Chaos in the library environment
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000005596 |
| Date | 01 September 2001 |
| Published date | 01 September 2001 |
| Pages | 278-287 |
| Author | Anthi Katsirikou,Christos H. Skiadas |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Chaos in the library
environment
Anthi Katsirikou and
Christos H. Skiadas
Introduction
Libraries involved in technological
developments today are complex
organisations having multiple missions and
goals. This is unprecedented. For centuries
libraries had built up paper databases of their
book and periodical collections, which they
called catalogues. The twentieth century saw
the emergence of audio-visual resources and
greatly expanded libraries acquired large
collections of materials for educational and
recreational purposes. Up to that time
organisational procedures and progress were
moving normally from stage to stage, without
hiatus, radical change, or shift in the way of
thinking.
In the 1980s the new database technology
known as ``library systems'' appeared in the
marketplace. Librarians realised that they
could simplify and extend their work and
quickly started to adopt these systems. It was
the era of grand library automation projects.
At this time the implementation of the new
technology had an organisational impact on
libraries. At the same time the Internet, e-mail
communication and World Wide Web
(WWW) rushed at our lives (Waaijers, 1999).
With the plethora of new resources, both
local and remote, new possibilities for
document delivery, non-uniformity of
interfaces, ever-changing search engines, and
the sheer range of technical skills required in
the workplace, library and information service
staff have difficulty keeping up with the pace
of change. It intensifies their sense of
vulnerability, if not inadequacy. This sense is
not restricted to those working at the sharp
end of information provision; it extends to all
levels of staff.
Uncertainty associated with organisational
change is probably inevitable. What we find
time and time again is that the technology is
the pretext for organisational change.
Information technology is very destabilising
for structures of authority because there has
never been a period in the professional life of
library staff and authorities when they felt less
confident in grasping some of the most
essential technologies that are driving the
future of the operation of the libraries
(Edwards, 1997).
Now that the missions and goals of the
library have been enriched, compared with
the past, the library's identity has to be
modified, but not the purpose. Libraries
The authors
Anthi Katsirikou is Library Director (e-mail:
anthi@library.tuc.gr) and Christos H. Skiadas is
Professor (e-mail: skiadas@ermes.tuc.gr), Department of
Production Engineering and Management, both at the
Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece.
Keywords
Chaos, Libraries, Organizational theory, Innovation, Creativity
Abstract
Describes the impact of chaos theory in social systems and
the phenomena that result from it, drawing attention to
related phenomenain the state of the library today. It then
considers the factors that lead library systems to exhibit
chaotic behaviour. These factors are the plethora of
technological tools and the variety of software and
interfaces, the dependence of resource providers and the
increasing supply and diversity of information resources.
The changes dictatedby these factors influencethe internal
operations of the library, communication between libraries,
the methods and channels of providing user services, the
time taken to access information and knowledge, and the
numbers and variety of users and their unique ways of
searching. In conclusion, the organisational changes in
libraries dictated by the unpredictability and instability of
the present state are identified, including the
organisational transition of library management, staff
education concerning the new tools and resources, and
user education about assist search techniques.
Electronic access
The research register for this journal is available at
http://www.mcbup.com/research_registers
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emerald-library.com/ft
278
Library Management
Volume 22 .Number 6/7 .2001 .pp. 278±287
#MCB University Press .ISSN 0143-5124
To continue reading
Request your trial