Nineteenth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations

Abstract

To align more closely with the University of Victoria’s Learning Objectives the Libraries has undertaken a strategic initiative to provide students with technological skills required for learning, research, and life beyond the academy. This initiative is in response to a sudden shift of educational and social changes taking place involving digital tools scholars need for their research and learning. The Libraries’ Digital Information Fluency (DIF) initiative seeks to directly support the University’s Learning Objectives, while additionally serving to build capacity of knowledge within the organization itself. A DIF programming framework was designed to enhance cross-unit collaboration, leverage human capital, and develop professional knowledge with the creation of innovative programming involving digital tools for students. In addition to serving as an operational plan for a new organizational direction and initiative, the DIF framework serves as an expression of the organization’s understanding and addressing of core strategic challenges of new technological needs and new ways of learning, as well as building networks of innovation within the Libraries. The DIF program was conceived in part to enhance employees’ knowledge and skills with the latest forms of technological tools and instruction methods, by virtue of shared development in programming. This sharing of knowledge is intended to build capacity in specialized and innovative knowledge throughout the organization. This presentation will describe this new organization-wide initiative that seeks both to align the organization with key stakeholder interests as well as to build knowledge capacity through shared innovative programming.