Event Title
"But We've Always Done It This Way" : Challenges and Strategies in Enacting Change in Technical Services
Start Date
19-5-2023 11:15 AM
End Date
19-5-2023 12:05 PM
Description
Oftentimes when academic libraries undergo a reorganization, which inevitably includes change, or when an academic librarian starts a new position at an academic library and is assigned a task of instituting a change, change can be met with resistance. The line "But we've always done it this way" as a rebuttal to change can be perceived by those assigned to enact change as an opportunity, a point of frustration, or perhaps a little of both.
This workshop will address the challenges academic librarians can face when trying to enact change, and some strategies to employ in the face of resistance. Having worked at several academic libraries over the course of my career, I will share experiences I have encountered, strategies in enacting change, and results, including the good and the not so good, when tasked with instilling change.
Included in this workshop will be approaches to enacting change, built around examples of leading projects to migrate to a new ILS system and Discovery Layer. Specifically, participants will learn: ways to form working groups, propose projects, build project online platforms, and create buy-in from constituents both within and outside technical services departments.
"But We've Always Done It This Way" : Challenges and Strategies in Enacting Change in Technical Services
Oftentimes when academic libraries undergo a reorganization, which inevitably includes change, or when an academic librarian starts a new position at an academic library and is assigned a task of instituting a change, change can be met with resistance. The line "But we've always done it this way" as a rebuttal to change can be perceived by those assigned to enact change as an opportunity, a point of frustration, or perhaps a little of both.
This workshop will address the challenges academic librarians can face when trying to enact change, and some strategies to employ in the face of resistance. Having worked at several academic libraries over the course of my career, I will share experiences I have encountered, strategies in enacting change, and results, including the good and the not so good, when tasked with instilling change.
Included in this workshop will be approaches to enacting change, built around examples of leading projects to migrate to a new ILS system and Discovery Layer. Specifically, participants will learn: ways to form working groups, propose projects, build project online platforms, and create buy-in from constituents both within and outside technical services departments.