Category: New Librarianship

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Turn Right at the Obelisk

“Turn Right at the Obelisk” Keynote American Association for Law Libraries Annual Conference. Denver, Co.

Abstract: The future for librarianship is bright, but not if we continue to see our value in our collections and resources – instead of in ourselves. Librarians must take on a mission of facilitating knowledge creation where we configure our services and organizations around our members. Instead of focusing on tech services and public services we must focus on the goals and accomplishments of our communities – be they law practices, academia, or other agencies. The future of librarianship is in our hands, and we must be ready to fight for it.
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2010/AALL-Lankes.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Pod/2010/AALL.mp3

Screencast:

*Audio is now much better. Sorry for the first time. You can also see a video of the presentation at AALL’s site for the next week or so here.

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You are the Future

“You are the Future” Alliance Library System Trendy Topics, Webcast.

Abstract: The future is bright for librarians, but not if we continue chasing trends and focusing on artifacts over knowledge and learning. This presentation looks at the future of librarians and their role in libraries and beyond in the future. We must shape the future starting today, and that future is about and by you, not your buildings or collections or institutions. You are part of an ongoing conversation about improving our communities through knowledge that has lasted over three thousand years…what do you have to say?
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2010/Alliance.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2008/Alliance.mp3

Screencast:

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The Atlas of New Librarianship to be Published by MIT Press and ACRL

I’ve made a few allusions to my next book in my presentations, and even posted a picture of the draft here. Now that it is official I’d like to be a bit more specific.

The Atlas of New Librarianship will be published in Spring 2011 by MIT Press and is co-published by ACRL. The Atlas is a thorough discussion of librarianship developed around the concept of “participatory librarianship.” The central concepts of participatory librarianship have not changed – that conversation and knowledge are core to all that librarians do. However, while you will read a great deal about participation, you will not see many specific references to “participatory librarianship.” This is intentional.

While modifiers and titles are useful in gaining attention, the ultimate success of any idea is the loss of a modifier. “Virtual reference” becomes simply “reference” when the ideas put forth are widely incorporated throughout practice. “Digital libraries” are quickly becoming simply “libraries” as they become integrated into the larger organizations and collections of a library. So too must participatory librarianship, if it is to be successful, become part of the overall concept of librarianship.

The library field is searching for solid footing in an increasingly fragmented information environment. As technology changes, budgets shrink, and use demographics fluctuate what can help guide librarians to continued relevancy and success? The answer must go beyond Web 2.0, or technological landmarks and provide a fundamental and durable foundation for the field. What is the role of a librarian in a space with no collections – or walls? How do we prepare the next generation of librarians? The Atlas seeks to answer these questions.

The Atlas represents a new understanding of librarianship based on work with organizations such as the American Library Association, OCLC, The U.S. Department of Justice Law Libraries, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the State Library of Illinois. It is founded on the basic concept that knowledge is created through conversation; libraries being in the knowledge business are therefore in the conversation business. This concept, grounded in theory, leads to a new mission for librarians:

The mission of librarians is to improve society through facilitating knowledge creation in their communities.

This implications, foundations, and application of this mission is discussed and detailed in the Atlas.

Perhaps the easiest way to explain the Atlas is by showing how it can be applied, as I have done in some recent presentations:

Excerpt from Charleston Conference 2009:

Excerpt from Pennsylvania District Library Keynote:

In addition to a full-color 10″x10″ print version of the book, we are creating an online companion site to foster ongoing conversations around the foundations of librarianship. More details on that to come.

A special thanks to all of those instrumental in writing this including Buffy Hamilton, Megan Oakleaf, Scott Nicholson, Jill Hurst-Wahl, Michael Luther, Todd Marshall, Angela Usha Ramnarine-Rieks, Heather Margaret Highfield, Jessica R. O’Toole, and Xiaoou Cheng and so many many more. Also thanks to all my early reviewers who gave me great feedback.