Planning for sustainable automation
Bruce Harley · Information Technology and Libraries · 1995
The potential for organizational instability should always be considered when proposed library functions and services are reviewed, especially when automation is involved. Sustainable automation can help prevent organizational instability. Planning for sustainable automation requires an environmental perspective, appropriate strategies, and a framework of ecological values. Organizational instability in libraries can result from organizational change. In the first part of this paper, the relationship between organizational change and instability is explored. Automation has a significant impact on library organization. In the second part of this paper, possible consequences of this impact are contrasted. Planning for sustainable library automation focuses on library organization. In the third part of this paper, the key elements of this planning style--an environmental perspective, appropriate strategies, and a framework of ecological values--are described. Organizational Change and Instability Change in library organization can be an unforeseen result of policies, plans, and procedures. Unforeseen change can be a disruption to library personnel working to achieve shared goals and objectives. The odds for disruption in functions and services increase the more fundamental the change. When this disruption occurs, organizational instability may result. Library organizational change is not likely to happen simply for the sake of change; instead, change is more likely to be associated with projects that introduce new functions and services. Still, when projects are reviewed, organizational change rarely receives the attention it warrants. This inattention can be intentional. Project reviewers can exclude discussion of organizational change from their deliberations, claiming that it is unlikely or unnecessary. After all, organizational change can require changing an organization's basic assumptions--assumptions that serve to define that organization's culture and mission.[1] Such change cannot be accomplished overnight and may seem too costly and too time-consuming. Nevertheless, failure to consider organizational change can result in serious disruptions to library functions and services during project implementation. Organizational factors to which these disruptions can be attributed include: conflicting goals, functions, and services; outdated, inflexible organizational structure; too few or too many decision-makers; inefficient channels of communication; insufficient allocation of personnel; poorly matched roles and skills; inadequate training programs; inadequate support (clerical, technical, administrative); inefficient workflows; and inaccurate accounting and budgeting. Such factors need to be identified during the initial consideration given new projects. Projects must be designed to avoid disruptions; otherwise, resulting disruptions to library functions and services can be significant enough to lead to organizational instability. This instability can be more serious when a new project involves automation, given the impact of automation on libraries. The Effect of Automation on Library Organization Computers and telecommunications have profound effects on the quantity, distance, and speed of information transfer. In turn, more information moving farther and faster has profound effects on how each of us processes information, perceives the world, and learns. Library personnel, like so many of the users they serve, have experienced significant change in the workplace due to technological innovations in information transfer. These innovations have not eliminated all preexisting modes of information transfer. In most libraries, computer workstations still coexist with shelves and tables for books, periodicals, and newspapers. Nevertheless, the rate of introduction and accumulated effect of modern innovations in information technology transcend earlier developments in communications. …