I started my fall MARAC meeting with the session “It’s all about change”. Elizabeth Surles shared with us her use of the business framework, knowledge management, to consider change and issues related to institutional memory. Her central goal has been to create full, intellectual and legal control of collections for the purpose of sustainability.
Adriana Cuervo asked us to consider: Why do we do what we do? And she encouraged us to challenge those normative practices to being about meaningful and necessary changes, not just change for the sake of change. I particularly appreciated her comment about focusing on progress, not perfection when implementing change. She encouraged us to celebrate small victories and changes.
Caryn Radick shared her experiences moving from a temporary position to a different and permanent position in her organization. She emphasized the importance of stepping back and looking holistically as her library and archives program to better understand how her work fits into the broader mission and history of her organization.
Additional take-aways from this session included the importance of stakeholder buy-in before making changes, as well as finding collaborative partners to implement change.
How have you practiced knowledge management within your organization?