People First Services: A Qualitative Study on Library Consolidations

ABSTRACT This poster presents results from a phenomenological research study investigating the effects of a university consolidation on the affiliated libraries of three U. S. public universities. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted through purposive sampling of twelve librarians working at three different consolidated institutions within the same university system. Data was analyzed through the lens of sensemaking theory, a process where individuals attempt to construct meaning and enact their roles within an organization through their evolving experiences (Ancona, 2011; Weick, 1995), and organizational theory which provides both a theoretical and practical way of managing, understanding, analyzing, and improving organizations based on patterns of design and behavior (Daft, 2001). The use of Bolman and Deal's (1997) organizational theory, including the structural frame, the human resource frame, the political frame, and the symbolic frame, provides insight into the effects on library services and librarians' identity resulting from consolidations.