Category: Publications News

Posted on

Expect More now in Arabic

Thanks to Mahmoud Rashwan, Expect More is now available free in Arabic. You can download the PDF on the Expect More page or directly here.

Here’s a brief biography of Mahmoud, the translator:

“As a passionate advocate for Guided reading and lifelong learning, I have served as a High School Librarian since 2002. My mission is to foster a love for reading, critical thinking, and information literacy among school community members.

I work closely with both students and teachers to facilitate access to information in a wide variety of formats and guiding students through research for their projects, I’m here to empower our school community.

One of my passions is introducing young adults to literature. I spend quite a lot of time daily discussing with students how to choose their readings to improve their skills and increase their knowledge. There’s nothing quite like seeing a student’s eyes light up when they discover a new favorite book!

I hold a master’s degree in library and information science from University College London [MLIS UCL2020].

I believe that a librarian isn’t just a keeper of books; we’re navigators, linkers, and champions of knowledge. If anyone needs a book recommendation or has a research question, we are here with a warm smile and a wealth of resources! ?”

Thank you for all your kindness and work Mahmoud! And if there are any publishers looking for print and/or distribute this translation, please let me know and I can put you in touch with Mr. Rashwan.

Posted on

The Lankes Corollaries Redux

Read the Full Piece

Last year I published “The Lankes Corollaries” in the Access: An International Journal of Nepal Library Association. I have recreated it here…and enhanced it a bit (it was published with a creative commons license). To cite it, please support my colleagues in Nepal:

Lankes, R. D. (2023). The Lankes Corollaries . Access: An International Journal of Nepal Library Association, 2(01), 200–208. https://doi.org/10.3126/access.v2i01.58999 

Abstract: This piece explores a series of corollaries to Ranganathan’s five laws of librarianship. These corollaries talk about how librarians work with communities to ensure that service is shaped throughout the community. Such shaping moves libraries away from some pre-determined standard model, and into hyperlocal organizations ultimately facilitating knowledge creation.

Introduction: In 1931 S. R. Ranganathan proposed 5 laws of librarianship (Ranganathan, 1931)

  1. Books are for use
  2. Every person his or her book
  3. Every book its reader
  4. Save the time of the reader
  5. A library is a growing organism

While others have tried to expand/revise/or update them (Gorman, 1998, Simpson 2008), the originals stand up. Clearly today we would expand books to resources and even services (e.g., services are for use) and readers have become members or just “people” – as we see that the library is a part of a person’s life – hopefully a significant part.

 

However, Ranganathan was clearly being aspirational: what we want to be, not so much how we get there. What I propose are 5 corollaries to the laws–guide post for library workers and organizations to achieve these lofty goals:

  1. The mission of librarians is to improve society through facilitating knowledge creation in their communities
  2. To be a librarian is to be a radical positive change agent with your community
  3. A room full of books is a closet, but an empty room with a librarian serving their community is a library
  4. Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities
  5. A library should be a safe space to explore dangerous ideas.
Read the Full Piece

Posted on

The Lankes Corollaries

Lankes, R. David (2023). The Lankes Corollaries. Access: An International Journal of Nepal Library Association. 2(1). Available: https://doi.org/10.3126/access.v2i01.58999

ABSTRACT: This piece explores a series of corollaries to Ranganathan’s five laws of librarianship. These corollaries talk about how librarians work with community’s to ensure that service is shaped throughout the community. Such shaping moves libraries away from some pre-determined standard model, and into hyper local organizations ultimately facilitating knowledge creation.

Posted on

The Vital Role of Libraries and Democracy Needs Protection

Lankes, R. David (2023). The Vital Role of Libraries and Democracy Needs Protection. Clip de SEDIC, Revista de la Sociedad Española de Documentación e Información Científica. Available: https://doi.org/10.47251/clip.n87.112

ABSTRACT: The current spate of materials challenges in libraries globally calls out for new defenses.Concepts of library neutrality and librarian objectivity fall flat in light of current developments, and against organized challengers not interested in objectivity. New defenses of library services must be based on librarian expertise and activated network of diverse community members. The field needs to strengthen societal protections for librarians in the conduct of their work.

Posted on

Less; Better, a Workbook, and Looking for Feedback

I don’t know what you did over your winter break (for those that got one), but I wrote a new workbook and now I’m looking for a few brave souls to read it and give me feedback.

Less;Better Workbook draft cover. An out of focus hand and background holds a camera lens that provides clarity of a city street.

First, the ask, then the workbook summary: I’m looking for 5 folks to read the current draft and give me feedback on the text. NOT copyediting, but thoughts on the overall concept, does the text make sense, do the worksheets flow, do you like the cover, what did I miss, etc.

So what is Less; Better, and why a workbook? The short answer is that it seeks to fill a gap in thinking about community-based/new librarianship – finding focus. In my other books like Expect More and Atlas of New Librarianship a library is defined as the result of a librarian facilitate community learning. But this is so broad it raises the question – how can librarians do it all? Less; Better is about finding the balance.

A workbook because it includes exercises, slide decks, and hand outs to facilitate workshops and conversations on the topic. It is meant to be lightweight, useful, and practical. I first did a presentation on Less; Better last year at the New Jersey Library Association conference, and have since gotten regular requests to speak on the topic.

Sample worksheet.

My plan is to self-publish this, just as I did with Expect More so I can keep it inexpensive, get it out quick, and be able to facilitate its use without complicated publisher negotiations.

So, if you are interested, let me know in the comments or email me at [email protected]

A special thanks to Jennifer R. Nelson, NJ State Librarian for her considered feedback.