Abstract:
Implementing organizational change is one of the most
fundamental challenges for leaders and other stakeholders
responsible for the organization's improvement and sustainability
and academic libraries which exist in an unprecedented
environment of change, managing change arising chiefly from
internal and external technological factors is a major concern.
Change management studies often propose the use of managerial
practices to facilitate the management of organizational change
processes. Despite increased development of change management
best practices and empirical evidence showing the success of
change initiatives, the literature estimates the failure rates of
organizational change initiatives to be high and yet, there is no
single-full proof strategy for organizational change management.
Hence, more research is needed to model change processes, track
the progress of major organizational change efforts, and document
their effectiveness. This study set out to examine ways in which
academic libraries can ease the transition from one library system
to another, with emphasis on change management practices so as
to provide insights and recommendations of a change approach
that would ensure minimal disruption for all the stakeholders. Four
key models including Kurt Lewin’s, McKinsey 7s, Kotter’s theory,
and ADKAR change model framed the research. In this case study,
a qualitative research design was adopted, and 37 staff were
purposively selected from Moi University library to be interviewed.
Semi-structured individual interviews were used to collect data
and a thematic analysis technique was used in the analysis. The
study established that change management in academic libraries is
not only peripherally adopted but is also occasioned by failure to
understand the dynamics of the intended change initiatives and
inadequate dedicated resources and infrastructure for the library
system migration. Implementing change more successfully during
library system migration requires clear understanding of the
triggers of change, resources required to deliver the change, the
risks involved, and the people affected, strategies to implement
change, and the expected outcomes. Well-defined change
management processes and practices determine successful change
implementation during a library system migration
