Navigating Change Through Cross-Department Collaboration

A recent catalog upgrade at the University of Arizona Libraries offers a compelling case study to examine project planning, workplace psychology, and organizational change. In this session, we’ll explore how uncertainty, shifting roles, and competing priorities manifest during major system changes, and how these challenges can be navigated through intentional planning and relationship-building. Drawing on real-world experience and organizational psychology, we'll highlight how project leaders and participants can cultivate trust, foster shared ownership, and create space for open dialogue. This session will emphasize the social dimension of project work, showing that it is not the efforts of individuals alone, but the interaction of many people across a network that ultimately determines success. Through this lens, practical strategies for building alignment, maintaining momentum, handling opposing viewpoints, and navigating change will be shared, equipping attendees with tools to lead more collaborative, resilient initiatives, regardless of their role/position in the library. 

Learning Objectives:

Presenters:

Cheryl Gerken is the Course Content Initiatives Manager at University of Arizona Libraries, where she works with a team that supports students, instructors, and departments to promote and support course materials affordability on campus. She has an interest in UX design and how patrons find information resources at the point of need. 

Christine Hertzel is the Electronic Resources Librarian at the University of Arizona. Her background includes roles in public, academic, and museum libraries and archives, along with experience in library administration and private-sector technology initiatives. Her interests include strategic process design, building sustainable technical documentation, and the operational complexities of large-scale systems implementations. She has presented nationally on topics related to digital access and equity in cataloging. 

Lara Miller Rivera is a STEM Librarian and Unit Lead on the Strategies for Teaching and Research unit at the University of Arizona Libraries. Her interests include supporting upper-division students on research and instruction.