Monday, February 13, 2012

10 Dangerous Ideas



This presentation from PLA 2008 was designed to help librarians challenge the status quo and try to think outside our comfort zones.  It’s a thought experiment.  The PowerPoint presentation is here: http://whatiflibs.wetpaint.com/

1. What if we stopped cataloging?
            Guided social tagging?

2. What if we participated fully with the FBI in all criminal investigations that involved the use of library materials?

3. What if librarians individually and as a profession promoted, used, and helped develop Wikipedia?

4. What if all libraries invested together in open source solutions as a way of being in control of the customer experience?

5. What if we embraced our inner geek and created alternated reality games and promoted cults of library junkies?
            Viral marketing.

6. What if we required all library staff to have expertise using tech?

7. What if mistakes were expected and embraced, and librarians became the mistake masters?
            Get rid of “retribution.”
            Mistake of the Week award.

8. What if we didn’t make decisions based on fear of and/or in scarcity.
            The old model is based on scarcity – librarian as gatekeeper.  What if we used a new model based on connecting people with content based on abundance and ubiquity – librarian as guide.

9. What if we stopped being passive aggressive.

10. What if we didn’t make our customers work so hard?
            BiblioCommons
            One Catalog

Books to Read
Melissa @ Central

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are there librarians who don't use Wikipedia?

Anonymous said...

1. What if we stopped cataloging?
Guided social tagging?

A: Chaos. Guided social tagging would lead to shifts as trends developed and changed. Even when cataloging rules yield unpredicted results, they provide stability.

2. What if we participated fully with the FBI in all criminal investigations that involved the use of library materials?

A: If they’re acting within the law (warrants), then we have no recourse except being penalized since we’ve placed ourselves above the law.

3. What if librarians individually and as a profession promoted, used, and helped develop Wikipedia?

A: We already do to varying degrees. The first are easy, but developing it eats time! But it’s still worthwhile. Could we be permitted to use work time (with supervisor’s approval) for specific projects?

4. What if all libraries invested together in open source solutions as a way of being in control of the customer experience?

A: Would you clarify the question, please? “Control” sounds ominous. OTOH, open source is a growing practice, and it seems to work (think of Foxfire and Wikipedia, in different arenas).

5. What if we embraced our inner geek and created alternated reality games and promoted cults of library junkies?
Viral marketing.

A: Maybe on our own time. But I already embrace my inner geekitude (if it wasn’t a word before, it is now!) at home. Risky: it can be too much fun, and it _really_ devours time!

6. What if we required all library staff to have expertise using tech?

A: We’d greatly enhance our ability to help our patrons as well as showing them what they can do for themselves (but only if they’re interested. No coercion.) We might be amazed at what we could do ourselves. I was dragged into technology in the late ‘80s, but have seen what it can do.

7. What if mistakes were expected and embraced, and librarians became the mistake masters?
Get rid of “retribution.”
Mistake of the Week award.

A: We’d grow, especially if retribution went away. I’ve often learned more from mistakes than from successes. Also, we’d show that we’re human. But “mistake masters”? This may come back to haunt us :-D “If you don't make mistakes, you're not working on hard enough problems. And that's a big mistake.” – Frank Wilczek, American physicist (1951-); http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/38308.html

8. What if we didn’t make decisions based on fear of and/or in scarcity.
The old model is based on scarcity – librarian as gatekeeper. What if we used a new model based on connecting people with content based on abundance and ubiquity – librarian as guide.

A: Could work if we could develop ways of finding the content. Would call for an investment in our time, but it would no doubt pay off

9. What if we stopped being passive aggressive?

A: Depends. P/A has gotten a bad rep, IMHO. For example, a trainer once suggested giving an answer repeadedly when a patron persisted unreasonably. Maybe use it as a very last resort? Examples would help.

10. What if we didn’t make our customers work so hard?
BiblioCommons
One Catalog

A: Not sure I understand the meaning of the question. I’ve generally gotten positive responses when I’ve showed patrons what they could do for themselves, but I’ve never demanded that they do all their own work.

BTW, what if there were no hypothetical questions?