The Panda Syndrome II - Innovation, discontinuous change, and LIS Education

This article explores the notion of punctuated equilibria in ecological the ory and its application to library and information studies (LIS) educationa l institutions and the LIS profession. Two separate lenses are used to expl icate the roles of incremental and discontinuous change in the life of orga nizations in general and LIS organizations in particular. The first lens is the ecological model of organizational change and renewal established by T ushman and O'Reilly who provide a framework for examining the inevitable di scontinuities produced through significant innovations, which they define a s technologies and services that produce a. shift in the standard practices of a community that makes it more effective. The second lens is Denning's research paths to innovation. Denning's perspective of research in the acad emy questions the existing emphasis on the generation of new ideas as the o nly true path to meaningful innovation. This article asks whether LIS educa tional institutions are educating professionals capable of functioning in t he face of the inevitable discontinuities brought about through significant innovation. Equally significant, this article asks whether LIS professiona ls are capable of functioning as change agents in the processes of disconti nuous change.