Abstract
Change management can be one of the most difficult aspects of library leadership with well-known issues and challenges, such as inertia, fear, and resistance to change. However, by embracing change management as a long-term program for building trust, communication, and empowerment of staff, library leaders can create environments where change not only happens but is embraced by all levels of the library hierarchy. In this article, the authors share their work and research as part of a library staff empowered by their library dean to guide the formation and piloting of public service model changes due to the planning of a new library building. Library leaders can use these insights as they work with their staff to implement change at their libraries.
Highlights
Each library staff has its own culture and context that makes it unique in the ways staff handle change; library leaders can use best practices and insights to more successfully guide change no matter what group of library staff they are leading
Change only happens through people’s work (Smith 2005a) and while changes to library service models may fall under the category of “organizational change,” people make up the organization
Just as with sharing the overall vision and mission of the library, library leaders must embody the excitement they want to see in their staff and share their message so often that they feel they are boring everyone with their vision (Smith 2005a)
Summary
Each library staff has its own culture and context that makes it unique in the ways staff handle change; library leaders can use best practices and insights to more successfully guide change no matter what group of library staff they are leading. The authors discuss the participative, empowerment-based approach undertaken by their library leadership in response to change In this case, the university is constructing a new building to house the library and the library dean decided this was an excellent opportunity to assess and suggest changes to the library’s public service models. The library dean’s empowerment of staff to lead this change increased engagement with this continuing, multi-year process and continues to give everyone in the library the opportunity to help shape the library’s future Details of this process, along with the literature on empowering staff and managing change, can give library leaders ideas to implement before and during the major change at their libraries. Through understanding and incorporating best practices, library leaders can support and empower their staff through times of change
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