Cultural Considerations
Asynchronous Session
Redefining Values and Practices in the Digital Society: A Case Study of Thai Academic Libraries View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Saowapha Limwichitr
“Are libraries dying?” is a question raised in the digital society. Adaptation of academic libraries is a good case example of organizational change and resilience. In amidst of the digital society where people are connected to mobile devices and can retrieve information at a click without visiting libraries, they are required to adapt themselves to proof their existence. The study presents findings from a qualitative case study research conducted with eight academic libraries in Thailand with a purpose to explore their adaptation in terms of redefined roles, values, and practices. The study revealed key drivers: social and technological changes leading changes in customer expectation and the adoption of emerging technologies. Although the core mission to support the community learning remains the same, their values and roles have been expanded to include building a creative and innovative society through providing developing seamless access and connection to global knowledge. Functions of library spaces are not limited to ‘quiet reading spaces’ but are now ‘third places’ where communities gather and collaborate; ‘creative spaces’ where innovations can be cultivated; and 'safety but freedom spaces' where people feel free to think and question. These developments, however, raise a dilemma as they require a significant technological investment, while their budgets have decreased every year. Sustainability or how academic libraries secure their sustainable futures has then become a key challenge. The organizational adaptation also requires staff to continuously reskill and upskill as well as modify their mindset and resilience to be strong enough to face organizational challenges.
Negative Career Shock in Women's Careers: Loss or Long-term Gain? View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ruta Salickaite
Most people experience several major events in their life that affect their careers. Various terms have been used to define these events, including chance events, serendipity, happenstance, and live events. In recent years, the construct of career shock has been increasingly used in this context. A career shock is a disruptive, extraordinary, and often unexpected event, that is caused, at least to some degree, by factors beyond the individual's control and that trigger a deliberate process of thinking about one's career. Career shock can be positive or negative and can have positive or negative consequences for a person's career, health, and life. It has been observed that even negative career shocks can also lead to positive emotional reactions such as feelings of joy or pride. The analysis showed that the factors that cause career shock differ between men and women. The reactions, consequences, and subsequent behavior and decisions in shaping their future careers are also different. The aim of this paper is to show the relationship between negative career shocks and positive consequences for women's career paths. Data were captured through semi-structured interviews with 20 women. The study revealed that in most cases a negative career shock in a woman's career path is associated with stress in the short term, but with career gains in the long term. Based on this research, insights are provided on how to reduce the negative short-term consequences of negative career shocks for women's careers and how to encourage women to seize future opportunities.
