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The Librarian Militant, The Librarian Triumphant

“The Librarian Militant, The Librarian Triumphant” NEXT: A Library Futures Symposium, The Alberta Library, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Abstract: What will kill this profession is not ebooks, amazon, or Google. It will be a lack of imagination. An inability to see not what is, but what could be. To see only how we are viewed now, but not how that is only a platform for greatness. Librarianship is not a building, or a collection. It is a conversation you are having. A conversation that has lasted over nearly three millennia. A conversation handed down from generation to generation, culture to culture, great society to great society, epoch to epoch. Librarianship only ends if we stop this conversation – set in stone, transfer practice to golden idols. It only survives if we, librarians and the communities we serve, take it up, renew, refresh it, and constantly engage in what is next. It is in that conversation that we find what a triumphant librarian is. Someone who wakes to see a better day for their community, and works to make the next even better, and the next day after that.
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2010/Alberta.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Pod/2010/Alberta.mp3

Screencast:

The Librarian Militant, The Librarian Triumphant from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.

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Beyond the Bullet Points: Blind in a Mine

So a politician, a nun, and a librarian are trapped in a collapsed mine.

After the initial shock they decide to tie themselves together and as a group to venture down the remaining shaft for some means of escape. Soon they bump into a smooth and clearly man made object. They gather around it trying to feel what it is.

The politician says “I think it is a piece of faulty mine equipment. Once I am on the surface I shall hold hearings and find those accountable.”

The nun says “I believe it a door sent by God to save us. Librarian, what do you think it feels like?”

“Let’s see a group of people without a leader groping around in the dark looking either for someone to blame or a miracle? Feels like a library committee to me.”

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Innovators wanted: No experience necessary?

Lankes, R. David (2010). Innovators wanted: No experience necessary? In Walter and Williams (Eds.), The expert library: Sustaining, staffing, and advancing the academic library in the 21st century. Association of College and Research Libraries.

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You Must Focus on Connection Management Instead of Collection Management

“You Must Focus on Connection Management Instead of Collection Management” Allegheny County Library Association, Pittsburgh, PA.

Abstract: A longer presentation of new librarianship
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2010/Pittsburgh.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2010/Pittsburgh.mp3

Screencast:

You Must Focus on Connection Management Instead of Collection Management from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.

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Killing the User and Other Necessary Acts

“Killing the User and Other Necessary Acts” Keynote, Polaris Users Group Annual Meeting, Syracuse, NY.

Abstract: You are not a user, you are not a customer, or consumer – you are a participant in control of your world and able to shape your own learning and environment. So are those we seek to serve. Instead of looking at the members of our libraries as passive consumers we must see them as active constructors. What should our library systems look like to participants, not users?
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2010/PUG2010.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2010/PUG2010.mp3

Screencast:

Killing the User and Other Necessary Acts from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.

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Reference in the Crowd

“Reference in the Crowd” Trendy Topics Online Conference on Digital Reference, http://www.trendytopics.info/

This was a presentation done as part of the outstanding series of Trendy Topics Online conferences. The full archive of all the conference presenations plus past and future confernces can be found at http://www.trendytopics.info/. Special thanks to Tom Peteres and Lori Bell who put on the conferences and are doing a great service to the library community. Please support these and sign up for a future conference.

Abstract: Digital reference allowed us to escape the bounds of a building and any single collection. We have every right to be proud of transitioning reference from desks in the library to the desks of our members (and their phones). And yet much of this new digital freedom has carried over assumptions and policies developed in places and spaces. What we have built with software, cooperatives, and a mobilized cohort of reference librarians is not an end, but merely a platform for us to truly revolutionize reference. What does answering questions in an interconnected universe of expertise, members, resources, and freedom from the confines of the physical allow us to do? Can we create a whole new reference unrecognizable by our predecessors and infinitely better?
Slides: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/Presentations/2010/Trendy.pdf
Audio: https://davidlankes.org/rdlankes/pod/2010/Trendy.mp3

Screencast:

Reference in The Crowd from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.

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SLA Elections and Leadership

Folks it’s time to elect some board members over at SLA, and I would ask for your consideration of Jill Hurst-Wahl. Jill is a longtime colleague, a friend, and even a contributor to my upcoming Atlas of New Librarianship (shameless plug in the middle of a shameless plug – two points). Jill is one of those rare individuals who gets practice and academia, and is a tireless proponent of librarians and their vital role in business and society.

I should say, that I respect SLA’s no-campaign policy, and Jill certainly did not seek my endoresement, but this one for me is a no-brainer. She is the person I turn to for insight into special librarianship. Better yet, she is a voice I seek out on issues of librarianship regardless of library type. That is because she sees the profession not as some fractured menagerie of buildings, types, and parent organizations. Instead she sees librarianship as a positive social force.

I do a lot of talking about the obligation of leadership and the need for the profession to change. We must all step up and not only accept leadership positions in professional organization, but actively seek them out. We do this not for pride, or ego, but as stewards. Stewards of the profession, and indeed the multi-millennial traditions of librarianship. If we seek change, we must be willing to take on the tasks that come with that. We must be willing to put ourselves up for consideration.

So today I am endorsing Jill because she understands this obligation, and has served tirelessly to make a difference. Tomorrow, I want to endorse you. I have grown tired of people who sit in the back of the room and comment only to themselves. I have lost patience with those who complain loudly in the privacy of their offices, but say nothing in public. And as readers of this blog know I have zero tolerance for anonymous annoyed librarians. Leadership and service are not quiet. They do not come from identifying a need for a change – or even identifying the change needed. True leadership comes from showing up. From putting yourself before your peers, your supporters and detractors alike, and create change.

So vote for Jill, and when the next spot opens up, join her.

Here is some more information on Jill

Video:
http://www.slatv.org/media.cfm?c=758&m=3406&s=133&

SLA blog posts (candidate questions):
http://slablogger.typepad.com/sla_blog/2010/04/jill-hurstwahl-candidate-for-director-question-1-imagine-you-have-just-finished-your-term-on-the-sla.html

http://slablogger.typepad.com/sla_blog/2010/07/jill-hurstwahl-question-2.html

http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2010/04/sla2010-me-candidate-for-board-of.html

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Trendy Topics online conference on digital Reference September 14

TAP Information Services and the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University Announce: “Trendy Topics: Digital Reference” Online Conference
This will be the 7th in a dynamic series of online conferences on hot topics. Individuals and groups may participate from wherever works best – no need to travel.
Conference Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, 10:00 Central, 9:00 Mountain, and 8:00 Pacific.
Keynote Speakers:

  • Alison Miller from the Internet Public Library will provide the morning keynote on “Digital Reference Evolution.” She will address user needs and expectations along with librarian responses and best practices in the digital reference environment.
  • R. David Lankes from Syracuse University will provide the afternoon keynote on “Reference in the Crowd.” He will address creating a whole new reference unrecognizable by our predecessors and infinitely better.

Other Presenters:

  • Rose Chenoweth on “Virtual Valor”
  • Mary-Carol Lindbloom on “Days of Future Past and Digital Reference”
  • Samantha Thompson on “Virtual Reference in Virtual Worlds”
  • Lori Bell and Tom Schmidt on “Mobile Reference”

Conference Series website: http://www.trendytopics.info
Conference schedule: http://www.trendytopics.info/T2Refschedule.pdf
Register online: http://www.eventbee.com/view/trendytopics/event?eid=65537
(If you prefer to pay by check rather than online via credit card, please contact Tom Peters at [email protected].)
Registration Fees:

  • $40 for individuals
  • $100 for groups (that is, 3 or more individuals currently affiliated with the same organization. Group registration includes participating from up to 3 locations.)
  • $30 for students
  • San Jose State University SLIS faculty and students may participate at no charge. Please contact Lori Bell at [email protected] for a coupon code.

For more information on the Trendy Topics series of online conferences, please contact Lori Bell at [email protected] or Tom Peters at TAP Information Services at [email protected].