| This exploratory study utilizes a competing values framework to diagnose an academic library culture. It profiles six organizational effectiveness dimensions and four subcultures to suggest new action strategies.;A questionnaire based on the competing values framework was used to survey staff and faculty in an academic library, resulting in a profile of the library's overall organizational culture and of its subcultures. The competing values profiles were explained to staff and faculty in follow-up focused group discussions and in one-on-one interviews with the administration. Participants in these discussions and interviews were asked for their interpretation of the profiles, both in terms of (a) what they say about the library's capacity to cope with new challenges and (b) how useful they are for suggesting specific strategies that will help the library make needed changes.;Action research procedures include diagnosis, testing and personal causation (responsibility). The "action" implies change that is participatory and collaborative to produce a shared inquiry into practices resulting in an improved organization. An accurate picture of the organization, a model which can be used to plan transformational strategies, is obtained in the diagnosis stage using the Competing Values Framework (CVF). The CVF fits well into the action research model's diagnostic phase. It emphasizes, first, participants discovering their organization's underlying assumptions and, second, generating valid information upon which to act, or "actionable knowledge.";The CVF reduces the anxiety of the discovery process by providing valid information about the academic library that is not premised on a problem. Instead of showing organizational deficiencies, the CVF displays new effectiveness domains that suggest effectiveness strategies which, although they might compete with existing strategies, will nevertheless produce positive action paths. |
