • costs for services provided especially when the Internet is “free” • legal; political; technological; environment; economic; sociocultural; demographic etc. • external environment often outside the influence of the organization Hernon and Dugan

17. Organizational Environment • Internal environment of libraries include: • library principles • all things to all people • library’s organizational culture • allocated resources • the condition of the infrastructure Hernon and Dugan