College and Research Libraries ROBERT P. HARO Change in Academic Libraries Never noted for their tOillingness to accept innovative suggestions and implement change from outside sources, academic libraries have re- mained institutions in which changes in service policies and programs originate from internal sources only. In order to shift to an orienta- tion that seeks to develop new and expanding service programs, the establishment of research groups could do much to improve both the services offered by a library and its role in the academic community. While certain constraints always limit modification or the initiation of services, a properly constituted research group could do much to generate a climate for change, provide feedback to the library, and successfully continue .to develop new and more effective library and information services. AcADEMIC LmRARIEs attempting to ac- commodate change, aside from selecting a new chief librarian, have employed two basic strategies. The first is to estab- lish a committee within the library or- ganizational structure, imbue it with the necessary legitimacy, provide it with needed resources (mainly in-house tal- ent), and attempt to integrate its activi- ties into the normal operation of the li- brary. Such groups vary in composition and structure. They may include special- ly qualified staff members operating as upper-level administrators or lower-level beginning staff. The second basic strategy is to bring outsiders into the library organization and employ them as consultants. This alternative can also range from a seri- ous and concerned effort to improve ex- isting problems to an elaborate and sometimes expensive ploy. While there Mr. Haro was librarian and lecturer in the School of Library and Information Ser- vices, University of Maryland, College Park, when this manuscript was written. He is presently associate university librarian at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. are many mixed strategies, reqmrmg various combinations of external and internal assistance, most academic li- braries utilize one or the other or a com- bination of the previously mentioned strategies .1 The experience libraries have had with specially constituted in-house groups has varied greatly. Because most academic libraries are reactive support service institutions, several barriers which can impede successful change and innovation must be overcome.2 These barriers include the bureaucratic phenomena of functional specializa-- tion, a traditional professional-manage- rial orientation which renders nonad- ministrative or nonmanagerial librarians as secondary citizens, a lack of aware- ness or training in administration and management by middle- and upper-level library administrators, and a lack of staff participation in the decision-mak- ing process. When closely examined, the bulk of many academic librarians' work is what administrative theorists might classify as "organizational maintenance'~ work. 3 Even though some of these investiga- /97 98 I College & Research Libraries • March 1972 tory or planning groups have tried to generate innovative change, the vast ma- jority still find themselves captured and co-opted by the system, or reduced to ad- visory sounding boards. The difficulty was clearly stated by Robert Merton when he observed that the bureaucratic intellectual "who must permit the poli- cy-maker to define the scope of his re- search problem is implicitly lending his skills and knowledge to the preservation of a, particular institutional arrange- ment. 4 Employing consultants to survey a problem or broad area of difficulty and to present findings or recommendations is a traditional method of reducing or- ganizational barriers within academic li- braries for the consideration of original alternatives. Various bureaucracies, es- pecially municipalities, have popular- ized such an approach. Lack of ade- quate financial resources, of locally available talent, and a failure to ac- knowledge persistent problems have pro- vided the primary impetus to this ap- proach. Since most academic libraries cannot afford to fund a permanent plan- ning or research group, the consultant is an attractive alternative. When closely considered, the consul- tant approach is safer than doing noth- ing. Inaction, particularly if antagonists and critics inside or outside of the li- brary perceive difficulties, can lead to re- view or investigations by faculty adviso- ry committees, academic administrative boards of inquiry, etc.; the results of such investigation may provide critics with pertinent data which will catalyze radical change. There are many ploys an academic li- brary administrator can introduce to scuttle new ideas, however, especially in the use of consultants. One of the most popular methods is to recommend as a consultant a colleague who is the chief librarian at a large and prestigious aca- demic library and who has a similar ap- proach to the preservation of the tradi- tional concept of library service, organi- zation, and structure. 5 Too often the chief librarian and this consultant are friends, and any recommendations that will be made can be expected to contain only minor suggestions for change or only those of an acceptable nature as perceived by the library. On the other hand, if a consultant is hired who is an unknown quantity to the library, a dif- ferent strategy may be employed. Since a consultant must rely upon informa- tion to conduct his study, and as only the library possesses much of that in- formation, the library administration if it desires can effectively reduce the im- pact of a consultant by cooperating with him on a selective basis only. When the consultant presents his conclu- sions and makes recommendations for change, the library administration si- multaneously asks whether factor "x" was taken into account; when the con- sultant indicates that factor "x" was not cited in the set of provided data, the li- brary administration may then produce additional information in question which may cast doubts about the validi- ty of not only the conclusion but of the entire report. This is but one of many situations that could describe, admittedly slightly in caricature, experience in the use of consultants to bring about change in academic libraries. This is not to say that consultant experience in academic libraries has been all bad; there are ~ some examples of success. THE RESEARCH GROUP APPROACH Considering both the basic resistance to change of a library organization and the nature of changes which loom not far distant, it is imperative to pursue a · .o~ strategy known as the participative man- agement approach. 6 My conviction that participation is a proper approach is strengthened by the fact that participa- tion can and should be made meaning- ful. Therefore, the first step to be con- sidered is the composition of a research group organized to study, recommend, ' 1 I and seek the implementation of better library service policies and programs. Ideally, it should include representatives from academic teaching departments, a representative sample of managerial and nonmanagerial librarians, and where appropriate or feasible, student representatives. The research group should help define problem areas, speci- fy areas of needed improvement, and increase relevance of the service pro- grams of the library. In return, expo- sure of library members to the rigors of specifying objectives and service defi- ciencies will be beneficial to the library. The research group should further the objectives of change and innovation in several ways. First, if it is to be suc- cessful and persuasive, it must develop a commitment within the group to pur- sue its investigations beyond the initial exploratory stages. 7 However, once the service policy of the library is changed, or is sufficiently modified and operation- ally functional, the research group ap- pears to facilitate the development of commitment to change. Second, conversations and discussions within the research group should encom- pass all probable reactions to change, thereby insuring that typical reactions are easily accommodated in reports and recommendations. While recommenda- tions may frequently be rejected be- cause of simple, easily corrected objec- tions, the research group can provide a forum for thoughtful interchange wherein all but substantial disagree- ments can be settled. In essence, the re- search group should provide opportuni- ties for innumerable "dry-runs" of ideas and proposals. The questions posed by the librarian members of the group should provide a built-in screen- ing process. Finally, the research group should in- troduce a semiformal communication channel within the library and its or- ganization structure. The normal com- munication channels of most academic Change in Academic Libraries I 99 libraries follow typical bureaucratic patterns, even though there are some well-developed informal channels. How- ever, the research group could provide an even more effective medium for ex- change within the academic library's or- ganizational structure. The director, the associate or assistant director, and the upper echelon library systems analyst should not, except in special cases, be full members of the committee. These individuals might, however, be acknowl- edged as ex officio members and be giv- en the task of advising the research group and evaluating its work. Academ- ic deans, heads of departments, or the director of research on campus should likewise be excluded from the group. Because of their campus positions, they could intimidate or easily monopolize the group. Hence, to insure wide par- ticipation and support, the library's di- rector should be convinced that he and his administrative staff should limit their roles to advisory and evaluative roles. THE INITIAL APPROACH Once constituted, the research group should devote itself to uncovering po- tential areas for change and innovation. To be successful, a detailed understand- ing of the organization, jts goals, and its needs is necessary. To accomplish this best, the research group should ini- tiate a comprehensive interview pro- gram. Interviews should be conducted with staff of various ranks, assignments, and locations (e.g., branches outside of the main library) . In addition, faculty members and key students should be identified and interviewed in order to survey library service programs peculiar to them. These interviews should allow the re- search group to gain a detailed knowl- edge and understanding of both the ba- sic operations and the existing service patterns of the library. During the in- terviews, explicit questions must be 100 I College & Research Libraries • March 1972 asked to determine the areas in which members of various library departments may feel that beneficial change might be introduced. The probing should re- sult in an extensive list of possible items of varying degrees of generality, impor- tance, and feasibility. 8 These items, along with items that may be generated independently by the researchers, can be reviewed and classified into categories of varying importance and level of gen- erality. Broad areas might be classed as having substantial potential for im- provement through the introduction of new service concepts or some form of technology. Because so many of the items will overlap, a detailed analysis of each would be inefficient and very prob- ably too time consuming. Hence, a sys- tem of weighting items should be used to single out the areas with the greatest potential; a special study group from the research group could easily accom- plish this ranking. Even at this early stage, the library must be fully involved in this definition and search process. It is essential that the research group ask the proper ques- tions. Furthermore, if change is to be implemented successfully, the library must be committed to the selection and testing process. Creation of a workable relationship between the research group and the li- brary administration might pose several problems. While there may be ample agreement as to the need for change, the responsibility for initiating, review- ing, and implementing change in aca- demic libraries has traditionally rested with the chief librarian. A recent survey uncovered few change committees or task forces constituted to search out areas where change would improve ei- ther the organizational structure or ser- vice policies of academic libraries.9 The bureaucratic structure, traditional work roles, and the use of professional staff combine to make change difficult to implement in academic libraries. More than one chief librarian recently interviewed was quick to suggest that the existing organizational structure of most academic libraries was a constrain- ing influence and that an on-going re- search group might circumvent some ex- isting barriers.10 Almost all high ranking library administrators interviewed felt that the action of the individual librari- ans would not suffice to change the structure of the library's organization or its service patterns. ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH GROUP Ideally, the research group should be organized so that representatives from academic teaching departments might raise various issues regarding protective library attitudes toward service and technology programs. The library mem- bers of the research group should bring their practical experience to bear in ex- plaining or clarifying these issues. It is imperative that a dialog be established as soon as possible between faculty members who will be investigating the library's service programs and policies, and library staff who deal with them on an everyday basis. The organization of the group could be based on a series of assignments. In this way, the issues raised during the interview process could be examined by the entire re- search group and then assigned to indi- vidual members or small groups of members within the research group for detailed analysis. This would enable each meeting to consist of a general cri- tique of work done in response to spe- cific assignments. Concerning the early work of the re- search group, much of its efforts will probably not be appreciated by its mem- bers. There are bound to be teething problems with the concomitant need to develop a feeling for its role vis-a-vis library service modification and innova- tion. Some members of the group seek- ing to protect the library might develop a defensive attitude. However, since it l would be nearly impossible to transfer recommendations from the research group into direct library service pro- grams without the library's cooperation, and since the process of introducing service and technological improvements into the library is likely to be a lengthy process, there is little need for the li- brary to feel threatened. One immediate spin-off from the mere initiation of a research group will be a better understanding among the members of the academic library of the diversity of its service programs, the complexities of innovation, and of the problems associated with introducing change within complex library organiza- tions. One measure of the research group's effectiveness will be its ability to remain flexible enough to deal with a variety of library service issues. Issues raised dur- ing the general research group meetings can be carefully analyzed if library staff participate who possess special knowl- edge and experience. Such meetings could be considered as encounter ses- sions, conflict resolution sessions, etc., and could significantly influence the so- lution of many problems. While lasting operational solutions would require that appropriate library administrators and mem hers of concerned library depart- ments participate, the research group's meetings could outdistance the tradi- tional library approach, i.e., working within the established organizational structure. Having observed and reviewed the ac- tual behavior of similar research groups in nonprofit and research organizations, especially those attached to university research bureaus and institutes, certain behavior patterns are prevalent and easi- ly identifiable.11 The cited survey found that library staff members became more vocal about their problems; they were frequently .able to discuss complex problems with faculty and research staff, and recommend solutions addressed to Change in Academic Libraries I 101 causative factors rather than sympto- matic ones. Regarding leadership, a sense of group action and decision-mak- ing developed in all but two of the groups investigated. In both of these sit- uations (one in which an assistant uni- versity librarian and the other in which the director of a research bureau were members of the research groups) the re- search groups had been led into belabor- ing the "careful problem definition" ap- proach to service or structural change. Once a research group develops its own leadership, it can move forward to initi- ate and formalize test and evaluation procedures. OBSERVATIONS AND CoNCLusroNs When evaluating the role of a re- search group, it is essential to remember that the basic intent is to foster a par- ticular type of change in a specific type of library organization. The change will be primarily service-oriented, with the usual complement of social and politi- cal side effects. To foster or promote change that involves specialized knowl- edge within a library with the involve- ment of faculty talents and their spe- cialized knowledge not present within the library's organization will present particular challenges to an academic li- brary. In many respects the creation of a re- search group and its work, especially if successful, will not bring about major or revolutionary changes in a library's service program or organizational struc- ture. In most cases, the library will con- tinue to function in a bureaucratic fashion while continuing to .allocate the necessary resources, i.e., time and per- sonnel. However, one long-range benefit of the group might be the fostering of an attitude which is more receptive to change. Yet once a research group be- gins to recommend programs for test and evaluation purposes, or begins ques- tioning various segments of the academ- ic community to identify and define 102 I College & Research Libraries • March 1972 problems, an interesting effect may take place. As the research group begins to seek feedback from students, faculty, and staff, it can gain acceptance and be- come a recognized part of the ·library's organization. This recognition will like- ly enhance the group's effectiveness. Whether or not any dramatic or far- reaching changes immediately occur in a particular academic library as the re- sult of a research group, a new unit within the library will have been creat- ed and given life. This unit can serve an important role by providing a repre- sentative forum for the legitimate dis- cussion of change within the library. Without such a unit, the opportunities for significant change and innovation in an academic library will continue to be minimal. From a personnel perspective, a re- search group may produce some antici- pated and salubrious consequences. The desire to explore new concepts and ideas in a relatively risk-free atmosphere may draw out some members who are pres- ently reticent, especially librarians. This atmosphere can motivate individuals to adopt an active role in searching out useful information both for the re- search group and for the furtherance of knowledge in his or her field. Also, the research group can provide a com- modity in short supply at most academic libraries-managerial slack.1 2 Too many academic librarians at middle manage- ment levels .and above, or in the posi- tions of specialists, do not have the time within the pressures of the day-to-day routines to think in terms of long-range change. Most academic libraries provide little if any opportunity for collective "thinking ahead" activities. Too often, academic libraries overburden their li- brarians with maintaining the status quo, or perhaps planning a suitable ex- tension of the status quo for the fu- ture. A research group could provide the necessary time for librarians, faculty, and research staff to engage in meaning- ful participation and individual inves- tigation and thinking. Conclusions about change in a library bureaucracy are very important. The primary constraints to change in a li- brary, as in most bureaucracies, are the risk structures, the reward structures, and the structure of the organization itself. In each of these areas, the re- search group approach can be used to minimize these structures. First, by in- cluding faculty and research staff ( and students, where feasible), the risk of proposing change in part is transferred outside of the library. This relaxing of one critical barrier to wholehearted co- operation and participation can be of enormous b enefit to academic librarians and libraries as well as to the academic community in general. Second, the re- search group can establish a norm of participation predicated upon critical evaluation and initiation of change, thereby shifting the normal reward structure back toward symmetry. More likely than not, there will be substantial disagreement at times among the re- search group members and other top de- cision-makers in the library, and this disagreement may be generated in great measure by the freedom of expression that can and should be the norm in the research group. While criticism is al- ways difficult for a library to absorb, a group of this nature can criticize fairly both organizational procedures and the performance of staff employed by the library. Finally, the research group could represent a beneficial aberration to the library's present organizational structure, and might be able to circum- vent some of the usual library con- straints. Such a group may be more suc- cessful if it can begin with a composi- tion that includes several talented and senior grade persons from the library, the faculty, and the research staff. Al- though it would be premature and pre- sumptuous to suggest that informal co- alitions would develop, their existence might signal to others their role as a change-oriented pressure group within the library's organizational structure. Furthermore, the inclusion of high ranking personnel might tilt the bar- gaining scale in the research group's fa- vor. The opportunities for significantly effecting change, service or organization- al, can be considerably enhanced by a participative management approach. In- deed, the extent to which recommenda- tions within a library are likely to be Change in Academic Libraries I 103 implemented, and innovative ideas gen- erated and acted upon, depends upon the amount of participation by individ- uals committed to the process of change. The research group approach can successfully provide meaningful participation in attempts. to effect im- portant change in an academic library's service policies and programs. Partici- patory management can be made to work in an academic library if im- proved service is the goal of change. REFERENCES 1. David Kaser, in his excellent article, "Mod- ernizing the University Library Structure," CRL 31:227- 31 (July 1970) discusses pro- gressive internal changes that academic li- braries should implement to streamline not only their organization structure, but their services. 2. Ibid. 3. John J. Corson, Governance of Colleges anil Universities (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960 ), p.3-4. 4. Robert K. Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure (rev. ed.; Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press, 1968), p.272. 5. Kenneth R. Shaffer in a paper attacked the use of consultants, especially with regard to their qualifications, Library Journal 92: 3946 ( 1 Nov. 1967). 6. Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960), p.130- 31. 7. Warren G. Bennis in his stimulating article, " Post-Bureaucratic Leadership," Trans-Ac- tion 6:45 (July/ Aug. 1969), discusses mo- tivation elements that can be employed by groups interested in fostering change and innovation. It is a highly worthwhile piece that academic librarians should not fail to read. 8. Bruce H. Westley and Malcolm S. Mac- lean, Jr., "A Conceptual Model for Com- munications Research," in Dean C. Barn- lund, Interpersonal Communication: Survey and Studies (Boston: Houghton Miffiin, 1968), p.45- 54. 9. Fifty questionnaires were distributed in 1969 to a random sampling of academic li- braries at two- and four-year colleges, and universities throughout the United States. Forty-four ( 44) of the fifty (50) institu- tions ( 88 percent) responded. Of the re- sponding libraries only two, one a two- year college library and the other a large university library, had on-going research groups or task forces composed of faculty, library staff, and other campus elements to review library service programs and make recommendations for improvement. 10. Approximately thirty ( 30) chief librarians from a variety of institutions were personal- ly interviewed by this researcher in 1968 and 1969. Various questions concerning or- ganizational structure, strategy for change, identification of change agents, the use of consultants, etc., were put to these admin- istrators. The concepts of a research group as suggested in this piece were presented for their consideration as a method for ac- commodating change. 11. Dwight Waldo, ed., Conference on the Re- search Function of University Bureaus and Institutes for Government-Related Research (Berkeley, Bureau of Public Administra- tion, University of California, 1960). In ad- dition to this work, a questionnaire and personal interview survey was conducted in 1968 that sought to determine the exis- tence of group behavior, participatory man- agement, and change groups within bu- reaus, research centers, and institutes de- voted to governmental and public affairs research. Where possible, those research units with change groups were more closely analyzed if they had a library or materials center to more adequately understand the role played by a librarian or information manager. 12. Richard M. Cyert and James G. March, A Behavioral Theory of the Firm (Engle- wood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1963 ), p.43.