Assessing trends to cultivate new thinking in academic libraries
| Date | 31 July 2007 |
| Pages | 366-378 |
| Published date | 31 July 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120710774503 |
| Author | Sally A. Rogers |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Assessing trends to cultivate new
thinking in academic libraries
Sally A. Rogers
The Ohio State University Libraries, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an organized view of current trends affecting
academic libraries that one research library developed to encourage new thinking; this view could
assist others seeking to help their organizations think differently about the future of information
access and management.
Design/methodology/approach – One strategy for identifying important trends using a small
number of key resources is highlighted in the paper. A snapshot of the many trends affecting academic
libraries is categorized to show interrelationships and to provide specific examples along with a
general overview. Included is a brief description of how the snapshot was used by one library.
Implications for the future and perspectives on the value of cultivating new thinking are presented in
the conclusion.
Findings – The paper finds that rapid and far-reaching change is challenging libraries to think very
differently, to act much more quickly, and to set trends rather than merely react to them. Assessing
trends can help libraries foster organizational change through exposure to new ideas and see where
new partnerships and areas of expertise must be developed to meet new needs.
Practical implications – The snapshot became the basis for two library-wide events at Ohio State
that better positioned attendees to inform and to accommodate decisions about service priorities,
personnel and budget requests.
Originality/value – This paper organizes many diverse trends into a general overview to make
inter-relationships and implications more understandable to those unlikely to develop such a view on
their own – for example: university personnel outside the library, middle managers and those they
supervise within the library, students of library and information management.
Keywords Academic libraries, Change management,Information management
Paper type Viewpoint
Introduction
Those in leadership positions in higher education and in academic libraries face a
significant challenge as they try to envision the future with some degree of accuracy in
order to make good decisions about service priorities, resource allocations, and
organizational structures. Visibility into the future is so limited that it is a challenge to
predict what will be expected of these organizations even two or three years from now.
If visibility is limited for those in upper level leadership positions, it could be
non-existent for those at other levels in their organizations if regular exposure to new
perspectives and ideas has not been a priority.
The following article presents a view of current trends in academic libraries that
was developed at The Ohio State University Libraries (OSUL) to encourage new
thinking to inform decisions about future directions. Because it was a challenge to
show in some coherent fashion how the many key trends affecting academic libraries
relate to one another as the basis for a library-wide discussion, the resulting view is
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
LM
28,6/7
366
Received 8 October 2006
Revised 12 January 2007
Accepted 26 January 2007
Library Management
Vol. 28 No. 6/7, 2007
pp. 366-378
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120710774503
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