The thesis investigates the representation of knowledge and meaning in management, with special reference to 'effectiveness' in library and information services. It is argued that management is a socially constructed and negotiated reality in which the meaning of management is the management of meaning. Knowledge paradigms, ideologies, and values form key components of this reality, and operate in a state of change, particularly that arising between 'service' and 'entrepreneurial' models of library management over the last decade. Issues of consensus, hegemony, organisational culture, and learning are investigated with reference to practitioner ('expert') and student ('novice') managers, and to the dialectic between traditional managers ('craftsman managers') and adaptive generalistic managers ('gamesman managers'). The research methodology is based on ethnographic, ideographic, grounded theory, and semio-narrative principles. These are selected as being appropriate and effective interpretative ways of obtaining an understanding of what managers know and know they know, and how they reflect an how they act. It utilises a range of test instruments (including consensus table, scalogram and narrative structure analysis) to elicit knowledge and meaning from representative groups of respondent managers. The central component of this approach is a referential hierarchy. This consists of four major forms of discourse (concepts, propositions, scripts, and stories), in terms of which it is possible for researchers to elicit, and then comprehensively organise and analyse, the main ways in which managers express knowledge and meaning. A model is constructed in which six dimensions of knowledge and meaning receive effective expression through such discourse : the experiential, the teleological, the axiological, the deontic, the epistemic, and the praxiological (acronymically, the PETADE model). it is argued that this approach brings together work hitherto dispersed over a wide variety of disciplines and that it provides an important and useful method of understanding and eliciting the representation of knowledge and meaning in the domain of management.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Bradford (Postgraduate School of Studies in Research in Education). / Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-139).

This study reports research about innovation and change in the professional practice of the staff at the Library and Information Service (LIS) staff at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, in Western Australia. The historical context of the study is Australian higher education and university libraries in the early 1990s. It reports, examines and analyzes key events and activities of the LIS staff strategic planning process both as an educational innovation and a driver of change in professional practice. The investigation of educational innovation and change is the object of the study, specifically the application of strategic planning.Literature from the 30-year history of writing and research about educational innovation and change is reviewed in terms of its relevance to the study. In addition, selected literature about organizational theory and strategic planning in libraries is presented. From this literature emerged the particular innovation and change framework, which guide the research.A justification for the selection of the particular research approach is explained and data collection, organization and analysis are described. The study uses official LIS corporate records as its primary source of data, supplemented by published materials to assist in the explanation of the particular circumstances of the LIS case.The results of the data analysis are presented in terms of the key events and activities of the LIS case. From this analysis conclusions are drawn in relation to the research questions which underpin the study and in terms of the component parts of the innovation and change framework. In particular, conclusions relate to the key organizational factors shaping the response to innovation; the characteristics of the context of change; key organizational processes helping to ensure successful adoption; the articulation of a shared vision and ++ / processes to ensure a shared vision. In relation to the innovation and change framework the change process is viewed as adoption dominated; as a move towards a learning organization; through the characteristics of the context of change and through other factors influencing change.Flowing from the research findings, recommendations are made for professional practice and further research.As a case study that reports, examines and analyses the complex dimensions of organizational change, the study is rich in detail and provides a real-life example of organizational and educational change.

Open source software are those which permit execution, copy, read, distribution and improvement of the software without any restrictions. Library Management Software (LMS), is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed. Commercial library management software are very expensive. Therefore, open source library management system can be appropriate alternatives for automatic library systems. This paper discusses features of open source library management software, criteria of selection of best open source library management software, their, advantages and limitations. Open source library management software is a solution to reduce that cost. The paper describes in brief about the feature of some of the open source library management software like Koha, NewGenlib, Evergreen, SENAYAN, ABCD, and BiblioteQ.

Conference proceeding from the Living the Future 6 Conference, April 5-8, 2006, University of Arizona Libraries, Tucson, AZ. / The University of Chicago's Joseph Regenstein Library Bookstacks Department has used a number of management techniques to successfully improve its overall operations. Process mapping was undertaken and resulted in significant changes to major processes and jobs, while continuous process improvement allows us to resolve issues as they arise. A multiple method approach works best because the Regenstein Library is a large organization with many processes, systems and structures. While these processes have led to major improvements - making materials available more quickly and accurately to users and by reducing time and staff needed to perform daily operations - the Department continues to search for ways to improve its overall operations. In examining other businesses for best practices, we have begun to focus on lean manufacturing, an initiative centered on eliminating all waste in manufacturing processes. These principles also apply to service organizations. Lean manufacturing promises dramatic changes in a short period of time and the speaker will report on how this method is being used to improve overall operations.

This thesis is an empirically based, theoretical discussion of the process of decision making in relation to Library Management Systems (LMS). Although the conceptualization of the LMS decision process in rational terms, common in many LMS selection models, may be useful in different respects, here the process is viewed from a social constructivist stance. It is argued that due to the complexities involved, the potential choice of an LMS does not necessarily reflect the superiority of the chosen LMS based on objective inherent qualities. Nevertheless, libraries continually choose new systems and in many of these selection processes, the chosen system is perceived as the optimal choice. In this study, therefore focus is placed on examining the way in which this shared perception is constructed. Three theoretical views are adopted as the research framework, including Brunsson’s views on the process of decision making and its consequences, Collins’s views on methodological symmetry and construction of conceptual order, and finally Giddens’s views on duality of structure and the social order. Observations, interviews, and document studies are the methods employed in four different case studies that each lasted from 10 months to two years. In this study an array of different factors were found to be influential during the long process of the LMS decision making. It was also found that although the norms of rationality were striven for, and shared perceptions of rationality were constructed, the complexities involved did not allow a true rational choice by determination of all the options, projection of future needs, evaluation of the identified options, and selection of the optimal outcome. Instead, the different activities and happenings during the process helped construct a shared perception of the possible courses of action and optimality of the decision outcomes. Based on this study and with the help of the theoretical framework, it was suggested that an LMS choice is only one potential consequence of the LMS decision process; other consequences include legitimization, action, responsibility, and constructions of conceptual and social order. Through this study, the importance of the day-to-day actions and interactions (at micro level) and their wider implications for the construction of shared perceptions and shaping and reshaping of social structures are highlighted. This thesis contributes towards an alternative conceptualization of the process of LMS decision making. It may also have implications for the library practice, LMS related research, and educational programs within LIS. / <p>Akademisk av handling som med tillstånd av samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen framläggs till offentlig</p><p>granskning kl. 13:15 fredagen den 1 oktober 2010, i hörsalen M404, Högskolan i Borås.</p><p>Avhandlingen har tilldelats den prestigefyllda utmärkelsen ”The 2011 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards”. The thesis has been awarded with the prestigious honor of ”The 2011 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards”</p>

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The use of Information Systems (ISs) has been widely accepted and proven to increase the service quality in many organizations. Academic libraries have embraced the use of ISs and have implemented them to perform different activities. The efficient utilization and management of ISs in libraries will help libraries to derive maximum benefit from adopted ISs. The research used the DeLone and McLean (2003) IS success theory to determine the impact of IS management on the quality of the IS, the use of the IS and the benefits gained. The researcher used nine (30%) of the thirty university libraries which are members of the consortium of academic and research libraries in Ghana (CARLIGH) - an association of libraries that help with the IS and electronic resource use of member libraries. A mixed method approach with questionnaires, interviews combined with content analysis of the university websites was used to gather data. Findings indicated that academic libraries in Ghana are making use of some ISs including; ILS, DAM, social media, websites, among others, amidst a number of challenges. The research also revealed that the management of ISs affects the quality thereof. Quality of ISs affects use, and use affects the benefits gained from use. The researcher proposed an IS management standard guideline which Ghanaian academic libraries could adopt for using and managing ISs to enhance efficiency and better service delivery.

Because knowledge and information are becoming the vital resources, appropriate organization and management of them is considered to be the guaranty of the welfare of every state, organization and individual. There could be recognized the stronger attention to institutions that are traditionally related to knowledge and information. Because of the growing strategic importance of information and communication technologies in modern organisations, academic libraries remain a significant unit in the institutions of higher education. The theoretical outline of the importance of academic library strategy in the knowledge society in this dissertation is disclosed by exposing the concept of these libraries as organisations, introducing the concept of the evolution of strategy of these libraries, and evaluating changes taking place in the world’s academic libraries. The dissertation introduces a theoretical model of the strategic directions of the academic library developed in the dissertation. This model is proposed by the author of the dissertation as a possible one for the development of academic libraries in Lithuania. The analysis of the possibilities of implementing the designed model in Lithuanian academic library performance accomplished in the dissertation highlights possible obstacles to the modernization of these libraries and the most important and influential circumstances for implementing the model in Lithuanian academic libraries. Analysis of scientific literature, the... [to full text] / Tinkamas žinių ir informacijos organizavimas bei valdymas šiandieninėje žinių ekonomikos visuomenėje pripažįstama kaip pagrindinis valstybės, organizacijos ir kiekvieno individo klestėjimo bei gerovės garantas. Aukštojo mokslo institucijos biblioteka (disertacijoje – akademinė biblioteka) žinių ekonomikos visuomenėje išlieka viena iš svarbiausių grandžių informacinio aprūpinimo infrastruktūroje. Pažymėtinas išskirtinis akademinės bibliotekos vaidmuo universitetinių žinių kūrimo ir ypač sklaidos procesuose. Visa tai skatina suformuluoti akademinių bibliotekų vystymosi kryptis įvertinant šias bibliotekas vadybiniu požiūriu. Ginamoje disertacijoje ištirtas akademinių bibliotekų vaidmuo žinių visuomenėje, šių bibliotekų kaip organizacijų samprata bei ypatybės, analizuojama šių bibliotekų strateginio valdymo patirtis. Pažangiausių pasaulio akademinių bibliotekų vystymosi tendencijų kontekste suformuluotos pagrindinės šių bibliotekų vystymosi strateginės kryptys, sukurtas akademinės bibliotekos vystymosi strateginių krypčių žinių visuomenėje teorinis modelis ir ištirtos šio modelio įgyvendinimo Lietuvos akademinėse bibliotekose galimybės. Modelio įgyvendinimo Lietuvos akademinėse bibliotekose galimybių tyrimas išryškino potencialias kliūtis, modernizuojant šias bibliotekas, ir svarbiausias aplinkybes, galinčias turėti įtakos tokio modelio įgyvendinimui. Apibendrinus teorinę ir empirinio tyrimo medžiagą suformuluotos išvados ir rekomendacijos. Teorinė akademinių bibliotekų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Tinkamas žinių ir informacijos organizavimas bei valdymas šiandieninėje žinių ekonomikos visuomenėje pripažįstama kaip pagrindinis valstybės, organizacijos ir kiekvieno individo klestėjimo bei gerovės garantas. Aukštojo mokslo institucijos biblioteka (disertacijoje – akademinė biblioteka) žinių ekonomikos visuomenėje išlieka viena iš svarbiausių grandžių informacinio aprūpinimo infrastruktūroje. Pažymėtinas išskirtinis akademinės bibliotekos vaidmuo universitetinių žinių kūrimo ir ypač sklaidos procesuose. Visa tai skatina suformuluoti akademinių bibliotekų vystymosi kryptis įvertinant šias bibliotekas vadybiniu požiūriu. Ginamoje disertacijoje ištirtas akademinių bibliotekų vaidmuo žinių visuomenėje, šių bibliotekų kaip organizacijų samprata bei ypatybės, analizuojama šių bibliotekų strateginio valdymo patirtis. Pažangiausių pasaulio akademinių bibliotekų vystymosi tendencijų kontekste suformuluotos pagrindinės šių bibliotekų vystymosi strateginės kryptys, sukurtas akademinės bibliotekos vystymosi strateginių krypčių žinių visuomenėje teorinis modelis ir ištirtos šio modelio įgyvendinimo Lietuvos akademinėse bibliotekose galimybės. Modelio įgyvendinimo Lietuvos akademinėse bibliotekose galimybių tyrimas išryškino potencialias kliūtis, modernizuojant šias bibliotekas, ir svarbiausias aplinkybes, galinčias turėti įtakos tokio modelio įgyvendinimui. Apibendrinus teorinę ir empirinio tyrimo medžiagą suformuluotos išvados ir rekomendacijos. Teorinė akademinių bibliotekų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Because knowledge and information are becoming the vital resources, appropriate organization and management of them is considered to be the guaranty of the welfare of every state, organization and individual. There could be recognized the stronger attention to institutions that are traditionally related to knowledge and information. Because of the growing strategic importance of information and communication technologies in modern organisations, academic libraries remain a significant unit in the institutions of higher education. The theoretical outline of the importance of academic library strategy in the knowledge society in this dissertation is disclosed by exposing the concept of these libraries as organisations, introducing the concept of the evolution of strategy of these libraries, and evaluating changes taking place in the world’s academic libraries. The dissertation introduces a theoretical model of the strategic directions of the academic library developed in the dissertation. This model is proposed by the author of the dissertation as a possible one for the development of academic libraries in Lithuania. The analysis of the possibilities of implementing the designed model in Lithuanian academic library performance accomplished in the dissertation highlights possible obstacles to the modernization of these libraries and the most important and influential circumstances for implementing the model in Lithuanian academic libraries. Analysis of scientific literature, the... [to full text]

Both integrated library management systems and DAISY production and manipulation tools become widespread. We study how they could be combined to build a ready-to-use digital library with DAISY as its core format. The obtained framework should cover the entire book processing, from digital files provided either by publishers or by scanning printed material, until the delivery of DAISY content to end-users in a possibly secured way. We first give a functional description of the framework we have in mind. Then, we examine the existing tools of interest and give some tracks for further software developments.