Over vacation I had a great opportunity to talk shop with the reference supervisors at the Cambridge and Newton libraries, and they have been so kind as to give their permission for me to reflect on these conversations here.*
I came in with a set of questions largely pertaining to how their libraries are making sense of and coping with changes in society, technology, the ways in which people view libraries, what people expect from libraries, and how librarians are conceptualizing what we do. I also had some questions about community engagement in their libraries, spurred by the great class on information use in communities that I just completed. The interviews didn't always stay "on script," but whether we were discussing my specific questions or not, I got a lot of valuable information that helped to fill in my picture of what is actually going on in the real world of library practice right now.
In what follows I'm not trying to be comprehensive; I'm more attempting to hit the high points of the interviews and reflect on what stood out most to me from what we discussed.
Cambridge
On the whole, Cambridge seems to be in a pretty good position right now. They've just moved into a beautiful new facility (an expansion and renovation of the original main library). I was told that the library garners consistently high rankings by residents, and they definitely seem to be well-positioned for some exciting growth in the coming years.
In part since I just completed a course on community information use and community engagement, one thing that really stuck out to me is the high level of community support. I'm definitely interested in trying to figure out what libraries do that makes them central figures in their communities. High-quality service is of course a factor, and from my brief time in the library (the interview was actually performed behind one of the information desks, so I got an especially good look at how the library provides reference service!) it seems to me that Cambridge staff are making a good effort to provide useful and relevant services to their patrons. But high-quality service is just a start. I had some speculations on other factors that might affect community support for this library:
One interesting characteristic of this library that may be a factor is its physical accessibility. Part of their website states that "Cambridge is unique among Massachusetts libraries in that most residents of the City are within walking distance of their public library." I learned that people from adjacent towns sometimes use the Cambridge branches because they are closer than the libraries for the towns of which those patrons are residents (there is a regional consortium; cards from any member library are valid everywhere in the consortium). One of the keys to public support is certainly getting people to come in, interact with the library, and use its services; I wonder if the accessibility of branch libraries increases library use in Cambridge, and therefore community support?
Something that came up as a definite factor in the support that the Cambridge library enjoys is the fact that many people who work in the city government are regular library users. This makes sense -- if the people who control the funding perceive you as valuable, then you are likely to be funded. The next question, of course, is how one gets the people in control of funding to perceive the library's value. In Cambridge it seems as though the situation may be self-perpetuating at this point. Other libraries may need to cultivate this perception in local leaders.
Another interesting thing that we discussed was the library's connection to various other community agencies (e.g. the historical society, legal information organizations, etc.). This didn't explicitly come up as a factor related to the library's community support, but from what I learned in my community information class, I think that the connections that the Cambridge library has built with these other organizations probably play into its community support as well. (The support of institutions and organizations in the community is as important as the support of individuals.) These connections don't seem to be made in a formalized or structured way. My interviewee said that his communication with outside agencies is often informal, and driven by what library patrons need or are asking about. He described it as a matter of knowing where and/or when to refer patrons to places that can help them better than the library -- for instance, he said, he is not a business reference expert, so if someone has a more complex question he may send them to the Boston Public Library's business librarians.
But there was definitely a sense that these referrals could be used for the benefit of the library, too. My interviewee noted that when you speak well of others (e.g. "You should try these folks, they are really helpful and great people") and they hear of the praise, they tend to think well of you in return. He also said that he engaged in some informal networking, just getting in touch with people at various organizations occasionally to catch up and to tell them that they should let him know if he could help with anything. I tend to think of networking as a very formal, structured thing. But it's clear how a friendly offer to help if anything is needed, and referrals coming from the library to an outside organization, could build a perception of the library as useful, helpful, and open to connecting with other groups. In fact, building connections in this way might help to make the library seem more sincere in its desire to help and more actually useful than press releases or meetings or whatever else libraries do to try to connect with outside organizations (clearly I am still fuzzy on this, but that's why I asked about how it works to begin with!).
A couple of other interesting ideas from this conversation:
One thing that came up a few times, and that I hadn't thought about in this way before, is the ways in which libraries can discourage unwanted behavior by small changes in the space and the atmosphere. I think that for many people, the impulse in dealing with bad behavior is to create policies to say that patrons can't do certain things and procedures to sanction them if they violate policy. These kinds of policies and procedures are definitely necessary, but some comments that my interviewee made suggested a supplementary approach -- why not change the affordances of the environment to make it harder to engage in undesirable behavior to begin with? For instance, when one library (I cannot remember if this was the Cambridge library or a different one) had problems with inebriated patrons passing out in the large, comfortable armchairs, his solution was to remove those chairs and replace them with hardbacked ones that were not so easy to fall asleep in. He also saw staff as very important in creating an atmosphere in the library. Even staff who are not physically large can have assertive body language that garners respect for the librarians, the physical facility, and the institution, in that way encouraging patrons to behave well.
This was a way of thinking about shaping patron behavior that I hadn't deeply considered before. I generally prefer the carrot to the stick, but it's often hard to think of ways to encourage people to behave well vs. discouraging them from behaving poorly. Now I've started to think about how creating an appropriate physical space and an atmosphere marked by welcoming yet assertive librarians could stem many problems before they start.
Our conversation covered much, much more than this, but in the interests of keeping this post to a semi-reasonable length and of not spending all evening writing, I will stop there.
Except... the building. I have to talk about the building. It is very, very new, and it is beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't have time to see it all, since I had to run off to my next interview -- but I got a mini-tour of the first floor, and that was enough to get a sense of what the library as a whole is like. The new expansion is huge and airy -- lots of glass, high ceilings, overall a very open feeling. The furniture is pale in color, which adds to the sense of lightness and openness. In contrast, the renovated older section is all wood-paneled and dark. I really feel that it has recaptured the rich, sedate beauty that it probably had when it was first built. I wanted to go sit in the reading room and just soak in the atmosphere. And though the two sections are nearly polar opposites, somehow the transition between the two doesn't feel strange. It is just moving from one beauty to another. I only hope I get to work in a library so gorgeous one day. I want very badly to get back sometime to have a more thorough look around. And if anyone reading this is ever in Cambridge, I encourage you to go visit the library!
Newton
One thing that we talked about a fair amount during my Newton interview was the importance of technology skills. My interviewee encouraged me to try to get on the cutting edge of technology. In addition to understanding technology, it's important to be able to discuss it on many different levels: she noted that librarians deal with patrons who have a wide range of technology skills, from people who can't use a mouse on up to people who probably know much more than the librarian. (This is something that I have definitely observed in my time on the reference desk; I'm still practicing how to quickly get an idea of the patron's skill level and how to tailor my own instruction to their skills.)
Technology skills involve much more than Microsoft Office and Internet browsing or even Web 2.0 skills: my interviewee said that libraries are moving towards information provision via methods that are online but not the Internet, such as databases and ebooks. It's going to be important for librarians to have proficiency with these technologies, which I think should include knowledge of how to evaluate them (since they are often purchased resources) as well as knowledge of how to use them effectively.
One thing I really wanted to ask about in this interview was a community information database, sponsored by the regional consortium, that I'd found linked from Newton's website. It looks great -- it's a searchable resource of various organizations and groups in the consortium's member communities. However, I learned that the database isn't used much, at least not at Newton. (I would say that this is probably true more broadly as well: I haven't found another link to the database on other consortium library websites I've visited, and I spent an entire summer at the Brookline library -- which is also part of the consortium -- without learning about this resource.) One of the major issues that my interviewee mentioned is that it is very time consuming to make entries -- up to an hour per organization. Also, she said that while this kind of resource was very useful before the Internet became widespread, now Google is a fairly good substitute. I was a little sad to hear that something I'd gotten so excited about actually wasn't terribly useful, but in light of my interviewee's comments, it made sense. With limited staff time, and the value of having that information collocated in that way diminishing due to the existence of powerful Internet search engines, I can see how it is worth spending perhaps a small amount more time and effort finding information via search engine in order to save the large amount of time and effort that it would take to enter the information into the database in a usable way. This got me thinking about how we have to connect our big ideas to the reality of our situation as early in the planning stages as possible. I thought the database sounded like a wonderful idea, but in light of resource constraints (in this case, largely staff time), the value it provides is not sufficiently great to justify what it would take to maintain it. Furthermore, this kind of balance can change over time. In the past, the database was more valuable because it collocated information that could be difficult to find. Before most organizations had webpages and before good search engines existed, the database was probably sufficiently useful to justify the resources spent on its upkeep. Now, however, the kind of information it contains is fairly easily available for someone with a little bit of knowledge, so it may not be worth the time and effort to keep it up to date. To me this suggests the importance of continued evaluation of the services we already provide, to see if they are still worth the effort invested.
(I have further thoughts related to this, but they are no longer specific to the conversation on which I am currently reflecting, so I will save them for another post.)
But I've gone on a bit of a tangent. Returning to what we actually spoke about in the interview, one other thing that came up almost as an aside was the importance of trying to just get people into the library and break down barriers as much as possible. This idea arose in connection to some brief discussion we had about a teen fine forgiveness program at another library. Fine forgiveness can be a pretty radical step -- but if it gets someone to return to the library who otherwise might never have come back (and if it isn't given over and over to the same person or people!) then I think that it ultimately will create net benefit for the library. A patron who is given a second chance has the potential to become a library supporter instead of someone who feels indifferent or antagonistic. And a strong group of supporters is very important to ensuring that libraries have the funding they need. A library may gain more from a formerly delinquent patron who becomes a supporter than it would have by forcing that person to pay old fines. (Of course, this can be a politically touchy issue -- fines are revenue. We noted that it can take some courage and willingness to stand up for what one thinks is right to try to get superiors to agree to such a program.)
After concluding the interview, I had the chance to explore the building. The Newton library is very classy -- sharp lines, black furniture, white walls, red/rust carpet. The building was built in the 1990s, and it seemed well kept up, and very comfortable. It has a central atrium which extends up three floors, and given the propensity of such architectural features to cause echoes, I was surprised at how quiet the library was. There are plenty of windows affording pleasant views of the surroundings, and comfortable armchairs are placed in groups of two to four throughout the building. I felt it would be a lovely place to come and curl up in a comfortable chair to read or knit for a while. There were also tables and hardback chairs, of course, as well as study carrels -- something I haven't seen in great quantity in many public libraries. The building has an art gallery, which is a nice touch. In terms of physical layout, I was a bit surprised to find A/V on the third (top) floor. I would expect this to be a popular, well-circulating collection, and thus to be placed closer to the library entrance. However, when considering the physical space I'm not sure how easily it be put elsewhere in the building. The library doesn't have a teen room, but there is a YA area which is clearly marked with a colorful sign. I was pleased to see that an effort was being made to create a space especially for this population.
Overall Observations
Finally, here are some things that I noticed in both interviews.
I'll start with something that seems true in every public library I've become familiar with, not just these two: There is never quite enough staff. Everyone is busy, and as a result there isn't always time to get to extra things that might be fun or interesting but are not crucial. This issue particularly came up in relation to libraries' ability to do new things with technology; new technology has to be investigated, and if it is adopted then it becomes someone's responsibility to set it up and maintain it. Sometimes there isn't time to add this responsibility on top of all the others that librarians are juggling. I feel as though this issue is exacerbated due to the economy and the resulting budget issues nationwide, but it may always be a problem to some extent. There's always something more that could be done. It seems to me that there will always be a balancing act between old and new responsibilities when a library considers adding any new kind of service or programming.
Another commonality I discovered between the libraries was that at both, keeping track of user needs depends a good deal on informal practices, particularly the day-to-day interaction between users and staff. This is not to imply that other procedures don't exist. In some follow-up e-mails, my Newton interviewee described some of the more formal ways that the Newton library evaluates its programs and services, including questionnaires distributed to the public, a Teen Advisory Board, and paying attention to what's being said in literature in the library field. My program puts a fair amount of emphasis on more formal evaluation and research (we are required to take one class in research methods, and the importance of evaluation has come up many times); informal evaluative methods are not discussed as frequently. I think I'd like to know more about how different libraries integrate informal ways of evaluating into what must of necessity be a more formal decision-making structure in the administration. Ultimately, it seems that there would usually have to be a formalized way to collect and use these informal evaluations. I think that it would be useful to know how libraries do this -- whether there are a few typical methods or whether the ways in which this is done are more idiosyncratic.
Overall, these were great conversations with two interesting and engaged librarians, and I was grateful that both took the time to meet with me. I've got a lot to chew on as a result of these informational interviews, and I hope that I can take some of what I learned back to the classroom next semester to fuel discussions with my classmates!
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* Just as a note, they have both read and approved the relevant portions of this post before I made it public. I have not used their names to protect some amount of their privacy.
Jan 13, 2010
Jan 5, 2010
I return!
Hello there. I hope you had wonderful holidays! I was home with my family for Christmas, then came back to Ann Arbor for New Year's with my boyfriend. It was a nice vacation!
Now I'm preparing for my last (wow!) semester to start tomorrow morning. I'm excited and stressed all at once. The need to find a job is definitely looming. I've started applications for a few positions that look good. It's a little nervewracking -- since this is my first "real" set of job applications, I'm realizing that there's a bunch of etiquette and strategy I don't know (thank goodness for great career counselors like the ones at my school!) -- but I feel that I'm a really strong candidate, and I hope that I'm able to get that message to come through effectively in my application materials. I'm also trying to network as much as I can, when I can squeeze the time for that into my day. I had a couple of great informational interviews back home over vacation (more on that is hopefully forthcoming), so I'm at least starting to get my name and face out there.
Other than job applications, I'm mostly just thinking about my classes. I'm planning on taking courses on:
And with that... it's 12:30 and I should get some sleep! Class and my internship await early tomorrow morning... (yay for getting back to the reference desk!)
Now I'm preparing for my last (wow!) semester to start tomorrow morning. I'm excited and stressed all at once. The need to find a job is definitely looming. I've started applications for a few positions that look good. It's a little nervewracking -- since this is my first "real" set of job applications, I'm realizing that there's a bunch of etiquette and strategy I don't know (thank goodness for great career counselors like the ones at my school!) -- but I feel that I'm a really strong candidate, and I hope that I'm able to get that message to come through effectively in my application materials. I'm also trying to network as much as I can, when I can squeeze the time for that into my day. I had a couple of great informational interviews back home over vacation (more on that is hopefully forthcoming), so I'm at least starting to get my name and face out there.
Other than job applications, I'm mostly just thinking about my classes. I'm planning on taking courses on:
- Grantwriting and fundraising. This is my cognate (we're required to take at least one graduate-level course outside of the School of Information). It's a popular cognate for SI folks offered through the School of Social Work. It sounds like it will be a lot of work but also really informative and useful. We'll have to actually write a real grant and make a real fundraising plan; I've already got a couple of ideas in mind...
- Library/nonprofit management. Another requirement I need to fill. I think that it will be useful. The first iteration of this course was last year; I shopped it and decided to take something else at the time. I think that this is a better time in my program for me to take it; I have a broader understanding now of how libraries work as organizations, and I think that that understanding will help me fit management concepts into context.
And with that... it's 12:30 and I should get some sleep! Class and my internship await early tomorrow morning... (yay for getting back to the reference desk!)
Dec 9, 2009
My life right now
- End of the semester. I just have a little more to go... some assignments are not so fun, some are more interesting. Nothing unusual. My big paper (the needs of prisoners, in the context of what prison libraries can provide) is done, turned in, and presented upon. My big group presentation (the representation of thanatology as a subject in LCC/DDC/LCSH/various databases) is mostly ready, though we keep going over time so I need to practice my section to try to cut it down. A few little piddly things (minor paper evaluating a class, Design of Complex Websites assignment and final) remain... then I'm home free. Which means...
- Preparing for vacation. The apartment is a mess. Our kitchen is truly disturbing. We still have things from Thanksgiving in the fridge and they're probably about ready to develop sentience by now. We need to clean the apartment, pay rent, pay bills, pack up, and oh yes, have some time to actually see each other before we go to our respective homes for the holidays, because I've been sequestered in the bedroom with my computer for the last two weeks (see previous bullet point).
- Work. Both my library internship (my last day for the semester was yesterday) and my paid work. These have generally been going pretty well. I feel like I'm finally starting to settle in to my internship. My supervisor there has a management style I've not really encountered before and it gave me a little pause at first but I think I'm getting used to it. I'm getting experience in some new things, like planning a program (we're having a mother/daughter tea party in the spring!) and using some new databases. Next semester I'm going to start another project... I need to think about what I want to do! It might be good to get some collection development experience... I've also been thinking about developing a community resource database (thanks to "Information Use in Communities", a course I took this semester). Paid work is pretty much same old, same old -- I spend most of my time doing research on various topics for a digital preservation group at a data repository, and writing up summaries of what I find. It's usually fairly interesting. Right now I'm learning about cloud computing!
- Job searching. I am beginning this in earnest when vacation starts. Right now I'm setting up some informational interviews. This would be the big anxiety-causer in my life right now... I've been tracking job postings and feeds for a few months now and it doesn't look like there are any entry-level positions in public libraries... everything requires at least two years' experience! I'm hoping that when I begin looking more deeply, this will end up not being an issue. I also need to come up with an overall strategy and write it down, just to settle myself down a bit. I think it will help for me to feel like I've got a solid plan.
- Snow! SNOW! SNOW SNOW SNOW! I grew up in the Northeast, then spent five years in California for college and one year of grad school. This is my second winter back in a place where seasons actually exist, and the first snowfall of the year (and the second... and the third...) is always so exciting!
Dec 2, 2009
The freedom to read, the freedom to talk, the freedom to think
Yes, I'm still alive. It is finals time, and quite frankly my brain isn't really functioning 100% even with caffeine. I've not posted here for a while because I haven't had the energy to put in the thought required for a quality post.
To be honest, I still don't think I actually have the energy, in general. But I was so impressed and energized by what I've just come across that I found some extra reserves somewhere.
I just read the ALA's Freedom to Read Statement for the first time.
Wow.
I don't think that many librarians (I wish I could say "any librarians", but there are always a few who don't get it) would argue in favor of censorship. I have always felt that restricting the information that other people can access is deeply wrong, even if the information in question is morally repugnant. But it's been difficult for me to articulate why this is wrong, other than that it just is. The Freedom to Read Statement says, quite eloquently, what I've never quite been able to articulate well enough.
In one of my classes, we did some reading a few weeks ago about the deliberative democracy movement. This movement contends that citizens need to be able to debate issues with each other, considering them as objectively as possible from all sides, in order to come to an understanding of all of the different positions on an issue and, depending on who you talk to, to either make the best possible collective decision about the issue or to have more informed and rational personal opinions (which may still not be in agreement). I think that the thrust of the philosophy behind the Freedom to Read Statement and the deliberative democracy movement are largely the same. If I could sum it up in a sentence, and add a little of my own spin to it, it might go something like this:
Communities (/democracies) derive strength from the consideration of many diverse viewpoints, not from enforcing the availability of a few "acceptable" opinions.
That, to me, is a very powerful idea. It is a shame that so many people do not seem to understand the roots of community strength in this way.
Certainly there is some value to groups of people who do all hold the same opinion. I read an article for another class recently that discussed "bonding" and "bridging" social capital. The former is social capital that arises from ingroup interrelationships, and it serves to bring group members closer together. Shared opinions can foster bonding social capital. Bridging social capital are connections between ingroup members and other groups that create social capital. Both of these kinds of social captial are important. It is important to have an ingroup with which you are bonded, but people, and the ingroups to which they belong, are strengthened by their relationships to other outside groups as well. I think that for these relationships to form, it is important to be able to have open, honest communication about differences of opinion. If a group censors everything it doesn't agree with, it will be hard for that group to connect with others, and the group members will suffer as a result.
(I feel as though this isn't quite a complete post. If there are missing bits, please refer to the above mention of finals having killed my ability to think, and forgive me. (And ask about it in the comments! This whole set of ideas is really interesting to me and I would love to discuss/think about it more.))
To be honest, I still don't think I actually have the energy, in general. But I was so impressed and energized by what I've just come across that I found some extra reserves somewhere.
I just read the ALA's Freedom to Read Statement for the first time.
Wow.
I don't think that many librarians (I wish I could say "any librarians", but there are always a few who don't get it) would argue in favor of censorship. I have always felt that restricting the information that other people can access is deeply wrong, even if the information in question is morally repugnant. But it's been difficult for me to articulate why this is wrong, other than that it just is. The Freedom to Read Statement says, quite eloquently, what I've never quite been able to articulate well enough.
In one of my classes, we did some reading a few weeks ago about the deliberative democracy movement. This movement contends that citizens need to be able to debate issues with each other, considering them as objectively as possible from all sides, in order to come to an understanding of all of the different positions on an issue and, depending on who you talk to, to either make the best possible collective decision about the issue or to have more informed and rational personal opinions (which may still not be in agreement). I think that the thrust of the philosophy behind the Freedom to Read Statement and the deliberative democracy movement are largely the same. If I could sum it up in a sentence, and add a little of my own spin to it, it might go something like this:
Communities (/democracies) derive strength from the consideration of many diverse viewpoints, not from enforcing the availability of a few "acceptable" opinions.
That, to me, is a very powerful idea. It is a shame that so many people do not seem to understand the roots of community strength in this way.
Certainly there is some value to groups of people who do all hold the same opinion. I read an article for another class recently that discussed "bonding" and "bridging" social capital. The former is social capital that arises from ingroup interrelationships, and it serves to bring group members closer together. Shared opinions can foster bonding social capital. Bridging social capital are connections between ingroup members and other groups that create social capital. Both of these kinds of social captial are important. It is important to have an ingroup with which you are bonded, but people, and the ingroups to which they belong, are strengthened by their relationships to other outside groups as well. I think that for these relationships to form, it is important to be able to have open, honest communication about differences of opinion. If a group censors everything it doesn't agree with, it will be hard for that group to connect with others, and the group members will suffer as a result.
(I feel as though this isn't quite a complete post. If there are missing bits, please refer to the above mention of finals having killed my ability to think, and forgive me. (And ask about it in the comments! This whole set of ideas is really interesting to me and I would love to discuss/think about it more.))
Nov 2, 2009
Revisiting the centrality of the collection question
I was all set to write a post about why I hadn't been posting. I will admit to not feeling particularly reflective lately. Life (and final paper/project assignments!) seems to have come crashing down all at once, and my brain has mostly gone into "cope with the thing in front of you right now, and then move on" mode.
But I've found that often I'll get whacked over the head with a reflective moment even when I'm not especially inclined to have one -- last Friday being a case in point. I was part of a group giving a presentation in my Community Informatics seminar. The project was an educational technology policy proposal (before you ask, no, this doesn't strongly relate to the class...), and we made it relevant to our own interests by including a recommendation to adequately support school library media centers. Indeed, we argued that SLMCs should be the centerpiece of the four recommendations we proposed to improve information literacy education in the United States.
During the question and answer period, the outside person who'd been brought in to comment on our presentations asked us (and this is obviously a paraphrase): You say the school library media center is vital. But the SLMC is just a place. It's the librarian who has the training, who takes actions to support teachers, students, and administrators. Should it be the library or the librarian that is central to your policy?
...well, hmm, good point.
I wrote a little while ago that I think better services, and better marketing of ourselves as service providers, are vital to ensuring the library's continued relevance. This person's question has made me reconsider the way the whole question is framed. Are libraries important as places? Yes, I think so -- but only because of the people who gather there. And I include both patrons and staff in that. Staff are trained to assist patrons with problem-solving by finding and organizing information; and they help to enrich people's lives through provisions of services and programming. In addition, some patrons interact with each other and the staff in mutually beneficial ways, helping all parties to learn and grow.
I feel like there's more of a thought there but it needs some time to percolate through my brain before it emerges. (I am a processor -- I ingest information, and then it sits in my head for a while and stews, and a few hours/days/weeks/months later it comes back out as something (hopefully) new and interesting.)
But I've found that often I'll get whacked over the head with a reflective moment even when I'm not especially inclined to have one -- last Friday being a case in point. I was part of a group giving a presentation in my Community Informatics seminar. The project was an educational technology policy proposal (before you ask, no, this doesn't strongly relate to the class...), and we made it relevant to our own interests by including a recommendation to adequately support school library media centers. Indeed, we argued that SLMCs should be the centerpiece of the four recommendations we proposed to improve information literacy education in the United States.
During the question and answer period, the outside person who'd been brought in to comment on our presentations asked us (and this is obviously a paraphrase): You say the school library media center is vital. But the SLMC is just a place. It's the librarian who has the training, who takes actions to support teachers, students, and administrators. Should it be the library or the librarian that is central to your policy?
...well, hmm, good point.
I wrote a little while ago that I think better services, and better marketing of ourselves as service providers, are vital to ensuring the library's continued relevance. This person's question has made me reconsider the way the whole question is framed. Are libraries important as places? Yes, I think so -- but only because of the people who gather there. And I include both patrons and staff in that. Staff are trained to assist patrons with problem-solving by finding and organizing information; and they help to enrich people's lives through provisions of services and programming. In addition, some patrons interact with each other and the staff in mutually beneficial ways, helping all parties to learn and grow.
I feel like there's more of a thought there but it needs some time to percolate through my brain before it emerges. (I am a processor -- I ingest information, and then it sits in my head for a while and stews, and a few hours/days/weeks/months later it comes back out as something (hopefully) new and interesting.)
Oct 23, 2009
What we own / what we make
Last Friday we had a group of people from a local library in to speak to our class. One of them* made a very interesting comment that I've been mulling over ever since, especially after Tim Spalding, the founder of LibraryThing, posted this thought on Twitter. This librarian said (and this is obviously rather paraphrased) that he doesn't see the future of libraries in what we collect, but in what we produce.
He was advocating a move toward libraries as producers of information and tools, and I'm not quite sure I can follow him that far, but both he and Spalding have a point. Libraries have been essentially known as their collections for centuries. People think that you go to a library for books or materials -- to get your hands on the information that the library has accumulated in one place. But in a world where information and entertainment is becoming electronic, this model of library-as-collection no longer seems viable. As Spalding says, when e-books become ubiquitous, why not just replace libraries with a citizen-wide e-book subsidy?
I feel strongly -- as do, I'm sure, many of my colleagues -- that libraries do have a place in this emerging new world. But discovering and articulating that new role is extremely difficult.
I came into this profession with a strong interest in public service, so it probably makes sense that I see the solution lying in that direction. To me, the value of the library is the added value we provide on top of our collections. We don't just provide information; more importantly, we help people effectively find the information they need. We provide guidance when people don't know what step to take next to solve their problems. We provide spaces for people to interact with each other, to learn things and participate in activities that hopefully enrich their lives. We provide quiet places where people can settle in and get some work done or just read a book. We offer access to technological and other resources that people can't necessarily afford at home. We offer reader's advisory to help people discover new things to read (or watch, or listen to, ...) (this seems to be dying in a lot of places -- I think that the trend should be going in the opposite direction); we keep records of our communities' history; we are sometimes safe spaces for children whose home lives are not pleasant or for people who just have nowhere else to go. I believe that a well-run public library enriches its community and changes lives.
The problem is that we don't articulate that very well. I think a segment of the profession doesn't even really think of things this way. (How can we market ourselves in this way to our constituencies when we don't believe it ourselves?) Libraries have to move away from the focus on the collection and toward an understanding of what they have to offer their communities as a service or group of services -- and then make that understanding known and felt to the community.
As I said, I have a hard time going as far as viewing libraries as content producers. That's getting us into the publishing business, as far as I can tell, and I don't know that I feel that's an appropriate place for us to really go. Perhaps as content collocators, yes. That's an extension of what we already do (not just in the sense of creating collections -- we write bibliographies, etc.). Take us farther away from that, though, and I wonder if we're moving too far into another realm.
* (I'm not identifying this person or the library more precisely because I'm not sure about the etiquette of quoting/mentioning someone's comment made during an informal class discussion in a public forum without their explicit permission.)
He was advocating a move toward libraries as producers of information and tools, and I'm not quite sure I can follow him that far, but both he and Spalding have a point. Libraries have been essentially known as their collections for centuries. People think that you go to a library for books or materials -- to get your hands on the information that the library has accumulated in one place. But in a world where information and entertainment is becoming electronic, this model of library-as-collection no longer seems viable. As Spalding says, when e-books become ubiquitous, why not just replace libraries with a citizen-wide e-book subsidy?
I feel strongly -- as do, I'm sure, many of my colleagues -- that libraries do have a place in this emerging new world. But discovering and articulating that new role is extremely difficult.
I came into this profession with a strong interest in public service, so it probably makes sense that I see the solution lying in that direction. To me, the value of the library is the added value we provide on top of our collections. We don't just provide information; more importantly, we help people effectively find the information they need. We provide guidance when people don't know what step to take next to solve their problems. We provide spaces for people to interact with each other, to learn things and participate in activities that hopefully enrich their lives. We provide quiet places where people can settle in and get some work done or just read a book. We offer access to technological and other resources that people can't necessarily afford at home. We offer reader's advisory to help people discover new things to read (or watch, or listen to, ...) (this seems to be dying in a lot of places -- I think that the trend should be going in the opposite direction); we keep records of our communities' history; we are sometimes safe spaces for children whose home lives are not pleasant or for people who just have nowhere else to go. I believe that a well-run public library enriches its community and changes lives.
The problem is that we don't articulate that very well. I think a segment of the profession doesn't even really think of things this way. (How can we market ourselves in this way to our constituencies when we don't believe it ourselves?) Libraries have to move away from the focus on the collection and toward an understanding of what they have to offer their communities as a service or group of services -- and then make that understanding known and felt to the community.
As I said, I have a hard time going as far as viewing libraries as content producers. That's getting us into the publishing business, as far as I can tell, and I don't know that I feel that's an appropriate place for us to really go. Perhaps as content collocators, yes. That's an extension of what we already do (not just in the sense of creating collections -- we write bibliographies, etc.). Take us farther away from that, though, and I wonder if we're moving too far into another realm.
* (I'm not identifying this person or the library more precisely because I'm not sure about the etiquette of quoting/mentioning someone's comment made during an informal class discussion in a public forum without their explicit permission.)
Oct 11, 2009
What we do.
I think this image encapsulates it.
The purpose of librarians is to hit the local minimum of that function, where there is enough information to help someone understand something without there being so much information as to be overwhelming.
(Of course there are exceptions. In academic research, for instance -- though this may be a bias of my background in academic English -- I think there's value to being at the right-hand side of the graph, with lots of information and lots of confusion. The point there, after all, is to move through the confusion to a new synthesis of knowledge that explains and incorporates the information you have.)
The purpose of librarians is to hit the local minimum of that function, where there is enough information to help someone understand something without there being so much information as to be overwhelming.
(Of course there are exceptions. In academic research, for instance -- though this may be a bias of my background in academic English -- I think there's value to being at the right-hand side of the graph, with lots of information and lots of confusion. The point there, after all, is to move through the confusion to a new synthesis of knowledge that explains and incorporates the information you have.)
Sep 29, 2009
The tradeoff of leading
I had a conversation today with a colleague on the reference desk (I am currently doing an internship at a local library. It started last week and they are being just fabulous). She spent some time in administration, even at the assistant director level -- and now she is back to being a regular reference librarian.
I don't recall her precise words, but one comment she made spoke to a conflict I'm still struggling with. She said something to the effect that managers in libraries do very different things, and have very different kinds of contact with patrons, than non-managerial staff.
Eventually, I intend to become a manager, maybe even a director. I want to have the chance to shape policy, to guide the growth and development of a department or even a whole library. I enjoy leading people, and I feel as though if I were in a supervisory position I could foster meaningful growth, both personal and professional, in the people I supervised. I've rarely been one to sit in the backseat. I enjoy guiding, directing, organizing, managing. I don't see myself being a "front-lines" staff member forever.
And yet what draws me to this work is precisely what we do on the "front lines", in direct interaction with the patrons. It's why I could never work in archives -- too much back-room stuff, too little interpersonal contact. It is such a good feeling to see and talk with the people I'm helping, face to face. And I love the problem-solving aspects of reference work, the variety, the fact that I can learn something new and interesting with every reference transaction. I love having my hands physically on the books. I love watching the wide swath of humanity that walks through a public library.
Therein lies the crux. Because it seems to me that it's a rare library director who gets to spend any significant time interacting with patrons other than those who've been referred to the top because they have some sort of problem that the lower echelons can't deal with. But I don't ever want to stop doing reference. Ever. I suppose there are probably library directors out there who carve out some time to do that kind of work. Certainly the director of the library I was at over the summer spends some time every day doing some of the same things as the rest of the staff (although he's never scheduled for desk shifts or anything like that). Maybe a very small system is the answer. Or perhaps a branch library where I could take on a managerial role. Those kinds of situations bring their own stresses, of course. When the director/branch manager is on the desk regularly, it is probably because there's not enough staff for the director/branch manager to do otherwise. And understaffing of course has all sorts of bad consequences.
I suppose I'm jumping the gun a little bit... I have no idea what the timeline is supposed to be to move from entry-level librarian to library director, but I'm sure it's relatively long. (Though I am aware of someone who apparently got a director's job right out of library school! There's an exception to every rule...) And given how much things seem to vary from library to library, this may just be something I have to work out in whatever library I end up in. But being a future-oriented, planning kind of person, it's hard for me to sit back and let it go. So I keep poking at it, wondering where the balance might lie for me.
On the other hand, thinking about it now means I get to pick other people's brains on the topic -- my coworker today being a case in point. Thinking ahead (waaaaaaay ahead) isn't all bad...
I don't recall her precise words, but one comment she made spoke to a conflict I'm still struggling with. She said something to the effect that managers in libraries do very different things, and have very different kinds of contact with patrons, than non-managerial staff.
Eventually, I intend to become a manager, maybe even a director. I want to have the chance to shape policy, to guide the growth and development of a department or even a whole library. I enjoy leading people, and I feel as though if I were in a supervisory position I could foster meaningful growth, both personal and professional, in the people I supervised. I've rarely been one to sit in the backseat. I enjoy guiding, directing, organizing, managing. I don't see myself being a "front-lines" staff member forever.
And yet what draws me to this work is precisely what we do on the "front lines", in direct interaction with the patrons. It's why I could never work in archives -- too much back-room stuff, too little interpersonal contact. It is such a good feeling to see and talk with the people I'm helping, face to face. And I love the problem-solving aspects of reference work, the variety, the fact that I can learn something new and interesting with every reference transaction. I love having my hands physically on the books. I love watching the wide swath of humanity that walks through a public library.
Therein lies the crux. Because it seems to me that it's a rare library director who gets to spend any significant time interacting with patrons other than those who've been referred to the top because they have some sort of problem that the lower echelons can't deal with. But I don't ever want to stop doing reference. Ever. I suppose there are probably library directors out there who carve out some time to do that kind of work. Certainly the director of the library I was at over the summer spends some time every day doing some of the same things as the rest of the staff (although he's never scheduled for desk shifts or anything like that). Maybe a very small system is the answer. Or perhaps a branch library where I could take on a managerial role. Those kinds of situations bring their own stresses, of course. When the director/branch manager is on the desk regularly, it is probably because there's not enough staff for the director/branch manager to do otherwise. And understaffing of course has all sorts of bad consequences.
I suppose I'm jumping the gun a little bit... I have no idea what the timeline is supposed to be to move from entry-level librarian to library director, but I'm sure it's relatively long. (Though I am aware of someone who apparently got a director's job right out of library school! There's an exception to every rule...) And given how much things seem to vary from library to library, this may just be something I have to work out in whatever library I end up in. But being a future-oriented, planning kind of person, it's hard for me to sit back and let it go. So I keep poking at it, wondering where the balance might lie for me.
On the other hand, thinking about it now means I get to pick other people's brains on the topic -- my coworker today being a case in point. Thinking ahead (waaaaaaay ahead) isn't all bad...
Sep 18, 2009
Does "informatics" automatically equal "technology"?
One of the courses I'm taking this semester is the Community Informatics seminar. I'm hoping it will provide me with a theoretical grounding to help me be more effective as a facilitator for community building and enrichment when I get a job in a public library. CI is a specialization here, and I've been on-and-off involved in it since I arrived last year. It's a bit of a frustrating relationship. It draws me, but never seems to actually offer chances to get deeply engaged with what I'm really interested in.
But perhaps I should provide some background. Let's start with the most fundamental question.
What is Community Informatics?
This is a bit tricky to answer since the field itself is very fluid and still emergent. The blurb about the Community Information Corps from the SI website reads as follows:
Unfortunately, what CI actually seems to mean at this school is "using our programming skills to create apps and tools that will help facilitate information flow." That's certainly a part of CI, as far as I'm concerned. But it is not the only part, not by far. I am not a programmer, and I'm not really interested in creating software tools or web apps. Nor am I terribly interested in working on high-level policy, which seems to be what most of the rest of CIC activities here involve. I understand that these things are necessary, and for the people who want to do them, I say go right ahead. But what I'm interested in, on the most basic level, is just how to discover and fill people's information needs -- whatever form that takes. If a web app is the most efficient way to do it, sure, I'm fine with that. But people seem to not remember or recognize that jumping to technology as the first, "obvious" solution is not always the right way to go. Why program software if running a meeting to get people to just talk to one another, or creating a library program, or running an educational campaign, or doing something else non-technological would be more efficient? The non-library folk at SI are so tech-focused that I feel like other things often just get lost in the shuffle. I wish, when CI projects were posted to the list, they were phrased more like "we need to look at x problem and propose some solutions," rather than the inevitable "we need to program this thing to solve x problem." I would love to work on a project, but as someone with no complex coding skills and a desire to really interact with people, I feel like I don't really have a place in most of the projects the CIC asks for help with.
I know that I should make my own opportunities rather than waiting for them to come to me. But I unfortunately just don't have time to get involved with CIC at the depth I think would be necessary to actually effect a change here. I have a lot of other things on my plate that need to take precedence. CI is, for me, an enrichment activity, not a major focus.
That doesn't mean I can't do little things, of course. The seminar seems as though it will be influenced fairly strongly by student interests, and I'm hoping that through my contributions I can steer it a little more toward the social-consciousness side of things and away from the technological side. I know I'm not the only student who is a little distanced by the heavy emphasis on technology, technology, technology, and I hope that together we can find a balance between the theory and social consciousness that I really feel is at the true core of CI and the other interests that revolve around that core, whether they be policy or technology or interpersonal interaction or...
We will see.
--------------------
The other night, my boyfriend and I watched Be Kind Rewind. It's a comedy movie where Jack Black accidentally becomes magnetized and erases all the VHS tapes in his friend's* video rental store. The pair try to fix it by taping their own versions of each movie. Eventually the copyright people come down and put a stop to it. Meantime, the building that the store is in has been condemned. The bootleg videos have been the source of income that the store's owner was going to use to fix up the building and keep his store; when they are destroyed, the situation seems hopeless. But the community is now behind him. He used to tell fairy-tale type stories of how Fats Waller was born in his building and grew up in the neighborhood; they were false, but now the community decides to come together to make a "documentary" about Fats Waller's life and times as though he had lived in that neighborhood. They hope that they can show it as a fundraiser that will raise enough money to save the building. The last scene is of many people watching this movie together, laughing, enjoying themselves, and feeling proud of their contribution to this group project.
The movie ended and I thought, "That is the essence of Community Informatics." I didn't mean it in the sense that I thought that particular project would have been an exemplary CI project. What resonated with me was the spirit of the whole endeavor. Community members saw that one of their own was in trouble and they came together to help him, in the process growing closer to each other, investing in their community, and gaining community pride. To me, that kind of dynamic and process is the key thing about Community Informatics. It's about what happens, not about how it is made to happen. The people, their growth and interaction, will always be more central to my conception of CI than the technology or any other means used to facilitate that growth.
* It's actually slightly more complicated than that, but it isn't important for our purposes, so I simplify.
But perhaps I should provide some background. Let's start with the most fundamental question.
What is Community Informatics?
This is a bit tricky to answer since the field itself is very fluid and still emergent. The blurb about the Community Information Corps from the SI website reads as follows:
Information specialists are needed to deal with the complex issues of community building in the emerging "new economy." Globalization, digital information, and evolving definitions of community are changing the ways in which service-minded individuals engage in work and social transformation. In an effort to answer the difficult questions raised by these changes, students, faculty, and partners at the School of Information have created the Community Information Corps -- an interdisciplinary group of information professionals who learn, share, and apply new techniques in the service of public goals.To my mind, CI is the facilitation of information flow to serve the public good and to meet the needs of a community, in the context of how our world is changing in the age of the Internet. That could mean anything from designing more effective library services to providing smartphones to people in Africa to intelligently tracking disease patterns in poor communities, depending on how far you want to extend the definition.
Unfortunately, what CI actually seems to mean at this school is "using our programming skills to create apps and tools that will help facilitate information flow." That's certainly a part of CI, as far as I'm concerned. But it is not the only part, not by far. I am not a programmer, and I'm not really interested in creating software tools or web apps. Nor am I terribly interested in working on high-level policy, which seems to be what most of the rest of CIC activities here involve. I understand that these things are necessary, and for the people who want to do them, I say go right ahead. But what I'm interested in, on the most basic level, is just how to discover and fill people's information needs -- whatever form that takes. If a web app is the most efficient way to do it, sure, I'm fine with that. But people seem to not remember or recognize that jumping to technology as the first, "obvious" solution is not always the right way to go. Why program software if running a meeting to get people to just talk to one another, or creating a library program, or running an educational campaign, or doing something else non-technological would be more efficient? The non-library folk at SI are so tech-focused that I feel like other things often just get lost in the shuffle. I wish, when CI projects were posted to the list, they were phrased more like "we need to look at x problem and propose some solutions," rather than the inevitable "we need to program this thing to solve x problem." I would love to work on a project, but as someone with no complex coding skills and a desire to really interact with people, I feel like I don't really have a place in most of the projects the CIC asks for help with.
I know that I should make my own opportunities rather than waiting for them to come to me. But I unfortunately just don't have time to get involved with CIC at the depth I think would be necessary to actually effect a change here. I have a lot of other things on my plate that need to take precedence. CI is, for me, an enrichment activity, not a major focus.
That doesn't mean I can't do little things, of course. The seminar seems as though it will be influenced fairly strongly by student interests, and I'm hoping that through my contributions I can steer it a little more toward the social-consciousness side of things and away from the technological side. I know I'm not the only student who is a little distanced by the heavy emphasis on technology, technology, technology, and I hope that together we can find a balance between the theory and social consciousness that I really feel is at the true core of CI and the other interests that revolve around that core, whether they be policy or technology or interpersonal interaction or...
We will see.
--------------------
The other night, my boyfriend and I watched Be Kind Rewind. It's a comedy movie where Jack Black accidentally becomes magnetized and erases all the VHS tapes in his friend's* video rental store. The pair try to fix it by taping their own versions of each movie. Eventually the copyright people come down and put a stop to it. Meantime, the building that the store is in has been condemned. The bootleg videos have been the source of income that the store's owner was going to use to fix up the building and keep his store; when they are destroyed, the situation seems hopeless. But the community is now behind him. He used to tell fairy-tale type stories of how Fats Waller was born in his building and grew up in the neighborhood; they were false, but now the community decides to come together to make a "documentary" about Fats Waller's life and times as though he had lived in that neighborhood. They hope that they can show it as a fundraiser that will raise enough money to save the building. The last scene is of many people watching this movie together, laughing, enjoying themselves, and feeling proud of their contribution to this group project.
The movie ended and I thought, "That is the essence of Community Informatics." I didn't mean it in the sense that I thought that particular project would have been an exemplary CI project. What resonated with me was the spirit of the whole endeavor. Community members saw that one of their own was in trouble and they came together to help him, in the process growing closer to each other, investing in their community, and gaining community pride. To me, that kind of dynamic and process is the key thing about Community Informatics. It's about what happens, not about how it is made to happen. The people, their growth and interaction, will always be more central to my conception of CI than the technology or any other means used to facilitate that growth.
* It's actually slightly more complicated than that, but it isn't important for our purposes, so I simplify.
Sep 11, 2009
My last EVER year of school is beginning!
I don't know whether to say "finally!" or flip out about having to actually get a real, full-time job. (It's not that I'm not looking forward to a long, fruitful career as a public librarian. I'm really excited about being able to go out and do this stuff in a real-world situation. It's more the finding of a job that is stressful. But that's a topic for another time, anyway.)
Anyway. The job stuff is just beginning to loom on the horizon. Right now what's taking up much more of my time is getting started with school and figuring my classes out. So far there are two classes I'm definitely taking, one I'm almost certainly taking, and two I have to make a decision about. They are as follows:
Cataloging: Definitely taking. I don't plan on being in technical services, but a) it's good to have the skills if I need them, and b) understanding this stuff will make me a better reference librarian and eventually a better manager, should I end up in a management position where I supervise tech services staff. It's going to be a ton of work and a bit of a slog, but I regard it as a thoroughly necessary class. And the professor entertains me (as well as being a good teacher in general).
Information Use in Communities: DEFINITELY taking. This ties directly in to my interests, as it's taught by a professor with a research interest in how public libraries can most effectively and directly serve the communities in which they're embedded. It also was cancelled due to budget cuts, and only reinstated because of student protest, so beyond the fact that I'm really interested in it and think it will be good for developing my thinking in certain domains, I feel a bit obligated to swell the head count this semester (having been one of the protesting students). I absolutely adore the professor; she's this warm fuzzy grandmotherly lady who is just really knowledgable and nurturing and with whom I feel very comfortable, which isn't always the case with me and professors. This is one of two classes that I am most looking forward to.
Community Information Corps seminar: Almost certainly taking. It would be another good one for getting to think about libraries in a community setting. My only real concern is that a lot of it will not be library-centric; Community Informatics tends to draw people from a range of specializations. But that might not be a bad thing. I could use to do a little more thinking about policy and current problems outside of information science.
Design of Complex Websites: Thinking about it. The teacher is awesome, and I could use to improve my programming. It would also probably look fairly good on my resume. However, I question how much I'd really be able to use many of the specific skills from the course in my career.
Theories of Social Influence: Considering it, and yeah, I will probably end up taking it. I could use it in my career! I could use my knowledge of social influence to get people to come to the library, and support it politically, and attend programs! And I'll be a better manager if I understand how to influence people! ...yeah, so I can make arguments like that, but really? The professor seems really nice, and the subject matter is INCREDIBLY COOL. I deserve a "just for fun" class, don't I?
On top of all this, of course, I'm working 10-12 hours a week, performing duties as an officer in the school's ALA student chapter, attending the SI fiber arts group, being with my boyfriend, seeing friends, keeping the apartment clean, starting a job search, and hopefully also getting a public library internship. I foresee a busy semester...
Anyway. The job stuff is just beginning to loom on the horizon. Right now what's taking up much more of my time is getting started with school and figuring my classes out. So far there are two classes I'm definitely taking, one I'm almost certainly taking, and two I have to make a decision about. They are as follows:
Cataloging: Definitely taking. I don't plan on being in technical services, but a) it's good to have the skills if I need them, and b) understanding this stuff will make me a better reference librarian and eventually a better manager, should I end up in a management position where I supervise tech services staff. It's going to be a ton of work and a bit of a slog, but I regard it as a thoroughly necessary class. And the professor entertains me (as well as being a good teacher in general).
Information Use in Communities: DEFINITELY taking. This ties directly in to my interests, as it's taught by a professor with a research interest in how public libraries can most effectively and directly serve the communities in which they're embedded. It also was cancelled due to budget cuts, and only reinstated because of student protest, so beyond the fact that I'm really interested in it and think it will be good for developing my thinking in certain domains, I feel a bit obligated to swell the head count this semester (having been one of the protesting students). I absolutely adore the professor; she's this warm fuzzy grandmotherly lady who is just really knowledgable and nurturing and with whom I feel very comfortable, which isn't always the case with me and professors. This is one of two classes that I am most looking forward to.
Community Information Corps seminar: Almost certainly taking. It would be another good one for getting to think about libraries in a community setting. My only real concern is that a lot of it will not be library-centric; Community Informatics tends to draw people from a range of specializations. But that might not be a bad thing. I could use to do a little more thinking about policy and current problems outside of information science.
Design of Complex Websites: Thinking about it. The teacher is awesome, and I could use to improve my programming. It would also probably look fairly good on my resume. However, I question how much I'd really be able to use many of the specific skills from the course in my career.
Theories of Social Influence: Considering it, and yeah, I will probably end up taking it. I could use it in my career! I could use my knowledge of social influence to get people to come to the library, and support it politically, and attend programs! And I'll be a better manager if I understand how to influence people! ...yeah, so I can make arguments like that, but really? The professor seems really nice, and the subject matter is INCREDIBLY COOL. I deserve a "just for fun" class, don't I?
On top of all this, of course, I'm working 10-12 hours a week, performing duties as an officer in the school's ALA student chapter, attending the SI fiber arts group, being with my boyfriend, seeing friends, keeping the apartment clean, starting a job search, and hopefully also getting a public library internship. I foresee a busy semester...
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