Thinking Like a Start-Up
In his white paper, then associate dean for Learning and Outreach at Virginia Tech Brian Mathews (2012) challenged libraries to “think like a start-up” to meet our primary goal in answering the question: “How do we help the individuals at our institutions become more successful?” As technology continues to evolve and transform society, adopting a start-up mindset allows information organizations to keep up and even move ahead of the curve. By evolving and staying informed, information organizations can help their communities build resilience and adapt.
Immediately, a recent CodeSignal article came to mind. In the article, CodeSignal discussed their 2026 Report of data-based university rankings which measured both general and industry coding skills of their graduates. CodeSignal’s assessment results revealed that the graduates of San Jose State University (SJSU) Computer Science (CS) program scored in the 66th percentile, ranking them number two compared to graduates from over 594 other universities throughout the nation. How did the SJSU CS program climb 49 spots from last year’s report? The department’s thinking and acting like a start-up may play a crucial role in effectively helping their students become successful coders. Dean Kaufman attributes the success to the program’s alignment with current industries based on faculty experiences and network, emphasizing the importance of the college’s proximity to Silicon Valley’s technology hub (Team CodeSignal, 2026).
| “Our academic programs have industry advisory councils which provide direct input to departments regarding industry needs,” Dean Ehrman explains. “Most of our lecturer faculty are part time and hold day jobs in the tech industry, so they’re able to include real-world perspectives in our courses. Many of our full-time tenure-line faculty also have industry experience and current collaborations with industry partners” (Team CodeSignal, 2026). |
(CodeSignal, 2026).
Seizing the White Space
Thinking like a start-up includes “seizing the white space” – the white space consisting of everything that has not yet been done or considered (Mathews, 2012). I wonder: what would it look like to transcend traditional library boundaries?
- What would a partnership between SJSU’s academic library and its CS program look like?
- Could libraries facilitate programming where CS faculty provide workshops for faculty of other departments?
- Could SJSU’s academic library partner with industries to support the university’s other departments in preparing their students for future employment?
Encouraging the Heart
A distinct difference between thinking like a start-up and being one is that information organizations put humans first. I believe that every library should strive to be the heart of its community as discussed in the Hyperlinked Library, Participatory Services & Transparency lecture (Stephens, 2025). To be the community’s heart means to encourage it: “satisfying the needs and wants of our users” and providing “a space where users connect, collaborate, create, and care” (Stephens, 2011). A wonderful example of a library being its community’s heart is Fayette County Public Library’s program where teens connect, collaborate, and create comics with published comic artists. This accessible program is rooted in care.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYmnHkoDZuu/
I am reminded of two other relevant examples that are not necessarily rooted in information science but absolutely could be applicable to the hyperlinked library due to its richness in community, connection, collaboration, and care. Last Spring, I studied the information needs and behavior of college-bound first-generation students (CBFGS) in my INFO 200 course. My semester-long research uncovered school-based programs where near-peers and staff transmitted cultural capital to CBFGS, supporting their access to college and success post-admittance.
Library as the Community’s Heart
As an educator in the Silicon Valley, I see both inequity and opportunity on a daily basis. Taking inspiration from the CS program of SJSU and the programs supporting CBFGS college-readiness, I’m dreaming of a transformative, reciprocal, cross-generational partnership between tech companies and local libraries. Imagine a vibrant program that cultivates and operates on the hyperlinked library tenants of “connect[ion], collaborat[ion], creat[ion], and care” between K-12 students and staff, college undergraduate and graduate students and faculty, and tech company employees (Stephens, 2011).
- What if tech companies provided cutting-edge library programming for their community – useful knowledge or tools?
- What if tech companies could serve as industry advisory councils for libraries and content departments to keep their curricula updated to industry needs?
- What if school libraries could provide industry talks from tech company employees for students to learn from?
- What if tech company employees mentored college students to support their industry success?
- What if the same college students mentored CBFGS students in K-12?
- What if these participants continued as they progressed through each level, empowering the generation before them, building an incredible generational network?
A collaboration between library, education, and industry insititutions should mirror the three sisters- the indigenous agricultural practice of mutual support, reciprocity and flourishing. Perhaps to honor the native plants and wildlife of the Silicon Valley, this community collaboration could be represented by the California lilac, Anna’s hummingbird, and echo azure butterfly. I look forward to exploring these ideas further in our future assignments!
References
CodeSignal (2026). CodeSignal 2026 university ranking report. https://codesignal.com/university-ranking/2026
Mathews, Brian. (2012). Think like a startup: A white paper to inspire library entrepreneurialism [White paper]. Virginia Tech.
McCallen, L.S., Bloom, J., Bassett, B. S., & Yazdani, N. (2025). Credible messengers and cultural guides: How near-peers expand access to college advising in urban high schools. Urban Education, 61(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859251369745
Richards, B. N. (2022). Help-seeking behaviors as cultural capital: Cultural guides and the transition from high school to college among low-income first generation students. Social Problems, 96(1), 241-260. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spaa023
Stephens, Michael (2011). The hyperlinked library: A TTW white paper [White paper]. https://mooc.hyperlib.sjsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/StephensHyperlinkedLibrary2011.pdf
Stephens, Michael (2025). Hyperlinked library, participatory services & transparency [Slides]. sjsu@Ponopto. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fEle8aFSZks_wJOPQ9IGunp12UusCy-_/view?usp=sharing
Team CodeSignal (2026). How San José State climbed to #2, and why their deans saw it coming. https://codesignal.com/blog/sjsu-ranks-second-in-2026-university-ranking-report/