Virtual Symposium

Hello all,

Here is my video for the virtual symposium and final reflection. I decided since it was the last assignment of the semester I better challenge myself to make a video. It definitely took me some experimentation and trial and error with the recording. It had to do so many takes to get a mostly acceptable one. Please click on the image above and it should take you to my video presentation.

Thanks for watching!

Nalatie

Here is my transcript of my video:

Hello and welcome to my video for the virtual symposium. My name is Nalatie Alpers, and I am going to tell you my 5 key takeaways for the hyperlinked library class. I loved this class and I found it so inspiring. I feel like I could easily take it again and learn even more, especially with the Choose Your Own Adventure modules and all the resources that Michael brings to us.

My first takeaway is about the importance of being wholehearted and human. This is the thread that ran throughout the class, and it just meant so much to me to think about what being wholehearted in our library work really looks like. Libraries need to be welcoming and kind, to be inclusive and without barriers, to practice compassion and empathy—even when it may be difficult. We need to be about building human connections, moving beyond being repositories of books. The library really is everywhere and is for everyone.

My second takeaway is that we want to continually experiment with new ideas, trends, and technologies. I really resonated with when Michael talked about how some people tend to resist change. I think that when we are all so busy and maybe overwhelmed in our work, perhaps even understaffed, our initial reaction can sometimes be: “how can I take on one more thing?” This class really encouraged me to think about how we can experiment without feeling like things need to be perfect. You can have trial and error, find out what works and what doesn’t. That’s how we can all get more hyperlinked.

My third takeaway is to embrace the power of stories and to realize that everyone has a story to tell. I just loved this part of the class, about sharing our stories, because the human experience is made up of stories and all humans are storytellers. Stories are a way that we can relate to each other and there is currently an epidemic of loneliness in our country. I think libraries can really serve as a place for people to make those connections, to find their communities, to not feel so alone. And I think as we all try to understand each other, the way to do that is through sharing and listening to stories. The library is a place where people can share, record, and find those stories.

My fourth takeaway is about building connections and communities, especially in relation to participatory services and design in the library world. Libraries exist to serve their communities and this needs to be our top priority. Part of this relates to trust and transparency—libraries need to be open with their communities. I was really inspired by the practice of participatory design. It was amazing to learn about the Dokk1 library and the years and years and thousands of hours of work that went into creating a place for that community to meet and grow. The Dokk1 library is the best it could possibly be for that community and that city—and it is always evolving as the needs of the community change. Truly inspiring!

My fifth takeaway is to always keep learning and to practice reflection. This one is important for me because it brings everything together, back around to myself and thinking about being a professional in the future and the things that I will need to keep in mind. It goes back to keeping up with the trends and changes in the library world and outside of it. I love learning so this sounds like fun. I am working on being more reflective about my work, as reflection is really a place we can embrace failure and change, to be inspired through reflection on our own experiences and what our future possibilities might be. This class has encouraged reflection and I have appreciated that practice.

I want to finish up by saying thank you. Thank you to Michael for this class. And thank you to everyone for a wonderful semester. I’ve enjoyed learning from and with all of you.