My Perspective of a Learning Organization
My opinion of how an organization should work encompasses and embraces the notion of the overall acceptance of collaborative work that incorporates both synergy and dependency upon each of the participating organizational members.
I believe that leadership and communication, on all levels of an organization, go hand-in-hand. All members of a learning organization must embrace the communication model in order for the organization to be successful. Thus, each member of a learning organization, whether they are workers, managers, or the head honcho, must act as message senders, message receivers, listeners, self-managers, opportunists, and leaders in the communication process.
The Definition of a "Learning Organization"
A
learning organization is "an organization that is able to transform itself by acquiring new knowledge, skills, or behaviors. In successful learning organizations, individual learning is continuous, knowledge is shared, and the culture supports learning. Employees are encouraged to think critically and take risks with new ideas. All employees' contributions are valued".
(The Learning Organization: An Integrative Vision for HRD, by Victoria J. Marsick and Karen E. Watkins, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Winter 1994; and "Learning Organizations Come Alive," by Martha A. Gephart, Victoria J. Marsick, Mark E. Van Buren, and Michelle S. Spiro, Training & Development, December 1996).
Here are a few links that, in my opinion, are important to the foundational behind a "learning organization" for both library and non-library environments alike:
1)
Society for Organizational Learning2)
North Suburban Library System3)
The University of Arizona Library: Living the Future-Conferences
The ASRS Project as a Learning Organization?
This blog is representative of my attempt to implement some "learning organization" techniques (which will be defined in the next couple of posts) into the ASRS project at the University of Chicago Regenstein Library, as part of the LIS 716 01 course called "Communication for Leadership" in Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science program.
I have already begun laying the foundation to make this happen. I am now up to the point f getting others involved. And, I figure the best people to get involved with this process are those already involved in the ASRS project. So, I will do my best to see if they will accept my invite to join this blog.
The Preferred Manufacturer of the University of Chicago ASRS Project
HK Sytems is the preferred manufacturer of the University of Chicago Regenstein Library's Automated Storage and Retrieval System.
The following link gives an overview of the ASRS products that are offered by HK Systems (a website that I created for my LIS 753 - Internet Fundamentals & Design course):
http://domin.dom.edu/students/fannchri/LIS753/home.html
Meet the ASR'S "Team Sisyphus"
"Team Sisyphus" (from left to right): Emily Raney-
ASR Supervisor, Holly Wilson-
ASR Technician, Kei Hotoda-
ASR Technician, and Christopher Fanning-
ASR Technican.
"Team Sisyphus" (from top to bottom): Emily Raney-
ASR Supervisor, Christopher Fanning-
ASR Technician, Holly Wilson-
ASR Technician, Kei Hotoda-
ASR Technician.
The ASRS Experience
The following blog is about the University of Chicago Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). It will be taken from the point-of-view of an ASRS project technican/Dominican University MLIS candidate in the GSLIS.
This blog is geared toward supplying others information about how Academic/Research Libraries undertake such a project, with a special focus on how the University of Chicago Library ASRS project process transpires.
