Shrink to Fit or Prune to Strengthen: Adapting the Strategic Plan in an Academic Library as Response to Environmental Change

Abstract

In this study, we intend to observe how a strategic plan can be used as a risk management tool, in the scope of academic libraries. Risk is perceived by individuals and institutions when faced with environmental changes that threaten stability or integrity. In libraries, these changes show in structural alterations, that is, in decreasing human, material, and financial resources; this implies having to develop strategies to accommodate new situations. Inspired by concepts from the fields of management and psychology, this article analyzes risk management and strategic planning as an adaptive response to change. This idea is furthered with the case study of a university library, which shows how adapting to such challenges is possible. We report a management strategy that includes a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis about the performance of the library, and the subsequent reorganization of fields of action and redefinition of goals and tasks. The strategy comprises all the efforts made by the library to deal with specific demands, both internal and external, which triggered stress situations and coping with them, revealing a successful adaptation in light of change. The study concludes that reducing and concentrating efforts is one way to respond to everyday organizational challenges, looked upon as risks. This case can serve as an example and source of inspiration for other libraries dealing with diminished resources.

Keywords:

• Academic Libraries
• coping
• Portugal
• risk management
• strategic planning
• strategic management

Acknowledgments

The authors offer a special thanks to the library staff for the contributions and to Sofia Coelho for the language translations/reviews.