BEYOND SURVIVAL: Managing Academic Libraries in Transition

Abstract

One part theory (borrowed from business world), one part practice (including detailed case studies of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Arizona), one part inspiration: Beyond Survival offers ideas about how academic libraries can not only survive in the short term, but take advantage of emergent opportunities by judiciously adopting the same organizational development tools and concepts espoused by the business world. While there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence that significant organizational changes are taking place in academic libraries, the literature suggests that most of these changes take the form of evolutionary, or incremental improvement. But what happens when libraries find themselves in a society characterized by increased information availability compression of time and space, and growing turbulence and unpredictability? These are conditions with which the business world has been grappling for years, conditions that require not an evolutionary approach, but nimbleness and rapid response. One part theory (borrowed from business world), one part practice (including detailed case studies of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Arizona), one part inspiration, Beyond Survival shows you how the transition tactics and strategies developed by businesses can be adapted to academic libraries. By judiciously adopting the same organizational development tools and concepts espoused by the business world, academic libraries can not only survive in the short term, but can take advantage of emergent opportunities to ensure long-term excellence.