The Application of Modern Methods of Working Practices in aTransitional Society

This article relates the experiences of a Scottish Librarian working in Romania for the past three years as a Library Consultant at the Central Library of the University of Medicine & Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. A summary of the work achieved in the automation of the library is given. The problems of overcoming negative working attitudes in workplaces are reviewed during the initiation of a sweeping program of change. Dilemmas of how to transform old mentalities and how to promote initiative and motivation are related. Even offering contemporary Courses in Librarianship round the country, though oversubscribed, fail to be an overwhelming success as new ideas taken back to the
libraries are received often with cynicism and lack of enthusiasm and cooperation. The rather pessimistic conclusion is that unless a radical reform of working practices is considered a priority in Romania, there will be little change in the future.

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