The Future of Librarianship

“The Future of Librarianship” Delaware Library Town Hall, Dover, DE.

Abstract: Take away the librarians, the staff, but leave the books, the computers, and the architecture and for a week you will have a fine sculpture of a library that every day will become more and more a snapshot of the past. But throw out the books and buildings and leave a dedicated corps of library professionals…invite the public in and they will construct the future.

Now more than ever, the future of Delaware, the future of any state is not in riches we pull from the ground or the glass we send streaming into the sky, but in the decisions and talent of the citizens. They are not passive consumers of libraries, or content, or an audience to democracy, but the very reason we are all here. They deserve a new librarianship, a new library that enables radical positive change. That is focused on knowledge and learning, that is focused on a conversation that is Delaware.

Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/Delaware.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2011/Delaware.mp3

Screencast:

Atlas Reading Group

From the New Librarianship website:

Hello librarians and friends! I’m Emma Montgomery, a LIS graduate student at Syracuse University, and for six weeks this summer I’ll be hosting a Twitter reading group for The Atlas of New Librarianship. Starting the week of June 20th I’ll be reading a thread of Dr. Lankes’ book each week and posting thoughts and questions on Twitter using the hash tag #atnewlib. I hope you will all join me! The goal is to have a community through which we can engage with and explore the issues raised in the Atlas. So grab your copy of the Atlas, tell your friends, and I’ll see you on Twitter!

Please join in!