Change Management in the Academic Library

The introduction of ICT has no doubt changed and redefined the way and manner in which library operations are carried out. In this chapter, the phenomenon of change management was discussed and Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze model was adopted. The chapter also delved into the management of change in academic libraries, types of Digital library collections, access mode to digital collections, the need for transition from print to digital collections, the need to reposition library tools, resources and expertise, need for accessibility of collections by user, the need and benefits for preservation of digital resources, health and safety policies and prospect of change management. Despite the great achievements recorded in academic libraries due to change in operations, there is still another side to the coin. Issues such as techno stress which is a technology related health problem came to the fore. Other challenges such as increase in expenditure, staffing issues, etc. also surfaced.

An Extensive Discussion on Transition of Libraries

The library and information services have witnessed transition due to conceptual, technological and users' needs. The recent developments in the educational organizations and the users' needs have found few technological factors to consider changing trends. The chapter has discussed various aspects such as services, their composition, alterations and role in library's position in the academic community. The library staff and gradual developments have been discussed along with the infrastructural strengths in library. The facets such as educating the users through the information literacy and metaliteracy; Electronic Information Resources Collection, Building and Management and Creation of Web presence among Library Users are highlighted. Digital Information Services and waving the freshness of innovation; Creating Awareness by being among the users and enhancing learning and need of “Innovation and serving the users at individual level” have been discussed in the context of role in research support.

Evaluation of Digital Collections and Political Visibility of the Library

The purpose of this chapter is to track the progress of the work of assessment of the digital collection at the library, as regards the periodical analysis on the effective ways of consulting different types of digital documents (text, sound or visual). It is important to understand the fundamental parameters prepared by the digital library, because as a result of nearly open access it is based on a resource that is for the most part not controlled and is monetarily undervalued. The digital library puts in place an evaluation structure that is specific. The knowledge of what the data collection system in use is, especially the recording, computer processing and statistical analysis, merit further study and the interest of a detailed work. The chapter is within the context of the researches advocating the use of statistics for the establishment of a digital collection plan. This chapter aims to serve the widest audience possible, and it will focus its initial efforts on the political visibility of libraries.

Academic and Research Libraries' Portals

This chapter presents a synthesis of the literature on academic library portals. Library portals remain a component of the modern academic library. Portal features differ, but typically contain a single authentication process and access to metadata as well as some services (Laouar, Hacken, & Miles, 2009). The authors examined 87 papers in their review. This examination revealed six themes including: developing library portals, utilizing assessment strategies, collaborating on portal projects, incorporating personalization and customization features, conducting environmental scans, and creating instructional portals. The authors assigned themes to the papers based on the primary focus of the material. The findings revealed various issues with the development of academic library portals. The content of academic library portals continues to evolve as their importance to the user increases. Ultimately, an examination of the literature illustrated academic libraries' efforts to remain relevant through the availability of new resources and services on their portals.

Social Media

The use of social media around the globe is increasing at an exponential rate. An increasing number of individuals have become members of one or more social networking sites leading to soaring membership numbers, largely because these sites are free and easy to use. This trend is important for libraries. Being part of the community, libraries need to capitalize the potential of social media for instant and direct communication with their members. The librarians are gradually showing a positive attitude towards social media tools. The objective of this chapter is to review the social media use by libraries around the globe. The chapter also provides specific recommendations for social media use in libraries.

Library Catalogue in the Internet Age

The library catalogue has represented stagnant technology for close to two decades. An ideal Library catalogue should enable the end users to search and find material/resources without the help of a librarian. The introduction of Web 2.0 has helped to improve the basic functionality of the library catalogue and help it to adapt to the new trends. Web 2.0 has opened the climate for collaboration and participation where users no longer only receive but also create and share content. In the Internet age today the Library Catalogue can function like a portal and this function can be exploited by redirecting the users to other useful information. System designers are continuously trying to adopt new trends in OPACs. In the 21st century such a shift from the simple catalogue to the web enriched advanced catalogue is anticipated and welcomed.

Digitizing Library Outreach

As technologies change, library outreach must similarly evolve to better meet the needs and expectations of library users. Mobile device ownership has steadily increased among all demographics over the past several years in the United States, but particularly among college students. This trend provides libraries with new avenues for outreach. Lack of awareness and access may complicate students' ability to use the information, resources, and services necessary for academic success. Libraries must leverage new technologies and tools, such as Bluetooth beacons and smartphone applications, to increase awareness of resources and services. Rather than relying on solely word-of-mouth outreach methods to increase awareness of resources and services, academic libraries can experiment with marketing technologies that reach users directly through their mobile devices. The ubiquity of mobile devices can make it easier for libraries to serve their users and empower students to become more independent as they seek, analyze, and synthesize information.

Open Access Movement

Open access has now entered in every aspect of our life. OA movement has been passed through many phases and in a very short time and it has seen many drastic changes. Not very long time has passed when the concept was not noticed by much scholastic group. Since then, no one could imagine to take it in its present shape. The paper covers not only the international but national contributions also in making of the OA movement successful. It has been tried to elaborate all aspects of open access development and starts its journey from the birth of the concept. It focuses on free and voluntary contributions of such stuff which makes the human life easier. The paper explores into the journey of not only e-journal/ebooks but the IRs and open courseware also. The stakeholders which have made or are making this technological (or somewhat social?) movement a success have also been acknowledged by the authors. However, authors have focused upon the resources which are openly accessible.

Commonwealth Professional Fellowship

The main purpose of writing this paper is to provide strategic directions to the higher education library system in India for transforming libraries into dynamic digital learning spaces as per the changing trends. It is the responsibility of the Indian Library administrators and policy makers to bridge the technology and knowledge gap exist between the commonwealth countries. This paper gives many clues on how the fellowship help the libraries in transition from print to electronic content and also gives many ideas for the overall planning and development of libraries in India. This paper provides many hints on redefining the libraries attached to the higher educational institutions in line with the libraries of western counties. This paper is written based on the learning experience of the author from his 2014 Commonwealth Professional Fellowship programme that was successfully completed at University of East London, United Kingdom. Information technology based services along with best practices adapted and which are successfully using in UK are major supportive elements for the implementation. Some of the concepts introduced in this paper are relatively new to the Indian context. Overall, the paper provides experience based inputs and insights for further development of higher education library system in India.

Changing Scenario From Information Management to Knowledge Management

Most extant knowledge management systems are constrained by their overly rational, static and a contextual view of knowledge. Effectiveness of such systems is constrained by the rapid and discontinuous change that characterizes new organizational environments. The prevailing knowledge management paradigm limits itself by its emphasis on convergence and consensus-oriented processing of information. Strategy experts have underscored that the focus of organizational knowledge management should shift from ‘prediction of future' (that cannot be computed) to ‘anticipation of surprise.' Such systems may be enabled by leveraging the divergent interpretations of information based upon the meaning-making capability of human beings. By underscoring the need for synergy between innovation and creativity of humans and the advanced capabilities of new information technologies, this article advances current thinking about knowledge management.