ABSTRACT

Successful change managers understand the pressures for change and the context in which change must be managed. This understanding requires knowledge of:

• the effects which change has on organisations and individuals, including effects on self-esteem and performance

• facts about the library’s external environment, including trends in the library and information science sector, the library’s own market, and the world at large

• facts about the library’s parent organisation,

including its aims and objectives, sources of funding, staff structures, and financial position

• facts about the library or information service itself, including its values, mission, aims and objectives, strengths and weaknesses, and relationship with its parent organisation

• the conditions which help to ensure successful change in libraries, including flexible staff structures, effective human resource systems and change-oriented cultures

• tools and techniques, including methods for environmental analysis, planning, decision making, managing projects, self-development and coping with stress.