To what extent do library and information professionals actively manage change? An investigation into organisations based in London and surrounding areas
Creators: name: Stewart, Sharon
Publisher: name: unknown
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: Library science
subject: Information science

description: This research aims to establish the extent to which library and information professionals (LIPs) in London and surrounding areas actively manage change. It addresses the importance of acquiring change management (CM) capabilities for LIPs, particularly at this time of unprecedented change due to globalisation, political uncertainty, economic pressures and the advancement of disruptive technologies. 

The study commences with a desk research strategy focusing on selected CM literature to identify existing theories and approaches used by practitioners to manage organisational change. The review includes library and information related publications and the wider CM literature to gain a broad perspective.

The empirical part of this study is based on a mixed-methods research approach to take advantage of the benefits of quantitative and qualitative research. It comprises of a questionnaire involving 108 respondents from a range of libraries, information centres, museums, archives, knowledge management and other related information services, both in the public and private sectors. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the resulting data set. Qualitative research was conducted by means of ten individual semi-structured interviews. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the interview transcripts.

The results reveal that 91 percent of LIPs think that change management is important and 72 percent are convinced that a more proactive approach to change management would increase the likelihood of a favourable outcome for future transformative changes. However, 32 percent of practitioners use CM models, and nearly a third of participants have never received CM training in any form.

This research argues that an introduction to CM should be mandatory on library and information science-related courses. In addition, more research needs to be conducted to establish the extent to which actively managing change impacts the outcome of change initiatives.
description: This research aims to establish the extent to which library and information professionals (LIPs) in London and surrounding areas actively manage change. It addresses the importance of acquiring change management (CM) capabilities for LIPs, particularly at this time of unprecedented change due to globalisation, political uncertainty, economic pressures and the advancement of disruptive technologies. The study commences with a desk research strategy focusing on selected CM literature to identify existing theories and approaches used by practitioners to manage organisational change. The review includes library and information related publications and the wider CM literature to gain a broad perspective. The empirical part of this study is based on a mixed-methods research approach to take advantage of the benefits of quantitative and qualitative research. It comprises of a questionnaire involving 108 respondents from a range of libraries, information centres, museums, archives, knowledge management and other related information services, both in the public and private sectors. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the resulting data set. Qualitative research was conducted by means of ten individual semi-structured interviews. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the interview transcripts. The results reveal that 91 percent of LIPs think that change management is important and 72 percent are convinced that a more proactive approach to change management would increase the likelihood of a favourable outcome for future transformative changes. However, 32 percent of practitioners use CM models, and nearly a third of participants have never received CM training in any form. This research argues that an introduction to CM should be mandatory on library and information science-related courses. In addition, more research needs to be conducted to establish the extent to which actively managing change impacts the outcome of change initiatives.