Organizational Cultures and Working Together: Community College Libraries and the Academic and Student Support Ecosystem

This chapter leans on the biological metaphor of the ecosystem to highlight the role of the library in community colleges. After providing some background context, I meditate on key questions for library professionals, including: What does organizational culture look like in a well-functioning community college student success ecosystem? What does effective library support for that ecosystem look like? What structural relationships between the library and other entities might help ease students' navigation of the ecosystem structure? And could utilizing this perspective help librarians and library leaders refine their efforts to demonstrate value? The chapter concludes with some strategies for applying the framework.