Thursday, September 28, 2006

Does LIS lack a subtext?

Have you ever noticed that library and information science (LIS) lacks a subtext? Someone, I forget who, stated that LIS vacillates between considering itself as a science or a social science. Regardless of where it positions itself, or perhaps because we can’t make up our minds, our discipline lacks a subtext. What do I mean by this subtext? I’m still not sure. What I have noticed is that we lack theory or theories on which we base our activities. Perhaps this is because I haven’t done enough professional reading?

This lack became apparent to me as I explored the concept of academic librarian competency. I was and continue to read on competence or competencies within the business literature and these authors are constantly quoting all these interesting names/ideas/frameworks, providing a context or subtext within which they chart their respective courses. In the first draft of my article, I noted that it lacked a subtext, in this sense an historical perspective of ideas and theory that have influenced my ideas for this article. I find that quite worrying.

Am I just a whiner who has got the wrong end of the stick? Have I just not done enough reading within my own field? Or is there an identity crisis within LIS that has resulted in an inability of LIS to define itself and thus create this subtext? Or has my field of endeavour just not grown enough into its own skin and lacks maturity. (This latter idea kinda links back to the idea of how to track ideas within a literature and, by default, I guess I’m proposing we extend it to see if it is possible to measure maturity.)

I find a parallel in archaeology that may illuminate our position. Archaeology grew out of sociology but currently draws extensively from physics, sociology, geography, biology, etc. to define itself as a discipline. It began in the late 19th century. When did LIS begin? Or library science or whatever you might want to call it? One answer is the 20th century. Are we so young we just haven’t grown up yet? Is it time to start thinking about growing up or is this debate already occurring and I haven't found it yet?

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

how to identify your work culture

"Just change the culture" sounds easy but is viciously difficult. Culture change is dependent on buy-in from staff. If you don't get that buy-in you are doomed to failure. In our world of increasing demands for accountability, both internal and external, the potential is present for change and buy-in to occur.

I always thought one should start with identifying the culture within which you work. Application of contemporary sociological theory was extremely helpful in determining what sub-groups and splinter groups existed within the library. I'm not suggesting using one theory to highlight the culture but multiple theories to create the best possible picture of what is happening within your library. And don't feel you have to limit theory to sociological approaches. Feel free to expand into other fields.

How do you get this to happen? Well, do your staff have to publish for renewal and promotion? Do you have someone with a sociological background? Other background that might be relevant? You could approach this person to see if they would be willing to write a paper based on applied sociological theory to this particular context?

Or, you could do a survey such as the one done by Carol Shepston and Lyn Currie (reported on at CLA 2006 as The Leadership Agenda: Paving the Way for New Academic Librarians) that investigated "new and established librarians perceptions of factors in the workplace which support or hinder effective work performance", thus creating a picture of the organizational structure from two perspectives.

Don't forget you may also read the literature, especially those with such handy titles as Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: based on the competing values framework by Kim S. Cameron and Robert Quinn, John Wiley & Sons, 2005.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

culture change for adaptability, etc.

If “core business practices and production processes are changing so rapidly that [our] real bottom-line need is for people who are adaptable and who know how to learn [constantly] and problem-solve,” then how do we get those people.

Historically, we seem to have hired new graduates or persons with these capabilities as budgets allowed or done without. The hardest approach is the one we talk about but have problems making it happen: culture change. What will culture change allow? It will not stop us from hiring for skills and capabilities. It will encourage and impress the need for the change on our incumbent librarians.

How do we start? Promote librarianship as a career not a job, as a process and not an end in itself. Start at the Library Schools and with our Accrediting Body (ALA) and continue with practicing librarians. When you graduate from school you may be accredited but it needs to be inculcated that you are at the starting gate, you are not a fully formed librarian. What you did in library school is not what you will be throughout your career. It is the launch pad or starting line where all librarians begin, not end up.

Modify the CILIP approach to accreditation and enforce reflection by asking them to follow the process, perhaps on a yearly basis. This process asks librarians to think about where they want to go in their career, describe what they have done so far to meet their goals and what has been planned in the near future to continue this process. In other words, prove you have a career path and prove that you are progressing towards and accomplishing your goals. No sleepwalking or lack of reflection allowed. When was the last time you gave concrete thought to your career and accomplishments?

What else might we do? At those yearly evaluation meetings, don’t just present the process noted above. In these meetings you define mutually acceptable work goals over the next year. That’s nice. Don’t forget to then talk about what you want to LEARN over the next year and what you plan on PLAYING with over the next year. And use the words LEARN and PLAY. For example, I plan on learning more about competency over the next year and about non-profit boards. What do I want to play with? How about some new blogging software and wikis. What am I planning on doing with this knowledge? How much time will this take? Negotiate. In other words, librarians must take responsibility for their careers and be conscious of where they want to go and what they want to learn along the way.

Unfortunately, this does not speak to the traits of adaptability and problem-solving...

http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/

D Hanna. (2003). Building a leadership vision: eleven strategic challenges for higher education. EDUCAUSE July/August, 25-34.