In listening to the keynote address on the future of
libraries given at Friday’s iDEAL summit, I was struck by several points that I
feel to be the key to the future of the library.
Perhaps the most interesting was the idea of remaining relevant
to the community in which the library serves. It has been my limited experience
that libraries struggle with this the most.
From my close association with a small college library in rural
Virginia, I gathered that not all libraries and librarians function with this
mind set. In the case of this library, the director, and subsequently the
librarians had to operate within constrictive limitations of a rather backward
thinking institution. While trying to
remain relevant to the students it served, as the speaker mentioned being relevant
to the community, it was forced to making changes that those in the institution's
leader did not fully understand. This
was a struggle for those who took seriously this idea of being relevant today
and the community, thus growing and changing with the community. While their technological needs were rarely
met, they worked extensively to remodel the library’s physical appearance and purging
its collection. While this is counter to
the argument maybe by the keynote speaker, it does provide an example of how
not to apply these principles. My hope,
as a new librarian, is that I am able to find a library committed to the
community in which it operates, and plays a vital role in that community as it
grows and changes.
The second idea that struck me, and is the most applicable
to me in my current profession, was the notion of creating the future you
want. Within the education field (or as
far as the education system in which I find myself operating) the future is
rather bleak. Funding is low, resources limited, and the replacement of aging
resources almost none existent require teachers to take drastic measures to
provide for their students and classrooms.
Groups of individuals (and this addresses the diversity issues spoken to
early in the keynote) have banded together to share resources, advice and
strategies to overcome these obstacles. Personally, I have taken what I call a “pirate’s
attitude” that forces forward thinking to overcome these issues. Rather than
rely on school provided technology, I have created what I call a “pirate lab”
of my own that allows me to circumvent technological and software restrictions.
Fellow teachers and I have formed partnerships that trade resources. We create
resources in areas in which we are more skilled and knowledgeable. We share what works, and what does not.
Relying less on the system in place, we have created for ourselves the
classrooms in which we can provide the very best available for our students,
thus creating the future we wish to operate.
In all, I was encouraged by the address and the future of
libraries. What attracted me most to librarianship is this notion of being
future oriented. With leaders in the field pushing boundaries and seeking new
and inventive ways to place the library into the framework of the
establishment, I feel as though this career change will be good fit for me own “pirate’s
attitude.”
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