Agile Project Management in Libraries: Creating Collaborative, Resilient, Responsive Organizations

Abstract

Libraries must continually adapt to meet the ever-changing needs of users. Doing so requires the ability to be flexible and respond quickly. This is a case study of how The George Washington University Libraries rethought its approach to collection development using a cross-functional, team-based strategy that leveraged the benefits of Agile project management. Adopting an Agile approach to collection development maximized the impact of the library’s financial resources and enabled staff to develop new skills. This project underscores the value of collaboration, agility, and experimentation in libraries.

Keywords:

• Agile project management
• organizational change
• collection development
• teamwork
• collaboration

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Matt Mihalik, Dolsy Smith, Hannah Sommers, and all the team members who did the hard work described in this article.