Conversations...

How does a library remain relevant in a community? What does it mean to transform libraries? These are two questions that I often find myself trying to answer…that is, until the other day someone I admire in the field asked me if those were the right questions to be focusing on.

This thought caught me completely off guard! What conversations and questions does this profession need to focus on? What conversations am I choosing to be part of?

I agree that “relevancy” and “transforming libraries” are the wrong questions. Why are we asking ‘how do we become more relevant?’ We already know we are relevant! We are about access: access to knowledge and discovery; leveling the playing field and helping patrons transform. We are relevant and play a vital role in the information age.

We shouldn’t be reactionary to the negative claims that google is replacing us or books are not the future. These are the wrong conversations to join. Let's show more people what we do and prove we are relevant by tackling the right questions that are challenging our field – that are challenging access to information.  It is easy to be distracted by the wrong conversations, but as a student I can make sure the right conversations are happening. Let's be part of the conversations that are moving the field forward and align with the future of librarianship we are passionate about.

"Library Schooled" - FFL Student Blog

This month I had the opportunity to contribute to the Fayetteville Free Library's student blog "Library Schooled." Check out my post here and join the conversation about the future of eBooks at the FFL.

Also, I encourage you to meet the other amazing students contributing to "Library Schooled" and read past posts about tweeting, teen spaces and more.

Enjoy!

Week 10: Public Libraries

This week in 511 we had two presenters from public libraries. It was refreshing to hear them share stories that reinforce my beliefs, ambitions, and goals for librarianship. They are both following a mission that supports a future that I want to be part of!

My favorite story came from Meg Backus, who believes that the role of librarians is to empower a community to be active in shaping society. One example that showcased this belief revolved around the issue of “access to culture.” Meg explained that patrons are often forced into the position of consumers, due to copyright law and patents. She believes as a cultural institution, libraries should be promoting the use of culture. I strongly believe that libraries need to help communities move from a position of content consumers to content creators. Librarian as curators of content is an old model that will soon lose relevance to an entire community. Librarians as content collaborators is a new model we should strive to achieve. I believe if we take on this unique role, we will find ourselves in a position that can provide value to an entire community. One can already find examples of this in action at libraries across the country, from writing centers to recording studios and Fab Labs, librarians are empowering people to better their communities by giving them the tools and resources to create!

Reflection on 511 Week 9:

Great class last night. I want to thank Professor Lankes for sharing his experience and inspiring stories from the Salzburg Global Summit, Libraries in the Era of Participatory Cultures. It was a wonderful reminder of why I chose this program because they support a future of librarianship that I hope to be part of and help shape. A future where it is not enough to just learn the basic skills of librarianship. The values and skills we learn in this program will help us improve society by empowering communities and helping them realize their dreams. We are no longer the curators of content, but the content collaborators.

We also met two amazing local school librarians, and although I am not interested in pursuing school librarianship, they both shared lessons and tips that translated to librarianship across the field. Helpful tips included:

-Leadership (don’t be the victim)

-Offer a service that others don’t; fill the gap that is missing in your school or community

-Empower others to be your advocates (iStaff)

-Put customers first (don’t worry about how orderly the library is or creating the perfect MARC record; if your patrons are happy and it works for them, then you are doing great!)

-Reverse advocacy (difficult and time consuming, but very powerful)