More Alike Than We Think | Editorial
Public and academic librarians can learn a lot from each other May 1, 2011The disparity between public and academic libraries—and librarians—seems to be shrinking, if the recent Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference in Philadelphia is any indication. On a number of fronts, some big picture and weighty, others less so, the challenges libraries and librarians face, and even many of the solutions, are similar. In programs on abandoning ROI (return on investment) and outputs (e.g., library visits) in favor of outcomes, on focusing on the user experience and the mission of the institution in the larger community, on rethinking space, on building future leaders and embracing next-gen librarian values, the crossover between publics and academics appears stronger than their very different environments might make us think.
With his usual bluntness, James Neal (university librarian and VP for information services, Columbia) attacked the “insanity of ROI,” pointing out the dangers it poses to both academic and public institutions. Instead of counting stats to show our impact, or calculating ROI, we should be looking at the user experience and expectations and at student, faculty, and individual success. “How do we know we’re being responsive?” asked Neal. “Embrace ‘human’ objectives”: success, happiness, productivity, progress, relationships. “We need new measures,” he said.
Reinforcing Neal’s comments, Mary Ellen Davis, ACRL’s executive director, said that “the relevance and usefulness and effectiveness of libraries are questioned more than ever....” The political and financial climates, particularly in public universities, make it imperative that “[w]e...demonstrate [that] what we are doing is making a difference, how it is making a difference, and what it is making a difference to,” she said. “We really have to align ourselves with the overall mission of the institution and demonstrate that we’re contributing to [it] being successful.” Change the word institution to community, and that advice is as critical to public as to academic libraries and librarians.
There was crossover, too, at several sessions on next-gen librarians and on career development, which revealed both a reluctance by some librarians to challenge their administrations and frustration at being slapped down when they do. Even at Neal’s program, he urged librarians to be more “audacious.”
The three new librarians—Andy Burkhardt, Champlain College, VT; Catherine Johnson, University of Baltimore; and Carissa Tomlinson, Towson University, MD—who presented on the “virtues” of next-gen librarians seemed to have an abundance of audacity, however, describing solutions to common problems, like how to engage first-year students in the library, with a little ingenuity. The next-gen virtues they identified include collegiality, playfulness, collaboration, flexibility, creativity, courage, and service-orientation, characteristics that must span the profession if we are to move our libraries ahead.
One library director speaking from the floor asked the next-gen attendees, “What virtues do you want in an administrator?” She suggested they look for curiosity in a boss, someone who says, “Let’s try it.” She also said next-gen librarians should be more visionary “no matter if you’re in the front lines or the back room.” Another commenter noted, “We need to be more aggressive as a profession.... Too many of us have not...[come] forward on our campuses to be advocates.” That’s a challenge public librarians face as well: learning to advocate for the library all the time, not just when budgets or branches are at risk.
On the space planning and design front, too, the lessons are universal. The University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison’s Dave Luke, Steve Frye, and Carrie Kruse (college library director) described an environment of continuous beta that relies on student/staff behavior to determine solutions and evaluates decisions against the mission. The trio suggested a “rapid prototype model” and incremental testing so that failure comes quickly in the process of change and at little cost. Over the years, they’ve gotten rid of, or consolidated, the info, reference, and circ desks, moved computers around, moved most reference books into circulation, and replaced heavy furniture with light, portable pieces.
One other bit of advice from the UW folks: look outside to see what has been successful elsewhere. “Outside” isn’t as far away as you might think, however. Public and academic libraries, and librarians, can learn a lot from each other.
| Author Information |
| Francine Fialkoff (ffialkoff@mediasourceinc.com) is Editor-in-Chief, LJ |
