The transit lounge: a view of organisational change from a point in the journey
| Pages | 87-103 |
| Date | 10 January 2008 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120810844676 |
| Published date | 10 January 2008 |
| Author | Barbara Paton,Lea Beranek,Ian Smith |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
The transit lounge: a view of
organisational change from a
point in the journey
Barbara Paton, Lea Beranek and Ian Smith
La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the organisational change processes in an academic
library in the context of change management theory.
Design/methodology/approach – The process of achieving organisational change in La Trobe
University Library, a medium-sized Australian academic library is examined. The focus is the
library’s experience of effecting wide reaching changes in interconnected areas of organisational
structure, client services delivery and the physical service environment and facilities. The drivers for
undertaking change in service delivery are outlined and the changes that have been implemented are
discussed. The practical experience of achieving change is examined using the framework of key
change management theory and expert advice.
Findings – La Trobe University Library has been a leader in innovative service delivery and an early
adopter of technologies to improve services; however it had not previously experienced significant
organisational change. The library initiated a number of strategies to address resistance to the
changes, achieving some success. Workshops for staff to better understand and cope with change were
introduced. Extensive consultation and communication with staff was undertaken; finding the balance
between perceived inadequate communication with staff and communication overload was a
challenge. People are the key factor to success in any organisational change and the library’s
experiences confirmed the need to attend to the people element in any change process. Planning and
leadership were core elements to achieving successful change.
Originality/value – The paper provides a useful comparison between management theory and
expert advice on organisational change and the practical experience of a library.
Keywords Changemanagement, Organizationalchange, Organizationalstructures,Academic libraries,
Australia
Paper type Case study
Introduction
Change and responding to change are ongoing processes. Several years ago La Trobe
University Library embarked on a journey of organisational change after a long period
of relative stability and constancy. The diplomat, economist and author John Kenneth
Galbraith (quoted by Bridges, 2004, p. 9) is said to have once wryly observed that:
Faced with the choice between changing and proving that there is no need to do so, almost
everyone gets busy on the proof.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
Reports and documents relating to the organisational changes referred to in this paper are
available on request from the authors.
The transit
lounge
87
Received 3 April 2007
Accepted 20 May 2007
Library Management
Vol. 29 No. 1/2, 2008
pp. 87-103
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120810844676
This sentiment will ring true for all managers who have, at some stage, had the task of
achieving change in their organisations! Change can be particularly difficult to achieve
in organisations that have long established and largely settled patterns of operation.
La Trobe University Library has always been a leader in innovation and service
delivery. In the 1980s it was one of the first academic libraries in Australia to
implement all modules of a turnkey library management system and it has continued
to be an early adopter of new technologies to improve services for students and staff
and make operations more effective. The library has been updated, extended and
refurbished to accommodate large numbers of computer workstations for client use
and to respond to the needs of students for group study and collaborative learning
environments. A strategic planning process, with input from a wide range of staff at all
levels in the development of an annual action plan, guides the direction of the library.
Comprehensive programs for staff development, performance management and
continuous improvement are in place.
The library is well integrated into the university. Moreover, it is the only Australian
university in which the staff with professional library qualifications have academic
standing. The respect in which the library and its staff are held by the faculty and
administration has meant that achieving organisational change has been supporte d in
the wider university. However, when it came to changing the organisational structure,
it was a new experience for us and Galbraith’s observation struck a chord.
The changing nature of client enquiries, self-service initiatives and the
implementation of new technologies such as digitisation of high use materials were
drivers for the implementation of new modes of service delivery. The organisational
changes undertaken, while not extending to the whole of the library, have nevertheless
been wide reaching, including all areas of client services delivery in an academic
library. This paper relates our experience of change at this point in that journey in the
context of organisational dynamics and change management theory, focussing on
comparing this practical experience with what the theory tells us, what to expect and
how to manage what happens.
The elements of the changes undertaken will be briefly outlined, this forming the
basis for a discussion of the impact of these changes on service delivery, staffing
structures, and workflows, benefits to clients, and the requirement for changes to the
physical environment in the library. The benefits to library clients and improvements
in library services, and the contributions to library staff satisfaction will be described.
The paper will conclude by reflecting on our experiences and the lessons learned
(successes and failures) on this journey.
Drivers for change
The La Trobe University Library is a medium-sized academic library providing
services to academic staff, researchers, and postgraduate and undergraduate studen ts
across six geographically dispersed campuses in the state of Victoria, Australia. The
total population of the university is 29,000 with total library staff of 145. The library at
the Bundoora campus is the largest of the five campus libraries and opened its doors
for students and staff in 1967 in a newly established university. The 100 members of
library staff provide services to 17,000 students and 2,500 staff.
In recent decades the Bundoora Campus Library has experienced significant
changes driven by the digital era of information resource provision and deliv ery as
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