What do we do now? A case for abandoning yesterday and making the future

Positioning libraries to embrace transformative change and innovate for the future are perennial topics in current library literature. We are charged to push beyond incremental changes, abandon current outdated and dying practices and assume new critical roles in the academy. (1) As our institutions of higher education shift toward more business like practices and respond to societal and economic pressures, our libraries must re-envision themselves to fit within this new framework. The need to expand the library focus on the needs and mission of the institution and produce a library that "seeks to fulfill the campus's goals, even in endeavors that currently don't involve the library" (2) offers a significant opportunity to shift how we develop programming and measure success. Peter Drucker has espoused the idea of organized abandonment for many years. In his book Management Challenges for the 21st Century, Drucker suggests that for businesses and institutions of higher learning alike, the practice of systematically reviewing and abandoning dying or declining services and products is necessary to create change and innovate for the future. (3) Systematically asking the question "If we did not do this already, would we, knowing what we now know, go into it?" (4) is essential to knowing what to abandon and how to act. Drucker offers a framework for organizations to create a "policy of systematic innovation" that "produces a mindset for an organization to be a change leader." (5) He outlines specific steps for developing this type of culture, from examining every service and product on a regular basis, to piloting changes, to establishing a culture that maintains continuity for workers to thrive in this type of dynamic environment. At Grand Valley State University, the forces of continual examination and change were thrust upon us when we were presented with a new building project. Having just surfaced from a staff re-organization and a number of changes resulting from working with new university and library leadership, the library was already starting to operate under a new cultural paradigm of continuous transformation and change. The responsibility of designing a building to meet the needs of the university weighed heavily and sent us into re-imagining the library of the future. This offered a rare opportunity to ask the question of what we would do if we could start anew. While the physical space is only one aspect of what a library offers, questioning what and how the physical space would work presented us the occasion to re-examine almost every aspect of our library programs and processes. Through this process, we have often come to the conclusion where feasible, implementing new ideas and programs "now" are best to strengthen the library we have today and will help us prepare ourselves to be successful once we move into the new space. about grand valley state university Celebrating it's fiftieth year in existence in 2010, GVSU is a large state comprehensive university (Carnegie Master's Large) that has grown to support approximately 24,000 students and more than 200 undergraduate areas of study and 28 graduate programs. Grand Valley offers a wide variety of programs and has an emphasis on faculty teaching over research. Graduate studies are generally focused on professional programs in areas such as health care, education, and business. The University is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and efficient budgeting practices. University administration has been supportive of the University Libraries in securing funding for the construction of the new Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons and promoting the vision of what the library will bring to the campus community. There is great campus support for creating a library environment where programs extend and enhance the classroom experience, supporting student learning and success through a variety of services offered by library staff and other campus entities. …