Beyond the Bullet Points: Expect More

It’s time for the end of the year post. You know the one filled with lists, lessons, and proposals for the future. I would not want to buck the system. So let’s start with some lists:

  • Rome
  • Florence
  • Salzburg
  • Visby
  • Stockholm
  • Munich

This is a list of international cities I visited as part of conferences and meetings this year. They were all spectacular. You know what I learned from this European Tour? Every country’s librarians think another country’s librarians are in better shape. In the U.S. we envy the support libraries in the Nordic countries get. The Italians envy how U.S. public libraries are integrated into the communities. I have talked with librarians in Africa, the UK, in Chile, and throughout the U.S. You know what I learned? The prosperity of your library has a lot less to do with where it is then who is in it.

In Kenya librarians pack libraries onto the backs of camels. In Egypt, the library of Alexandria became a beacon of liberty in the Arab Spring. Across Illinois librarians embraced entrepreneurship and transformation in towns like Eureka and DuPage and Joliet. I found innovation in Delaware, Vermont, and Dallas. I found amazing libraries in urban cores, and rural outposts. I have seen a suburban library take the idea of a newly graduated LIS student and turn itself into a Maker Space. What I learned from my travels? You create your own landscape.

Another list:

  • Mainstream Hack
  • Communist
  • Fascist
  • Radical
  • Militant, and
  • Lacks “self esteem as a librarian”

These are the names I’ve been called this year. The good news in 2011 was that my Atlas of New Librarianship was published. The better news was that the book did what I hoped – started conversations. Many of these conversations were thoughtful, intense, and fruitful. Some, however, were not.

A mentor of mine once said that questions are good. If you present something and it raises no questions, it means it wasn’t interesting enough to comment upon. This year I must have said something interesting. I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t take some of these comments personally. There was a lot of cursing in front of my computer. However, I learned to take a deep breath, and always respond to the substance of the comment, not the vitriol. I also learned that no name stings so keenly as the silence of mediocrity. I have a healthy respect for those who take the time to comment in public regardless of their position. I fear those who disagree, but remain silent. That is not how we move the field forward.

One of those names, however, takes some further comment. One commenter said that “Lankes’ deconstruction of the library profession to an inexplicit pottage of universalistic buzzwords is an indication of his lack of self-esteem as a librarian.” Now of all the criticism I have received in my life, lack of self-esteem is a new one.

The comment implies that by questioning and reimagining the profession that somehow I, and others, either dismiss the value of the profession, or “know not what librarianship is.” I like to think I know what it is, but I admit to being more focused on what it can become.

As Ranganathan enshrined in his 5th law “the library is a growing organism.” That is, to know what librarianship is today does not mean you know it tomorrow. It will change. eBooks and websites in our collections, digital reference and gaming in our services are today’s latest changes, but librarianship HAS ALWAYS evolved and changed. It is the defining aspect of a vital and relevant profession that it evolves and reforms itself.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines esteem as “respect and admiration.” I have an immense respect for the field and librarians. However, the lesson that I have taken away from this year, and that I will carry as a theme into the New Year is to expect more.

For far too long we have treated the innovators and leaders in our field as exceptional. While they are brilliant and brave, we can no longer treat them as the exceptions. We must see their work as the standard. Librarians who have raised their budgets in these economic times should not be treated as fortunate, or beyond the norm; we must see their example as the new normal. We must stop seeing those who create new technologies, or who raise the usage of our services as superhuman, and see them as the benchmark. No longer can we allow the mediocre of our field train the expectations of our communities. No longer can we simply talk about the future of our field among ourselves, sheltered from the withering criticism of the uninformed.

We must expect more of ourselves. We must stop talking about doing “more with less” and start talking about “doing better to get more.” We must expect all librarians, with degrees or without, with tenure or not, to lead and innovate. No more worker bees.

We must expect more of those whom we serve. They are not customers or consumers – they are members of our libraries with an ownership stake in our survival. They are not users that simply take and leave nothing behind….they are our collection – pour ultimate mission.

This is my resolution: expect more, of myself, of you, and of those whom we serve. So let’s give ourselves a huge pat on the back for making it through a very tough year, toast the New Year, and then get back to the work of making the world a better place.

13 Replies to “Beyond the Bullet Points: Expect More”

  1. Good. So I believe too. I toast the new year. But. Remember I believe like Faulkner, that history shows us the way. That there is no history, not really. It is us. We should always expect more of ourselves, love what we do, love who we serve, be tough. As librarians, we are angels if we understand this. That I believe. ebooks, smeebooks! It is all the same. Turn off the naysayers. Make the world a better place. Always. Peace.

  2. Thanks, Dave for getting conversations started. I am not a fan of excuses for why things aren’t working; instead like the “expect more” mantra and I will do that of myself and of others.

  3. I like your attitude to responding to derogatory comments. Anyone who comments publicly such as through a blog is unfortunately liable to attract such comments. I reckon that your approach is a good way to deflate such barbs.

    And I agree that innovation and excellence are the way to go – not only for librarians but for all professionals. We need to not only accept change but embrace it creatively and with courage.

  4. Unfortunately, again I disagree with your perspective that “For far too long we have treated the innovators and leaders in our field as exceptional. While they are brilliant and brave, we can no longer treat them as the exceptions. We must see their work as the standard.” sounds exceedingly like Lake Wobegon – fictional.

    Not everyone can be an innovator and leader, or “brilliant and brave”. It isn’t reality. However, what librarians everywhere CAN do is take their examples from these exceptional innovators and leaders and make progress in their own library in their own way.

    1. I certainly agree not every librarian can be brilliant, or indeed you devalue the word. I agree that all librarians should take their examples and inspiration from these folks. However, I also think we have built up innovation to be some-earth-shifting-on-its-axis experience, when it is about continuous improvement. If you figure out a better way to check out books, to shave 15 seconds off the time, that’s an innovation. A minor one? Sure, but one that can start a habit. Furthermore, one that can have unintended effects that can be greatly amplified in an environment that is constantly striving for innovation.

      For me it is not too much to expect professionals (of any profession) to be creative and seek constant improvement in their work. That’s what makes them professionals (and by the way, referring back to our previous discussions, more so than simply a degree). Expertise and professionalism are more than excellent and repetitive execution.

      Is the language in this post a bit grandiose, sure. The point is to set the bar high so we all reach for it, not so we all have equal capability to grasp it.

  5. Ah, I got you – shoot for the moon and maybe you’ll hit Philadelphia. Too bad that approach does set people up for failure. Goals have to be realistic and within a person’s capability to achieve, otherwise continual failure results rather than continual improvement.

    I also disagree that “Expertise and professionalism are more than excellent and repetitive execution.” because, I personally know librarians and library directors who are very intelligent, highly capable, imaginative and consummate professionals. Unfortunately, reality is what they deal with every day, and reality is far from grandiose. It is minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day dealing with staff issues, customer issues, facility issues, board issues, governing body issues, budget issues, union issues, ad infinitum, and hoping for a break long enough to work on their own professional development. That’s the real world in which most librarians work.

    We just need to be grateful for those few who have the luxury of time to do all you’re expecting of everyone within the profession. I guess the rest of us will just have to settle for being below standard – in your estimation.

    1. I also know “library directors who are very intelligent, highly capable, imaginative and consummate professionals” that bring that insight, innovation and creativity to tasks such as “staff issues, customer issues, facility issues, board issues, governing body issues, budget issues, union issues.”

      For example, a superintendent in a suburban school who negotiated with a teachers union to add an extra hour per day devoted to staff development. I know a state library director who who managed in the worst economy since the great depression to increase the state’s library budget. I know an urban library director who cleared out an entire floor of her library to start an innovation space for local businesses. I know of a rural library director who managed to her library’s yard to start a catering business – literally the grass outside the front door. All of these are innovations, all of these could have lead to failure, and all of these exist in reality.

      Once again we have to calibrate and reward innovation, not see it as something we do when we have time from our real jobs of drudgery.

      I think the primary difference here is that you assume most will fail, and I believe that most will succeed. Certainly this will take more than a simple blog post, it will take people to realize that reality is constantly shifting, and that simply accomplishing the status quo is not a victory. My problem is not that we aim for the moon and hit Philly, it’s that we refuse to think that the moon is possible so we don’t even try.

      If you sit in your job and never learn, never try, and yes, make sure you never fail, then you are in fact living below standard. There is art and craft in a reference answer. There is alchemy in cataloging. There is genius in wiring and poetry in code. Librarianship is a creative endeavor.

      1. So I have been reading through the latest posts on your blog and see a lot we agree on (I am a big proponent of bachelors in library science). I also see and like you distinction between leaders and managers (I think both can be innovators). A good leader and a good manager does not treat everyone as a single entity. They set goals and expectations for their employees. Most are attainable, but some are “reach” goals that push folks beyond a comfort level.

        What I am looking for profession wide is not a Lake Wobegon, where everyone is extraordinary, but a profession that has set the bar of ordinary higher. After all, being an average baseball player in the minor leagues is much different than being an average player in the majors. We need to raise the average across the profession. We need to expect more.

        I stand by the belief that professionals need to be innovators and creative. In fact we must do it because, as you point out, librarianship in the 21st Century is different than being a 20th Century librarian (that was different from the 19th and so on). The world in which we operate is changing, and so as a profession we must be able to change as well, and that means that change management, change skills, constant re-invention become core skills, not reserved for the few.

        Once again Steve, I thank you for furthering the conversation.

  6. Why you assume that I believe people will fail, I have no clue, because I certainly didn’t write that. I’m simply trying to point out that not “everyone” can achieve the high level of innovation and creativity that you want to declare is the new standard for librarianship professionalism. You’re the one who seems to be criticizing the current standard of professional achievement as not good enough.

  7. Great conversation…I think that there are many roles in librarianship, including educators who challenge us to think beyond our day-to-day activities. I see your suggestion, Dave, of motivating people to expect more to be part of a prod for library folks to become more comfortable with taking risks.

    Steve’s comment, “…what librarians everywhere CAN do is take their examples from these exceptional innovators and leaders and make progress in their own library in their own way” does not really contradict what you say. The two ideas are not mutually exclusive. It seems, rather, that the notion of “innovation” may need further analysis.

    From my experience, people don’t shoot for the moon because they have been told, too many times, not to bother because it isn’t feasible. This attitude then permeates the organizational culture and becomes the new mantra. I think it is essential for library folk to be encouraged to think more positively and creatively.

    And this “fear of failure” talk needs to be further examined. Trendhunter, Jeremy Gutsche, raises the fascinating point that when you are good at something, you can spend a lot of time/energy focusing on making it even better but when you try something new, because it is a departure from what is known and comfortable, its success may not be immediately experienced. We tend to choke off new ideas before we have given them a chance to develop and evolve because we are so afraid of “failure”. Let’s face it, library folk tend to be type As who want to do it right and PERFECTLY the first time. This is the real recipe for failure. We need to educate our new incumbents more on how to manage risk and experimentation in order that we give them PERMISSION to try and…to fail.

    I tell my students to aim high and expect more. Increasingly, I see the cream of the crop rejecting workplaces that refuse to embrace this mindset and, as far as I am concerned, those workplaces get what they deserve….mediocrity.

    In my corner of the library universe, the current standard of personal achievement IS lacking in many libraries. It might be the result of one manager or it might be entrenched in the organizational culture. Regardless, if more library professionals are encouraged to think big and experiment, everyone benefits.

    While “reality” poses its own constraints, expecting more puts pressure on the status quo. In fact, all of those realities that Steve points out are problems in need of solutions. And it is for that very reason we need higher expectations, MORE creative problem solvers and people who are willing to ask the uncomfortable questions.

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