Here is another excerpt of Dave Lankes’ vision for librarians, from the keynote of February’s ILEAD U conference in Springfield, IL – the State Library’s new initiative to help library staff develop stronger technology tools. I encourage you to listen to Dave’s words as well as read them, for the passion and urgency of his
◊ Change Management ◊
A strong & sustainable vision for librarians
In a “do or die” decade for public libraries, I shared my hope for positive societal disruption characterized by public engagement. It closed with the notion that public libraries can play a key role in the rejuvenation of our communities and our self-governance. R. David Lankes, Associate Professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies
At a crossroad with public institutions
Americans are at the same crossroads with the U.S. Postal Service as we are with public libraries. Comments on a recent New York Times editorial, Saving the Post Office, have a familiar ring. Organizational constituents, like periodical publishers, have started to weigh in. Developments are worth watching. Why pick on post offices? It’s funny how
Are public libraries glorified babysitting services?
“My town officials think all we’re running here is a babysitting service” a librarian recently shared in a moment of frustration. She went on to mention studies about the proven impact on cognitive abilities when toddlers are actively engaged in library programs like Lapsit versus passively engaged with toys & videos. This was news to
The high cost of library micro-grants
Early in my career I was taught how to wring cost from a process or product. Instructors had me trace every interaction & transaction involved in procuring a product or service, assign a cost to each and assess its value to the deliverable. What I learned was, essentially the deliverable holds value and everything else
Libraries – protect that brand
Brands. They’re instantly recognizable, even as mere snippets from a distance … They evoke feelings and thoughts. They influence behavior. Organizations spend billions each year creating and preserving them, for they know brand loyalty grows and dies hard. I’d argue library is also a brand and needs to be actively managed to increase its visibility
Running our public libraries like a business
Themes of leadership and outreach have coursed through the Radical Patron content in 2010. Today’s post introduces another: applying business principles to public libraries. Libraries wisely seem interested in how to climb the ladders and avoid the chutes. With nearly 30 years (yikes) experience working in and consulting for businesses, I have perspectives and ideas
On Web2.0 and Talking vs Doing
David Crotty’s Scholarly Kitchen post, Science and Web 2.0: Talking About Science vs. Doing Science describes patterns beyond the publishing industry. Check out some of what he says about scientists’ use of Web 2.0 technologies: Discovery, doing research, gathering and interpreting results, that’s the very nature of being a scientist. There are people whose main
On librarians arguing with the world
A characteristic of librarian discourse immediately jumped out at me when I broadened my advocacy work nearly a year ago, though framing it succinctly had been elusive until I read Kim Leeder’s post on the future of libraries. She notes: I hear a little shrillness in the voices of many librarians who speak or write
iPad is a gamechanger for libraries
I’ve not chimed into the conversation on mobile devices, in part because plenty of people cover that beat and also because smartphones and ebook readers, in my opinion, would not have been all that disruptive to libraries. You see, despite the numerous discrete conveniences delivered by both device types, they don’t significantly change the relationship
