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"Change is the Law of Life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future" - John F. Kennedy

The old adage that "nothing remains constant but change itself" has never been truer than in libraries today. Even the very possibility of change, though, instills fear in most people. What is it about workplace change that causes our palms to go moist, or our capacity for adjustment to shut down?

All librarians have faced change. We changed (some more smoothly than others) from undergraduate to graduate status. We might have changed from entry level to middle- or top-level management. Some of us may even have changed specialties. In fact, without change, most of us would never have considered attending library school, or opted to be trained or re-trained to advance professionally - or even considered new challenges at all. We have all faced - and continue to face - change in our professional lives, so what makes it so difficult to accept?

From our combined 37 years as corporate and library professionals, we've devised a list of our ultimate top-five fear-inducing contenders regarding change in the workplace:

• Change can happen at any time, and to anyone
• Change is rarely followed with adequate instructions and/or guidance
• Change produces stress
• Change challenges us and moves us (sometimes forcefully) out of our comfort zones
• Change tends to imply a "with or without you" scenario

Library professionals are definitely working in changing environments. With ever-increasing budgetary concerns, many of us face organizational restructuring and loss of personnel and/or personnel reclassifications. Subsequently, we're asked to produce more with less funding, often with fewer staff, and to assume greater responsibilities with fewer opportunities for adequate training. For others, the stress catalyst might be to work longer hours or to abdicate long-held professional values for the benefit of the institution.

So, now what? Since change is here to stay, what tidbits of wisdom can help library professionals weather the sea of perpetual change? The answer boils down to attitude.

Adopting A Different Attitude on Change

"How did I get here? Somebody pushed me. Somebody must have set me off in this direction and clusters of other hands must have touched themselves to the controls at various times, for I would not have picked this way at all." - Joseph Heller

We can't manage workplace change by approaching it unwillingly - or proceeding mindlessly into the stormy seas. As television revolutionized radio, and word processing applications have reduced typewriters to fondly-remembered gadgets, it's clear that change can also bring positive improvements.

When you step back and look at change from a non-judgmental and non- threatening perspective, you'll be able to embrace the concept rationally, rather than emotionally. Change is an integral part of our profession (and of our lives!), and the sooner you adapt your perspective and attitude, the better armed you will be for weathering its cycles.

Whether your organization's change is slow and gradual or a major deluge that occurs all at once, here's a checklist to help you re-focus and re-adjust your perspective on dealing with change:

• Remember that the change is not a personal attack on your professional ethics, nor is it a reflection on what you've been doing for X number of years. It's merely business, part and parcel of the game of organizational survival.
• Attempt to identify and understand the reasons for the imposed change. Is it a management-, system- or customer-driven change?
• Will the proposed change affect your current responsibilities? If so, what do you need to secure or ensure from management in order for the change to be successful? If the imposed change is not life- threatening or illegal, it is your professional responsibility to be supportive.
• Will the change eventually lead to an improved organization; e.g., through an improved OPAC interface, streamlined billing processes, or more effective customer service?
• Be observant of career trends and evolutions. Prepare for impending changes by keeping your skills current and maintaining a receptive attitude.

Everyone deals with change differently, and many library professionals are experiencing tremendous changes in their organizational structures, the way work ultimately gets done, or how people are expected to work together. The above checklist is a tool to help you maintain emotional distance from change, while providing practical strategies for positively dealing with challenges without becoming overwhelmed.

Even Change Changes

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new, but there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power" - Alan Cohen

The concept of change is cyclical; changes embraced today will catalyze new changes tomorrow. Whether you're seeking guidance on how you can deal with changes in the workplace, or assistance in helping your staff negotiate change, we must accept the reality that change is always just around the corner. Workplace satisfaction, though, will only come to those who can master change by continuously adapting to new ideas, who are willing to learn new technologies, and who ultimately understand that change is not personal, it's business.

Veronica L. C. Stevenson-Moudamane is the Junior Services Librarian for the City of Danbury [CT] and has served as a professional librarian for nearly 17 years specializing in academic, public, children's and adult librarianship. Austin O. Ekeinde, Sr. is Director of Engineering and Operations Manager for Multiplier Industries in Mount Kisco, New York and Change Agent Consultant for over 20 years.