Stories and Knowledge CreationDates: December 15-19, 2014 Why It Matters: Are we doing story hour right? Do we need to change readers advisory, or at least understand it as a form of advocacy? How can we incorporate oral cultures into the library and librarianship? Introduction: Radical Conversations: Fiction and Storytelling from R. David Lankes on Vimeo. DefLib from R. David Lankes on Vimeo. Conversation Starter David Lankes sits down with Jennifer Ilardi, Kim Silk, and Wendy Newman to talk through the topic (36 minutes):
Also very useful see Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk Join the Conversation There are two ways to share your thoughts and join the conversation. Either use the comments at the bottom of this page (including links to video or blogged thoughts), or use the hashtag #NewLibFiction to comment via twitter. |
#NewLibFiction Tweets |
Scholar | Speaker | Writer | Teacher | Advocate
Interesting idea, as always, but the power of narrative is significant for librarians well beyond fiction. You touch on this, but only within the context of the larger “fiction” framework. Don’t “limit the conversation.” One of the most important things academic librarians have done over the past decade is to change the “story” of the library on campus, whether that story is told my librarians, faculty, administrators, strategic plans, public relations, or, our favorite, student tour guides. Story-telling, and its modern companion, marketing and strategic communications, are critical skills for librarians, and, hopefully, not based on fiction (see their corollary, assessment and data-informed decision-making). I did some early talking around this idea at a keynote for West Virginia/Western PA ACRL a few years back, but, apparently, never posted the slides to an IR. I’ll have to work on that. #newlibreality
All that said, we sit await the great “academic library novel,” maybe something like “Moo” or “Straight Man,” but around transformational change in scholarship, teaching, learning, and technology. #newlibfiction
This is the big idea for me that emerged in starting this conversation…the idea of libraries shaping narratives. Both shaping their own, as well as the narratives of their communities.
I think I’m heading for treating fiction and storytelling in knowledge development as two separate topics for the book.
Thoughts from others?
In terms of learning from Fiction- I think there are some great stories out there of people who have learned from fiction. Learning from fiction may take two forms (or possibly more) 1) learning facts because they are part of the story and 2) better understanding the behavior and life choices of others because we read of something similar. These seem obvious, so you have probably thought of both of them already, but I think it is worth listing them out. And I thought if I did, maybe others would list more areas.
In terms of Story Times in the library, your question “Are we doing story hour right?”, I’m going to start by saying YES! Story times work well for small children and one can almost see the learning taking place as they engage in them. Librarians have been fighting for more diverse stories and books, and I can see the results in many of the books available these days. I think this may be the most important part of any story time – representing every one’s story (not in every story time, but over the course of a year’s worth of story times).
I would advocate for having them on Saturdays for working mothers, but the one library in our area that does, has very low attendance.
And finally, reader’s advisory is a personal service that should strive to meet the needs of each reader. It shouldn’t discriminate between readers who are clearly reading to LEARN and those who read to ENTERTAIN themselves. So be careful not to overemphasize libraries role in knowledge production, because some of us just want to read a romance novel and stop thinking for a while, and I hope the library will always be there for us!
When I tell someone why we have a maker space in the Maine State Library among the reasons I give is that people have always used libraries to create things: stories are one of the primary things created and while we may be able to print a widget or convert a VHS tape we still make space for writing. I love the fact that amid all our widget making and town hall meetings we still make room for the stories that pull us out of ourselves and into the world.
But I also love the fact that we are learning to tell a different story about what it means to be a library. Yesterday during regular hours of operation we had a large reception for Linda Lord our retiring State Librarian. The sound of the crowd ebbed and flowed as most crowds do. Every once in a while I would hear a non-librarian (One of our patrons or one of the attendees) make some comment about libraries as quiet spaces. Inevitably which ever librarian was nearest immediately pointed out that we had moved beyond being just a quiet place to read. We are telling different stories about ourselves.
As to the issue of story as fiction or non-fiction, perhaps Colbert’s “truthiness” points to the answer.