Category: Publications News

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The Atlas of New Librarianship is going Open!

I am so excited that working with the great folks at MIT Press, we are making The Atlas of New Librarianship available online for free under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International). The physical book will still available through MIT Press.

Since the Atlas was first published in 2011 it has won the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature, been adopted as a text book, and generated numerous conversations (and let’s be honest, arguments) around the world.

The Atlas was the first in a loose trilogy of books focused on the role of librarians and libraries in communities and centered on knowledge. Expect More was written for supporters of libraries from board members to provosts to community members. The New Librarianship Field Guide, also published by MIT Press, was written as a text book for library students and people looking for a more linear introduction to New Librarianship.

We hope by making the Atlas free online we can expand the conversation on the value and future of the profession internationally.

Ready to download? Here’s the new page for the book with download option.

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Expect More Second Edition Now Free to Download

There has been a lot of interest and use of my book Expect More globally. In 2015 Expect More was updated into a second edition with the support of some fabulous library partners. Today we’re making this new edition freely available to download. You can still purchase paper copies of the print book.

In addition to the free online text (and links to translated versions) I have put together a series of videos talking about using each chapter in the context of community conversations.

A VERY big thank you to the partners who made this possible:

Lead Library Partners

  • Cuyahoga County Public Library (Ohio)
  • The Northeast Kansas Library System
  • RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System)

Library Partners

  • New York State Library
  • ILEAD USA
  • Maine State Library
  • Topeka Public Library (Kansas)
  • Chattanooga Public Library (Tennessee)
  • Fairfield Public Library (Connecticut)
  • Enoch Pratt Free Library (Maryland)
  • F. Franklin Moon Memorial Library, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
  • The Califa Library Group
  • Fayetteville Free Library (New York)
  • State Library of Pennsylvania
  • Toronto Public Library
  • California Library Association

Commercial Partners

  • Tech Logic

Education Partner

  • Syracuse University iSchool
  • Dominican University’s School of Information Studies
  • University of South Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science.
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German Edition of Expect More Named 2017 Book of the Year

Germaqn Language Cover of the Expect More Book

PASSWORD-Online, the German online magazine, has chosen the German Edition of David Lankes Expect More as the “book of the year 2017.”

A very special note of thanks to Prof. Dr. Hans-Christoph Hobohm and his team of translators. He and his team went well beyond simply translating words, but did an amazing job translating and promotion the spirit of Expect More and pushing for transformed libraries in Germany.

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Field Guide Related Links by Chapter

As people are starting to get their hands on the New Librarianship Field Guide I have put up a few items to make it more useful. Check out the Field Guide Related Links by Chapter. It gives you a “tweet able” core concept for each chapter and links to videos and presentations related to the topic. My hope is to keep this as a growing resource, and feel free to send me links and additional resource to add.

I’ve also put up a landing page for the book with quick access to new blog posts and materials around the guide.

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Field Guide, Atlas, Expect More? Which When Why?!

[tl;dr version: How does my new book The New Librarianship Field Guide fit into my other books on new librarianship? Librarian or teaching librarians – read the Field Guide. Scholar or librarian looking deeper – The Atlas of new Librarianship is for you. Board member and non-librarians curious about libraries – Expect More.]

While there have been numerous articles and presentations concerning new librarianship, the core of the concept is found in three books:

  • The Atlas of New Librarianship
  • Expect More
  • The New Librarianship Field Guide

The three represent stages of thinking and an evolution of the concepts in librarianship, but each remains relevant and each is targeted toward a specific audience.

The Atlas of New Librarianship

Published in 2011 the Atlas seeks to present a holistic view of librarianship and is focused on answering the question, “what is a librarian?” It dives deep and wide into concepts such as knowledge and facilitation. It seeks to link the what and how of librarianship to a why founded around a mission: to improve society through facilitating knowledge creation in communities.

Expect More

Published in 2012 Expect More is written for non-librarians about the field and how libraries as institutions are moving from collection-centered to community centered.

The New Librarianship Field Guide

Just released in 2016 the Field Guide is written for front-line librarians and library science students. It is intentionally linear (unlike the Atlas) and accessible by a broad audience. It is loosely modeled as a text book with resources for teaching and discussing the field. It incorporates updated concepts of librarianship from the Atlas and libraries as institutions from Expect More without simply being a digest version of both.

To be clear each represents an evolution of thinking from the previous work. These seek to both promote and document the learning of the field through conversation. As always these works seek to be of value, but don’t seek to be definitive. Any active and vital field will continue to evolve as the world evolves. The goal of any of these books is not to have everyone agree, but to provide a foundation for dialog and healthy argument.

I end with a request to the field. I know that there are aspects of my work and views that people disagree with; that is how it should be in scholarly discourse. From the treatment of knowledge, to the focus on communities, to the political implications of the work there is great room for debate and experimentation. These conversations have and should continue to happen on social media and in conferences. I ask that these conversations be constructive.

Let us all use social media and journals and other forums to debate and argue on the ideas. In the pages of these works you will find an evolution of my thinking that has come from engagement. Librarianship (new, old, or other) is ultimately about society making smarter decisions. I get smarter from engagement with those who disagree often more than a discussion with those who agree. Please share your thoughts in journals, books, and practice. And let us never dismiss useful ideas for failures of the messenger.

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The New Librarianship Field Guide Now Available

This week I’m posting on my new book, The New Librarianship Field Guide. I’ll be talking about what’s in it, but also how it fits with other work like the Atlas of New Librarianship. MIT Press is shipping these now, and Amazon is taking pre-orders with availability starting the week of May 20th.

To kick us off, here is the information from MIT Press’ Catalog.

The New Librarianship Field Guide

By R. David Lankes

CoverOverview

This book offers a guide for librarians who see their profession as a chance to make a positive difference in their communities—librarians who recognize that it is no longer enough to stand behind a desk waiting to serve. R. David Lankes, author of The Atlas of New Librarianship, reminds librarians of their mission: to improve society by facilitating knowledge creation in their communities. In this book, he provides tools, arguments, resources, and ideas for fulfilling this mission. Librarians will be prepared to become radical positive change agents in their communities, and other readers will learn to understand libraries in a new way.

The librarians of Ferguson, Missouri, famously became positive change agents in August 2014 when they opened library doors when schools were closed because of civil unrest after the shooting of an unarmed teen by police. Working with other local organizations, they provided children and their parents a space for learning, lunch, and peace. But other libraries serve other communities—students, faculty, scholars, law firms—in other ways. All libraries are about community, writes Lankes; that is just librarianship.

In concise chapters, Lankes addresses the mission of libraries and explains what constitutes a library. He offers practical advice for librarian training; provides teaching notes for each chapter; and answers “Frequently Argued Questions” about the new librarianship.

About the Author

R. David Lankes is Professor and Dean’s Scholar for New Librarianship in Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies.

“David Lankes continues to be a crucial voice in support of libraries as they evolve during tumultuous times. The New Librarianship Field Guide is an invaluable resource for all who care about libraries—and for anyone who wants to help build a bright future for knowledge and democracies in a digital era.”
—John Palfrey, Head of School, Phillips Academy, and author of BiblioTech: Why Libraries Matter More than Ever in the Age of Google

“Libraries + librarians = community: Lankes makes the case and shows his work. He offers a well-structured argument for where libraries in this century need to be going, and how librarians can get them there, answering the question ‘Where in the hell is librarianship going anyhow?’ with charm and grace. Lankes’s invigorating and challenging ideas will help new and existing librarians find their purpose and achieve positive change.”
—Jessamyn West, community technology librarian, Open Library and librarian.net

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Expect More 2nd Edition Now Available

Full cover
Click for Full Size Conver

The Second Edition of Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today’s Complex World is now available for purchase (Expect More Collaboratory Members receive free copies).

You can purchase it from:

Paperback:

CreateSpace Online Store (preferred) and Amazon

eBook:

Amazon

If you are interested in bulk discounts please contact me at rilandpub@gmail.com

Thanks to all the Collaboratory partners for their help. Keep an eye out for Greater Expectations, the Expect More Workbook for engaging your community in conversations.

 

Here is a brief Changelog to highlight major changes:

Introduction
  • Changed the acknowledgements to recognize Expect More Collaboratory partners
Chapter 1
  • Revised estimated expenditures of libraries in North America and Globally. First edition grossly underestimated them.
  • Added OCLC examples of library usage.
  • Added Ferguson, Calgary, an NYC examples
Chapter 2
  • Added “Third Space” as a core argument for libraries.
    • Included examples like Toronto’s study pods and Fairfield’s treehouse themed children’s library.
  • Updated journal and database figures
  • Added Canadian statistics for literacy
  • Added StoryCorp and DPLA examples for Cultural Heritage
  • Added Toronto, Cuyahoga, and DC examples of supporting entrepreneurs
Chapter 3
  • Updated a lot of URL’s and mission statements.
Chapter 4
  • Added more examples in the training section
  • Added the Lebanon, NH Tor case as an example of protecting intellectual safety.
Chapter 5
  • Added discussion of how communities must share limited resources and how that can lead to conflict.
  • Added a discussion of hot spot lending
Chapter 6
  • Updated examples
  • Incorporated Aspen Report’s People, Platform, Place
  • Added section on the Community as Collection