Change management in university libraries: Evaluation of user and staff priorities

Meeting the evolving needs and expectations of users over time is crucial to staying on top of the pace of change in university libraries, as in many other institutions. The aim of this study is to determine the priorities of Hacettepe University Beytepe Library users and staff for factors that are expected to be affected by the change regarding the library, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. These factors were determined based on the literature and expert opinions as Services, Institutional Administrative Structure, Staff, Collection, Space, and Information System. While obtaining the findings for the AHP, user opinions were also consulted via open-ended questions, and the findings were elaborated based on the evaluation of these comments. The evaluators were a total of 28 people, including library users (undergraduate students, graduate students, and academic staff) and library staff. According to the findings of the research, all user groups prioritized the Collection as the factor that needs to change. According to the Library Staff, the factor that needs to be changed primarily is the Staff. Following the evaluation of the findings on the basis of the literature, it was determined that libraries, which have to realize a multi-faceted transformation, cannot determine the path they will follow in the process of change only by revealing the priorities of their users and staff. Since user and staff priorities are limited to individual information needs, perceptions, and library experiences, it was observed that libraries need to act beyond the expectations and requests expressed by their users and develop proactive services. In addition to identifying user needs in the process of change, the study also offers suggestions on what different approaches libraries can adopt to contribute to their own functionality, and what kind of path they can follow in this regard by taking into account the dynamics of their own institutions for their needs besides determining the user needs in the change process.