Expeditions: Fortified Borders and Libraries
I’m in an ancient fortress in the mountains overlooking Salzburgh, Austria. Places like this were necessary to defend against invaders and competing neighbors. To keep what was yours you needed to lock it away behind fortified borders.
As nation states evolved, trade and commerce became increasingly important. To thrive was to open up borders and form a sort of protection by mutual benefit. In essence connections became stronger than fortress walls.
In our libraries over the centuries we have also built up many a fortification in architecture, policy, and language. It’s time to realize we don’t need to protect ourselves from our communities but forge strong ties and loose porous borders. So that someday we can thrive and grow beyond our walls.
Expeditions: Death of Reference and Ice Cream
New Librarianship in Rural Libraries
“New Librarianship in Rural Libraries” PEACE Library System Annual Conference (via Teleconference), Alberta, CA.
Due to technical audio problems with the video conference the actual presentation was not captured. The following video is a condensation and recreation of the presentation
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/PEACE.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2011/PEACE.mp3
Screencast:
Reinventing Library Services and Librarians in the Digital Age
“Reinventing Library Services and Librarians in the Digital Age” University of Pittsburgh Staff Development Participatory Librarianship: A Vital Conversation about Librarianship and its Future, Pittsburgh, PA.
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/Pitt-Library.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2011/PittLibrary.mp3
Screencast:
Expeditions: Improve Society
Folks seemed to enjoy the short Atlas Expeditions videos I posted, so I decided to post another. This one reacting to recent discussions on “improve society” as part of the mission of librarians found in the Atlas of New Librarianship:
Announcing the Next Atlas of New Librarianship Reading Group
This Monday we will be starting a new Atlas reading group using a new forum, and with a new twist. The first year library students of Syracuse University will be moderating a weekly discussion of the Atlas on the blog of the companion website http://www.newlibrarianship.org/wordpress/?page_id=20. Each week a team of students will start off the conversation with a blog post, followed by discussion in the comments of that post powered by Disqus.
So grab your copy of the Atlas and join us Monday and start the conversation. Here is the schedule for the different threads:
Mission: September 19 – 25
Knowledge: September 26 – October 2
Facilitating: October 3 – 9
Communities: October 10 – 16
Improve Society: October 17 – 23
Librarians: October 24-31
Expeditions
So I had this idea for doing little videos in the places I visit on themes from the Atlas of New Librarianship. However, it just didn’t pan out. Still I thought I’d share the two videos I put together (and good news, they are both under 2 minutes each).
The first one is on the changing nature of libraries as places:
The next is on the role of the library in relation to the aspirations of the community:
Fulfilling the Potential: Digital Libraries and The Future
“Fulfilling the Potential: Digital Libraries and The Future” Visiting Lecture, Digital Library Learning (DILL) International Masters Program, Florence, Italy.
Abstract: The following screencast is a pretty long (2 hours and 45 minutes) lecture on ideas from the Atlas of New Librarianship and how they relate to digital libraries.
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/Florence-DLL.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2011/Florence.mp3
Screencast:
Reinventing Librarianship
“Reinventing Librarianship” Keynote ALA 2011 Virtual Conference.
The session was recorded by ALA and should be available soon (I will update this post).
Excerpts: “This then is your collection and what a truly awesome collection it is: more massive and sprawling than anything in ancient Alexandria. It is composed of seniors have seen their expected lifespan nearly double from 40 to 70 over the past century. Imagine that vast sea of experience and unbridled talent and seeking impact and legacy.
Our collection is in children; realizing that our concept of a childhood was only truly born with the labor laws of the 1800’s and the rise of a middle class that did not depend upon the income of youth.
We see the power in the woman of our community collection. From the right to vote to the majority of college degrees including doctorates in under 100 years.
Our collection is in minorities too long ignored and now actively enriching and expanding a culture of opportunity. Minorities that will soon actually make up the majority of US citizens.
This is your collection this is your business.
And what’s more, this collection doesn’t come with a 28 circulation limit. It isn’t beholden to outdated concepts of intellectual property. And, on the bright side, no one will ever question if this collection is becoming obsolete.”
“At the center of all of this richness and amazing diversity of community lies the facilitating role of librarians. Doing as they have done throughout history: helping communities and members make better decisions, to learn and grow their knowledge. For at the root is learning.”
“The time for introspection is done. The time for trivia is done. The time for looking for the future of libraries in catalogs, and strategic plans is done. The need of our communities is too great, and our promise for improvement too large. Our families worry about jobs and the ability to fight their way into a shrinking middle class. Our education system is broken – students unable to learn, or drowning under crushing debt. Our system of government increasingly polarized, our appetites for energy unsustainable, and the very memory of our society eroding behind walls of commerce and false scarcity. These then are our grand challenges, and just as the physicians before us, if we rise to meet them, we too shall be rewarded.
And I know what you are thinking. I know that tomorrow you’ll be dealing with broken printers, and shelving backlogs, and the rising costs of subscriptions. But you must look up. You must never make what you do replace why you do it. And if you can’t link broken printers and shelving to the grand challenges of our society, then you ought to ask why you are doing them. We must stop reacting to the world around us and start inspiring it!
Now these are just words. If all I do is preach them and return to the ivory tower I have committed the sins of hypocrisy and vanity. But you if you cry hallelujah and wait to seize the opportunity than you have committed an equally great sin. The sin of omission. If you stay silent, or wait for change, or take the easy path or see yourself as less than capable- less than worthy? Then you leave our precious communities to lesser goals and flawed stewards.
We must not let this happen.”
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/ALAVirt-Lankes.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2011/ALAKeynote.mp3
Screencast: