One concept of the Hyperlinked Library that stood out to me was “inevitably, there will always be some amount of chaos” (Stephens, 2019). I noticed myself wince a little when I first heard it, which surprised me. As I started to reflect on what I thought chaos meant, it began to make more sense. I realized I was only thinking of chaos in a negative way. In terms of library work, all of my initial thoughts were library issues. I thought of book bans and other challenges to intellectual freedom, librarians forced into social worker type roles, and cuts to funding at local and federal levels. These are all large-scale, overwhelming things.
Moving forward, I thought it would help to reframing what chaos means. I decided to look up the definition for “chaos” to ground the term. The definition that jumped out at me was “the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). This definition is neither positive or negative, nor does it specify any kind of size. The examples given were actually vastly different: the atmosphere, boiling water, and a beating heart (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). “Inherent unpredictability” also reminded me of something I heard in Transformation Lab (2009). In the video, that phrase “unorthodox branding” was used for to describe the messaging for the Mindspot library service. While unorthodox and unpredictable aren’t necessarily the same thing, I think there is some overlap. For Mindspot, library staff looked to the youth for new, outside of the box ideas. There is inherent unpredictability in brainstorming with different groups of people, and the youth were sought out for exactly that.
That definition continues to fit well as I think more about the Hyperlinked Library Model. Libraries serve the information needs of their community. These communities are full of people with different ideas, beliefs, wants, and needs. It makes sense that some amount of chaos would be inevitable with conflicting wants and clashing ideas. If chaos is inevitable, it is best for libraries to try to work with it, even embrace it when possible. Participatory services seems like a great way of doing so. As Casey (2011) writes, “[t]he participatory library engages and quires its entire community and seeks to integrate them into the structure of changes” (p. 2). In deliberately seeking out community and integrating them into the library, a level of chaos is invited and accepted. Libraries are open to and are prepared to respond to it.
Using my reframed understanding, I think chaos shows up in a number of places in practice. My first thought was popular library programs and all the people they bring, like families on story time days, and lines at book sales that bring a little chaos. While these still have a hint of negativity to be me since I associate them with a hectic environment, I believe there is positive there too. Busy parents may have the opportunity to connect with friends they don’t get to see very often. At book sales, people are excited about what they might find and are showing wonderful support for their library. The library is a space for chaos. But events don’t even have to be super crowded to bring chaos. One of my favorite programs at the public library I used to work at was the drop-in home item repair program. It was fun working at the help desk and looking up to see someone walking around with toasters and lamps, and hearing the sound of tools. Those are experiences I couldn’t have predicted having when I applied for that job.
Image source: https://bellinghampubliclibrary.libcal.com/event/16692161
As this class progresses, and my professional career develops, I hope I can continue to reflect on chaos. I want to explore the more positive aspects and process some of the negatives I’ve experienced. It may be help to use a strategy like mindfulness. Accepting and embracing the chaos will be a practice in and of itself. One I will come back to again and again.
References
Casey, M. (2011). Revisiting participatory service in trying times- A TTW guest post by Michael Casey. Tame the Web. https://tametheweb.com/2011/10/20/revisiting-participatory-service-in-trying-times-a-ttw-guest-post-by-michael-casey/
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.) Chaos. Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaos
Stephens, M. (2019). The hyperlinked library: Exploring the model [PowerPoint]. Panopto. https://sjsu-ischool.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=a0569381-4d66-4e0a-a7fa-aab3010a8f3e
Transformation Lab. (2009, April 20). Mindspot the movie: The library as a universe [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixsOLvLSARg