Category: Expect More

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Free copies of Lankes book now available to ALA Members, Library Trustees and Friends of Libraries

Thanks to ALA for getting out the word and all of their support:

For Immediate Release
Tue, 02/18/2014

Contact:

Mary Ghikas
Senior Associate Executive Director
ALA
312-280-2518
[email protected]
CHICAGO — The American Library Association has consciously and vigorously embraced the position that libraries of all types are the locus of community engagement. As the facilitator of the first round of Midwinter Conversations, R. David Lankes, professor at Syracuse iSchool, knows first-hand ALA’s commitment to community engagement and to turning outward.

Through Lankes’ generosity, ALA members and United for Libraries members are being given the opportunity to access for free Lankes’ book “Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries for Today’s Complex World.” Download this book for free or read it through Medium by going to the following webpage: https://davidlankes.org/?page_id=4598. Also included are brief videos explaining specific concepts and providing practical examples.

R. David Lankes is a professor and Dean’s Scholar for the New Librarianship at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and director of the Information Institute of Syracuse. Lankes is a passionate advocate for libraries and their essential role in today’s society. He also seeks to understand how information approaches and technologies can be used to transform industries. In this capacity he has served on advisory boards and study teams in the fields of libraries, telecommunications, education, and transportation including at the National Academies. He has been a visiting fellow at the National Library of Canada, the Harvard School of Education, and the first fellow of ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy. His book “The Atlas of New Librarianship,” co-published by the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, and MIT Press, won the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature.

For further information, contact Mary W. Ghikas, Senior Associate Executive Director, ALA, 312-280-2518 or [email protected].

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Expect More at SXSW

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The Digital Public Library of America announced the availability of LibraryBoxes throughout the SXSW conference (and Austin). Folks can connect wirelessly to these boxes and download books, videos and other digital files. We’ve included my Expect More book for those attending the conference. Thanks to Rachel Frick and Margy Avery for making this happen. Enjoy.

More can be found on their blog post: DPLA, LIBRARYBOX AND SXSWI (http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/dplaalpha/2013/03/09/dpla-librarybox-and-sxswi/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)

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Learning, Information, and Technology Walk Into a Bar…

“Learning, Information, and Technology Walk Into a Bar…” Jefferson Community College Spring Convocation. Watertown, NY.

Abstract: The world of learning, libraries, and technology are merging their ideas of the people who take advantage of their services. This present a great opportunity in community colleges and higher education in general to think about community focused education.
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2013/JeffersonCC.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2013/JCCFlow.mp3

Screencast:

Learning, Information, and Technology Walk Into a Bar… from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.

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Changing Times: Inspiring Libraries

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The British Columbia Libraries put on an incredible event highlighting innovation in libraries and challenging librarians, politicians, administrators, and citizens to think different about libraries and impact. They have now put online videos from the summit and they are well worth the time:

http://commons.bclibraries.ca/inspiringlibraries2012/

 

The one I think you should watch immediately is Beth Davies’ Library Innovation and the Community. It is simply full of brilliant examples of facilitation and co-owning services with the community:

Also for my LIS Education colleagues there is a great set of ideas for curriculum change towards the end of Luanne Freund’s talk. And Gino Bondi makes participatory learning real.

This was an amazing event and I think it well worth your time to check out.

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Master Class on New Librarianship Amsterdam

Here is the short version of this post: I did a masterclass at the Amsterdam Public Library for de Library School. You can see watch the screencast or listen to an MP3 at the end of this post. It is long (2 hours and 33 minutes).

Now the long version. I had the BEST time yesterday in Amsterdam. I was invited to do a Master Class on New Librarianship for de Library School that operates out of the Public Library of Amsterdam. It is a very neat project where they are working over three years to define what a library school should teach and do, and to do that, they are trying to define what a librarian and library are.

I have never done a master class before, and had no idea what to expect. Good news, they had never hosted one, and had no expectations. So I decided to give a brief introduction about what New Librarianship is, and then offer up a menu of ideas (in Atlas talk, agreements) that we could go through in what ever order the class wanted.

One of the common misperception about new or participatory librarianship is that it a simple idea that boils down to listen to your community. Putting this together and working with the class, it is clear that it is a very deep way of looking at librarians, libraries, and communities that all of us working and talking in the area have come up with. We were there for about 3 hours, and we could have kept going for about 10 more. THose who have read the Atlas will not be surprised.

I talked a little more than I would have liked to, but ewe had great conversations in the breaks and afterwards. As an aside I am so impressed with the Amsterdam Public Library. Besides an impressive facility, they have two cafes and a radio station. I had a chance to talk to the director, Hans van Velzen, and was blown away. What he has accomplished there is simply outstanding.

Oh man, I hope I get the chance to do another kinds of classes. I enjoy keynoting, but the time and interaction to dig deep is simply exhilarating. In fact it was in preparation for this session that I floated the idea of a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) in New Librarianship. I can see it working, but need to figure out a way to capture the conversation and dynamic.

In any case…let me know if you want to put on a master class, and enjoy the class if you would like.

“New Librarianship Master Class” Master Class, de Library School, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2012/MC-NewDub.mp3

Screencast:

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Library as Platform: Unlocking the Potential of Our Communities

“Library as Platform: Unlocking the Potential of Our Communities” SCRLC Leadership Luncheon Webinar.

Abstract: Our buildings matter. Our services matter. But they don’t matter on their own, and we do not determine their value – that is a job for the community. It is only in the advancement of those we serve that we find our impact. It is only in the potential realized that we can measure our contribution. Our buildings, our books, our services, our catalogs must not be channels of assistance we provide, but part of a powerful platform that enables our communities to succeed. This platform is our infrastructure, but it is also the infrastructure of the community – co-owned.

Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2012/SCLRC.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2012/SCRLC.mp3

Screencast:
Library as Platform: Unlocking the Potential of Our Communities from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.

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Ned Quist Reviews Expect More

“Lankes provides a cogent view of the best libraries of today and how they will move into the future. He focuses both on the librarians and their role in their communities (and less on their role as keepers of books or their surrogates) and on libraries as places for learning (and less on their function as book museums). It’s a brief, inspirational and breezy read and a great introduction to his larger work The Atlas of New Librarianship (MIT, 2011)”

– Ned Quist, AUL for Research and Outreach, Brown University Library