1. The Bigger Picture: cultural change and the eLib programme Alison Scammell International Institute for Electronic Library Research De Montfort University, Milton Keynes, UK email: ascam@dmu.ac.uk

2. eLib Supporting Study (March- July 1997) n Mobilisation effects of eLib activities on cultural change in higher education n Project Team: Clare Davies, Alison Scammell and Matthew Hall n Project Director: Prof Charles Oppenheim

3. Background to eLib n Intended to implement Follett Report recommendations regarding IT in HE libraries n 59 projects, all collaborative between two or more HE institutions, from 1995 n Most projects 18 to 24 months in duration n Research and development programme: emphasis on learning by doing

4. Programme areas within eLib n Electronic Journals n Access to Network Resources (subject gateways etc) n Electronic Document Delivery n On-Demand Publishing n Pre-prints

5. Programme areas within eLib n Images n Digitisation n Training and Awareness n Supporting Studies

6. The project brief: n To examine assumptions regarding cultural change in eLib, especially the Training and Awareness projects (T&A) n To examine factors inhibiting/stimulating ability of eLib to 'mobilise' cultural change effects in HE

7. The project brief: n To recommend a strategy for successor programmes to ensure that organisational and human issues are built in to ensure future cultural change

8. Approach and methods n Literature review on cultural change issues in relevant technological/organisational environments n Analysis of eLib project and programme deliverables n Interviews with key actors n Informal discussions with project staff n Workshop

9. Cultural change n "The main aim of eLib, through its projects, is to engage the higher education community in developing and shaping the implementation of the electronic library" (eLib Programme Information pack)

10. Cultural change defined n "Cultural change involves new frames of reference, new ways of acting. Cultural change results from actors acquiring new symbolic resources (cognitive frames/paradigms: concepts, knowledge, skills) in changed structural contexts (organisational contexts, work processes) where these symbolic resources are meaningful, deployable and operational." (Tavistock Institute)

11. A working definition of cultural change n Lasting structural and social changes (within an organisation or set of linked organisations), PLUS n Lasting changes to the shared ways of thinking, beliefs, values, procedures and relationships of the stakeholders

12. Cultural change is not: n technical development or the uptake of electronic resources n individual information-related behaviour n technical success of failure of a project n sending people on training courses n raising awareness of technical developments

13. Reasons why we need mobilisation of cultural change n To provide a positive orientation to the electronic (or hybrid) library n Technical developments instigate need for new skills among academic librarians n Skills and awareness will require constant updating, so new approaches to training required n New roles required n New attitudes required

14. Reasons why we need mobilisation of cultural change n New relationships n Redefining the information intermediary n Implications of financial changes (funding) n Changes in higher education: shift from teaching to learning

15. The Stakeholders n In higher education: u Librarians u Academics u IT staff u Students u Administrators u Funding bodies u Parents

16. The Stakeholders: n Publishers n Subscription agents n Booksellers n Document delivery agents

17. The Stakeholders n The local and wider community: u Business and industry u Public libraries u Taxpayers

18. Causal factors in cultural change n Size of projects u staffing u funding u duration u spread of subjects u critical mass of content

19. Causal factors in cultural change n Maturity of project n Degree of innovation n Who runs the project n Training and awareness n Approach u ‘organisation-and-use’ or ‘task-and-technology’

20. Causal factors in cultural change n User expectations n Personalities: champions or dragons n Extent of involvement of library staff as a whole

21. Causal factors in cultural change n Levels of organisational commitment n The institutional context n Organisational usability of products n Communication and terminology

22. General Initial Findings n Little observable cultural change as yet directly resulting from eLib n Projects too over-stretched to consider cultural change n Late start to evaluation activities meant projects continued to have a heavy technical emphasis

23. Training initiatives n Are training initiatives active in mobilising cultural change or reactive to it? n Need to address the convergence issue (new roles and relationships) n Broader professional awareness, not just a focus on technical expertise u eg the importance of the underlying issues of copyright and charging mechanisms

24. Training initiatives n A wide range of organisational and managerial 'competencies' u Communication skills u Negotiating skills u Coalition building skills u Project management skills

25. Training initiatives n Need for training and awareness to be aimed at middle managers/budget holders n Need to ensure skills can be immediately put into practice n Library schools

26. Librarians as catalysts in the change process n Encouraging changes in academics' information use n Negotiations with publishers/rights owners n The importance of providing network learner support (eg NetLinkS programme an important catalyst in defining these activities)

27. Future needs and recommendations n need to encourage learning from previous work (should be demonstrated in proposal and onwards) n more emphasis needed on human factors, user/organisation-driven approach n need to define individual institutional context(s) at start of project, and make explicit recognition of diversity of institutions

28. Future needs and recommendations n explicit involvement of library schools, and feedback into curriculum n more T&A aimed at library managers and other budget holders within HEIs n more T&A aimed at tackling broader training issues n co-ordinated, strategic and grass-roots action regarding publisher relationships n need for centrally-provided ongoing support

29. Changing work trends n Flatter hierarchies n Less management n Empowerment of individuals n Trend towards project work rather than functional roles n Multidisciplinary nature of jobs (“portfolio skill set”)

30. Changing work trends n Remote, mobile and flexible working patterns u Teleworking, business centres, hot-desking n Sub-contracting/freelance work n Partnerships and joint ventures, more collaborative working n The learning organisation n Continual change