I was just contemplating ... I won't be a library science student forever. By the end of the summer, I'll have my MLS in hand. So what am I going to do with my library degree? What goals do I have in mind for my professional library career? And how does technology fit into each of them?
Goal #1: I will be on the cutting edge of service to library users. I want to be continually aware of users' needs so I can facilitate access to the appropriate resources.
Interaction with library users still happens through the old-fashioned channels - like the "reference interview." Increasingly, we also interact with library users through technological intermediaries like e-mail, chat or text. Being available to users on their own technological terms is a key to good library service.
More importantly, I want to take users' skills and needs into account when designing and implementing library computer systems. I want library systems to be both intuitive and effective. Hence, I feel very strongly that we all need "next gen" library catalogs - actually, we needed them yesterday. I want library technology to serve our users better than the competition (and let's not kid ourselves, there is competition).
Goal #2: I will be a library leader. This doesn't mean I want to be a library director (at least not right now!). What I mean by leadership is that I want to pioneer new ideas, get colleagues and users excited about libraries and librarianship, and participate in strategic efforts to move libraries toward fulfillment of their missions.
A non-technological example of this for me is my enthusiasm for a strategic planning process we are working through in the library where I'm employed. I enjoy thinking about the opportunities that beckon us. I am also excited about developing a plan that helps the library develop in appropriate ways.
Library leadership in technology is not limited narrowly to being a techie pioneer, even though awareness of emerging trends is part of leadership. I'm interested in leading processes of technological change that are sensitive to humans. Library technology leadership means planning effectively so that we enhance rather than detract from our professional work.
Goal #3: I will seek beauty and truth. This is perhaps the most important goal of the three - it needs to be interwoven in all I do. I conceive of beauty and truth beyond objective frameworks. This goal is measured intuitively in a process self-reflection.
Beauty and truth are related concepts - what is beautiful is also true and vice-versa. While beauty is many times intricate, it is at other times extremely simple. This holds true for the solutions to problems. Sometimes we need to come up with an intricate answer Other times we need to step back and recognize that the answer is quite simple.
As I work with library technology, I have to continually question whether it serves the ends of beauty and truth. Is the technology freeing us to be joyful, generous, and thoughtful servants - or is it enslaving us to fear, greed and narrowmindedness?
I have a sore temptation toward excess productivity. The real problem with technology is that it gives me the illusion that I can accomplish more and more, faster and faster. As I grow older and (hopefully) wiser, I am learning that a rhythm of rest and reflection makes me healthier and brings more beauty and truth into my life. When I use technology, I need to make sure I remember that the night, the seventh day, and the seventh year were set aside for us to rest and replenish ourselves.
With that, I'm realizing it is now fully dark. Tomorrow is a new day. Good night.
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Wow, musings of an Amish Librarian, finding beauty and truth in modern technology. I like a lot of what you had to say, but also want to add that a lot of librarianship is providing equality of thought and expression, which can be beautiful in theory, but often brings ugly and false ideas in practice. History is full of true but ugly realities.
ReplyDeleteI also find myself in the never-ending pursuit of more speed and efficiency. Every once in a while, I stop myself and ask... what's the point?
ReplyDeleteI think this is why the strategic planning that you mentioned is so critical... and so comforting. It puts purpose behind the things we do and forces us to stop and reflect. Why do we do what we do? Is this productive? Is technology the answer or should we be doing something else?
I was never taught to stop and reflect on my work and when I began to do so people thought I was being silly. It's what influenced my decision to get a PhD. I have built reflection in to my classes because I think it is critical if we are to truly understand the impact that information and technology have on the world around us.
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