Evidence-based practice and organizational development in libraries

This article is written for a Festschrift for F. W. Lancaster, and it summarizes the author's library school experiences as a student of Professor Lancaster and Professor Herbert Goldhor at the University of Illinois. Both professors instilled in students a strong inclination to use real and appropriate information in evaluating situations, making decisions, delivering information services, and managing libraries. The author suggests that this Lancaster-Goldhor approach to information, and to (lata-driven decision making, anticipated the current movement toward evidence-based practice (EBP) ill libraries. He suggests that libraries embrace the premises, philosophy, values, and practices of organizational development (OD) as all overarching discipline that facilitates EBP ill the library culture, and ultimately leads to healthier and more effective organizations. This article complements a 2004 Library Trends article oil OD, and numerous recent publications on OD and related topics are cited.