Abstract
Organizational structure and culture affect all aspects of a library, from the practical daily operations to the overall effectiveness of the library to meet its users' needs. Many academic libraries have explored different organizational structures to meet changes in user needs and the information environment as well as studied their organizational culture in an effort to diagnose deficiencies or strengths. This article explores one non-traditional organizational model at a small academic library. This model - the Cluster structure - is a modified version of the traditional team structure, but tries to address some of the pitfalls inherent in a team-based organization. The article covers a case study on the formation and evolution of the cluster structure, and then turns its attention to the effect the structure has had on organizational culture using the Competing Values Framework (CVF).
Highlights
As its environment changes, any thriving organization must make adjustments and implement changes in order to respond to new opportunities and challenges
While looking to the team structures seen in other places and adopting some of the features of their structures, the cluster structure differs in important ways, including the shared leadership model
Implementation, growth, and assessment of the cluster structure has brought up several key points for reflection within the context of the professional literature as well as within the Grinnell College Libraries (GCL)
Summary
Any thriving organization must make adjustments and implement changes in order to respond to new opportunities and challenges. Libraries are no different in needing to be flexible and adaptable in the face of change. After a new library director in 2006 and a self-study and external review in 2008 the GCL implemented an overall restructuring. The outcome of this restructuring is the cluster organizational structure: a flat structure consisting of several work groups formed around library operations with shared leadership including librarians and library staff. While looking to the team structures seen in other places and adopting some of the features of their structures, the cluster structure differs in important ways, including the shared leadership model
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