Digital Commons Network^™

Leadership And Innovation Within A Complex Adaptive System: Public Libraries, Darin S. Freeburg

Faculty Publications

Viewing public libraries as Complex Adaptive Systems, the current study analyzed leadership within these systems in terms of complexity and innovation. This included a leader’s capacity for ambiguity and emergence, features of leadership in different contexts, and perceptions of success and innovation. From a list of current public library directors and managers, 15 participants completed a 30-minute phone interview that followed a semi-structured guide. By analyzing the intersection of complexity of approach with complexity of context, eight leadership approaches were uncovered through coding. Results suggest that most participants engaged with most of the leadership approaches at some point. In addition, …

Integrating A Creativity, Innovation, And Design Studio Within An Academic Library, Holt Zaugg, Melissa C. Warr

Faculty Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the efforts to set up a creativity, innovation, and design (CID) studio within an academic library. This paper will describe the reasons for creating a CID studio, assessment of the pilot study, and next steps.

Design/methodology/approach – The assessment used surveys, interviews, focus groups and observations of students and faculty to determine how well the CID fits into the library.

Findings – Initial findings indicate that the CID studio is a good fit within the library space as learning activities in it support collaboration, discovery, and integration of library services. …

The Guided Innovation Model: Messy Human Innovation, Darin Freeburg

Faculty Publications

This paper outlines the theoretical foundation and framework for the Guided Innovation Model, which puts nonprofit organizations in a position to increase innovation through the application of Knowledge Management tools. This is facilitated by information and knowledge professionals. It also outlines a suggested approach for implementation of the model. The purpose of the paper is to provide an in-depth foundation which future work can build upon in specific contexts. Given the complexity and constancy of social change, nonprofits must continually innovate to meet the needs of their community. This model provides a framework for how they can do this without …

Enhancing Innovation In The Ugandan Agri-Food Sector: Progress, Constraints, And Possibilities, Travis Lybbert, Kritika Saxena, Julius Ecuru, Dick Kawooya, Sacha Wunsch-Vincent

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Knowledge Lens For Information Literacy: Conceptual Framework And Case Study, Darin Freeburg

Faculty Publications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a Knowledge Lens for information literacy. This lens shifts the focus and potential outcomes of information literacy in three ways. First, it promotes self-reflection as a means of integrating information. Second, it promotes creation, emphasizing it as a social process. Third, it promotes the ability and value of working with imprecision and lack of direction. Design/methodology/approach The author designed a Community of Practice (CoP) with a loosely structured guidebook to operationalize the Knowledge Lens. The initial stated purpose of the CoP was to provide innovative solutions to issues of race relations …

Effective Innovation Policies For Development: Uganda, Julius Ecuru, Dick Kawooya

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Informal–Formal Sector Interactions In Automotive Engineering, Kampala, Dick Kawooya

Faculty Publications

This chapter provides findings from a Ugandan case study that examined innovation transfers between informal-sector automotive artisans and formally employed researchers at Makerere University’s College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT). Th e primary site studied was CEDAT’s Gatsby Garage, an automotive workshop where it was found that the informal-sector artisans were central to innovative processes but were at the same time driven more by sharing impulses than by concern for the intellectual property (IP) implications of their work. Based on these findings, it is argued that Ugandan policy-makers need to seek policy tools to support innovation transfers between …

Informal The New Normal, Dick Kawooya

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Shopping Carts And Student Employees: How Student Committees Can Bring Innovative Ideas To Academic Libraries, Quinn Galbraith, Sara D. Smith

Faculty Publications

In 1999, ABC’s Nightline asked IDEO, a well-known innovation and design consultancy, to redesign the shopping cart in five days. While the challenge of re-imagining a cultural icon “inexplicably stuck in a sort of an innovation limbo”1 drew enough interest, even more compelling was the process the IDEO team used to research, brainstorm, and design the new model. The IDEO team threw out middle-management hierarchies based on experience or seniority—the project leader, who had only worked with IDEO for six years, was chosen for his skill in leading groups. The team members came from many disciplines, including psychology, architecture, linguistics, …

Academic Library Services: The Literature Of Innovation, Jo Bell Whitlatch, Judy Reynolds

Faculty Publications

Innovation has the potential for increasing the effectiveness of information service. As a result of this interest in innovation, organizational theorists have begun to explore the effect of organizational design upon flexibility, creativity, and productivity of organizations. A review of existing literature, however, provides no comprehensive theory of organizational innovation. Research on organizational design and innovation in libraries could contribute to the systematic study of the impact of organization structure . Studies by Howard and Luquire indicate that traditional library organizations may inhibit change as well as the reexamination of values and service. Further study is needed to determine how …