Innovation in Public and Academic North American Libraries, in Words and Deeds

Rubin, Victoria L.; Gavin, Patrick T.; Kamal, Ahmad

doi:10.29173/cais598

Cited by 4 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory is described as the most appropriate model for investigating the adoption of technology in higher educational environments (Sahin, 2006), and as being applicable to innovation in library and information science (Rubin et al, 2011;Martin and Quan-Haase, 2011). It is therefore from Rogers' (2003) theory that the three terms relevant to this research paper are derived, namely diffusion, adoption and implementation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tablet adoption and implementation in academic libraries: a qualitative analysis of librarians' discourse on blogging platforms

Scale¹

2013

Library Hi Tech News

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is primarily to report on a 2011 online discussion on tablets and their adoption in libraries, as observed by the researcher in blog postings and micro‐blog postings.Design/methodology/approachThe researcher examined blogs and tweets about the diffusion of tablets in academic libraries to find out why early adopters or academic librarians adopted tablets and implemented them into library services.FindingsResults reveal that academic librarians and libraries adopt and integrate tablets into library services because they can offer wireless access to the library's e‐collection and e‐resources in ways better than e‐readers or smartphones and because librarians have some level of familiarity with using tablets for their own work purposes before they considered extending such purposes to users.Practical implicationsAcademic libraries are investing in devices to facilitate users' access to growing e‐resources. Tablet devices are one such option. However, many tablets are expensive, equalling or totalling more than the costs of laptops. The decision to adopt and implement them into library services needs to be informed by the experiences of others, in order to determine if it is a worthwhile purchase.Originality/valueThis paper departs from the general pattern of library literature on the subject of tablet adoption, by breaking with the tradition of being only informed by practice and emerging trial and error, to a more reflective approach to those experiences informed by Rogers' theory of the diffusions of innovations.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tablet adoption and implementation in academic libraries: a qualitative analysis of librarians' discourse on blogging platforms

Scale¹

2013

Library Hi Tech News

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“…Rubin et al (2011) respond to Knab’s (2010) appeal to define the term innovation for librarianship by reviewing the literature on innovation and the description of library services on publicly accessible websites of 160 public and academic libraries in North America. Their secondary research identified the following 10 areas of innovation in libraries: technology, service, culture, vague, character, use, program, facility, resource, and partnership.…”

Section: Types Of Innovations In Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…service and program, facility and resource, etc.). Secondly, Rubin et al (2011) acknowledge that their study does not cover “backend” innovations such as staff reorganizations, which are typically not broadcast on the websites of the libraries studied. In contrast, our study proposes mutually exclusive categories of innovations based on the responses collected from library administrators.…”

Section: Types Of Innovations In Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is innovative to public libraries in the United States? A perspective of library administrators for classifying innovations

Potnis¹,

Winberry

Finn

et al. 2019

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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Innovations are critical for public libraries but rarely does any primary research study the scope and interpretation of the term “innovation” by public libraries. Also, few of the existing innovation typologies are based on data collected from public libraries. This study fills in the gap by eliciting 80 innovations reported by the administrators of 108 award-winning public libraries in the United States, and proposes the first organic classification of innovations for public libraries, with the following four types of innovations: Program (access-oriented/use-oriented), Process (efficiency-driven/effectiveness-driven), Partnership (internal/external), and Technology (web-based technologies/assistive technologies/artificial intelligence). Findings can advance the state of innovations in libraries.

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“…This lack of precision is troubling. Rubin, Gavin and Kamal (2011) conclude that the absence of definitional specificity suggests that librarians use the term as a "makeshift remedy" in the face of social and economic change for which they lack solutions.…”

Section: Innovation As Solutionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Though frequently discussed in the literature of academic libraries (Clayton, 1997;Deiss, 2004;Musmann, 1982;Reynolds & Whitlatch, 1985;Rubin, Gavin, & Kamal, 2011;Willard, 1991), innovation remains an ambiguous and shallowly defined concept. Typically, innovation refers to a service, product or activity that is new to a specific context (Clayton, 1997), a usage derived from organization studies (Aiken & Hage, 1971).…”

Section: Innovation As Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovation in Academic Libraries During a Time of Crisis

Ward¹

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Academic libraries and librarianship are experiencing a period of great change, or crisis, influenced by multiple factors including emerging technologies, declining budgets, and changing information. More than a transitory historical phase, these changes represents a fundamental transition between paradigms (Kuhn, 1962). Academic libraries and librarianship are moving from a paradigm focused on collections and books to a paradigm focused on learning. Within this context, innovations are new processes, services and products that facilitate this transition to the new paradigm.Beyond this definitional work, the work serves as an exploration of the processes by which the members of, and groups within, academic library communities implement innovation. Relying on social movement theory, I maintain that innovation is a process of collective action. The three core elements of McAdam, McCarthy and Zald's (1996) synthesis of social movement theory (framing contests, mobilizing structures, and political opportunity structures) are applied to academic libraries and librarianship. My adaptations of these elements form the basis of The Model of Academic Library Innovation. The Model also features leadership based in complexity theory. The findings of this exploratory research are illustrated by examples from three libraries at which I conducted interviews and observed meetings and other activities. The adaptation of McAdam, McCarthy and Zald's (1996) synthesis suggests that innovation in academic libraries requires greater attention to the processes that bridge differences between individuals and groups. Whereas social movements focus on conflict between opposing perspectives, innovation stresses the need to welcome diverse ideas and to merge or integrate them in a productive manner. The strategic repertoire for innovation includes authentic participation, facilitation, informal shared learning, and outreach and collaboration. Additionally, innovation succeeds when external circumstances conspire to assist in its advancement. Leadership for innovation requires the ability to create the circumstances whereby the members of the organization can engage new ideas.As preliminary conclusions, I suggest that the academic library community must act on the implications of viewing innovation as a form of collection action by focusing more attention on interpersonal and intergroup dynamics. Secondly, the magnitude of an innovation varies by library and institution. What is more important is assessing whether "innovation" facilitates the transition to a new library paradigm. The contextual nature of innovation implies that innovation is not about changing people, but about enabling them to use their skills and expertise to participate in shaping innovation. This is a perspective both radically humanistic and complex. Finally, this work points to the importance of developing organizational capacity to generate and integrate cognitive diversity. This requires deliberate efforts at organizational development, holistic approaches to staf...

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Innovation in Public and Academic North American Libraries, in Words and Deeds

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Tablet adoption and implementation in academic libraries: a qualitative analysis of librarians' discourse on blogging platforms

Tablet adoption and implementation in academic libraries: a qualitative analysis of librarians' discourse on blogging platforms

What is innovative to public libraries in the United States? A perspective of library administrators for classifying innovations

Innovation in Academic Libraries During a Time of Crisis

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