Libraries surviving as entrepreneurial organizations: a creative destruction perspective

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight some traditional functions found in academic libraries and apply various business models as an aid to developing an entrepreneurial culture. Due to a combination of environmental pressures, universities are refining their strategic mission to identify “what they do well” or “where they want to be”. Programs that align with the strategic mission of the university get funded, while other less productive, lower impact programs and services are neglected or eliminated. This is essentially a process based on business or financial decisions. Design/methodology/approach – In an attempt to cope with these changes, academic library administrators are assessing library services to insure that they are aligned with their university’s strategic mission. Findings – To successfully develop and sustain this alignment, academic libraries must become “entrepreneurial organizations” where strategic decisions are based on business models, rather than tradition, or more specifically “the way we have always done things”. As this results-oriented, strategic thinking culture evolves, the actual brick and mortar library will also evolve to become a technology-based information service center that facilitates campus-wide creative activities. Originality/value – This perspective piece will highlight some traditional functions found in academic libraries and apply various business models, including the Schumpeterian model of creative destruction, as an aid to developing the entrepreneurial culture that will be necessary if the academic library is to stay viable and relevant in the twenty-first century.