When a particular business library went through the process of renovation, the staff of the library faced a process of change too.

The most obvious was managing the renovation work which was an astounding new experience of dealing with architects, estate officers, contractors, sub-contractors, electricians, workers and cleaners.  On top of all that, library staff had to continue maintaining service standards in conditions that changed every couple of months as the renovation progressed in phases.  And don’t let us start about the noise and the dust.

During the whole period of the renovation, TNL had moved her work area, count it, at least 4 times. Blindfold her now and she could still pack, unpack and assemble her PC and IP phone in 5 minutes flat.

Nobody likes changes. Least of all, the old girl. TNL tells herself repeatedly, it is for the better, it is for the greater good, it is going to be a nicer library, the students will be happy, what an invaluable learning  experience, yada, yada, yada. Yeah, right.

But you know, really, it has been good. It has not been perfect. Things could be better. But it has been good. Although TNL was not in the core team, she was given tasks and responsibilities that made her participate in this change. Seeing how things moved (and sometimes, not), opened her little beady eyes to how people worked in situations where multiple forces (and egos) abound. She encountered energy, passion, drive, tiredness, exasperation, frustration, anger, relief and joy. She saw stubbornness, arrogance, manipulations, inattentiveness, apathy but also adaptability, quick thinking, respect, humility and grace.

Participating helped. Being in the thick of it meant contributing to it, being responsible for it, owning a part of it.

No amount of psycho babble could have given TNL what she needed – the acceptance of the reality of change. No, not truly embracing change but rather making some sense of it.