Hey Megan!
Great personal anecdote to tie into the the exploration of radical trust – I love that you brought up little free pantries and mask blocs, because those 2 aspects actually led me to think about libraries as a viable career for myself! I also work as an editor for a community archival zine right now, so your presentation on radical trust made me realize that in some ways, my life has been structured around it. If anything, that just proves the value it can have for our communities if we continue to practice it. 🙂
I found your anecdote about the chargers very moving. This is a great wakeup call for me, because I come from a test engineering and safety background where my whole job was to think about what could go wrong and how people could abuse and exploit a system. And yet, I’ve participated in plenty of little free libraries around my neighborhood, both giving and receiving. I’ve found gems; I’ve left books there that have found a new home an hour later; there was a period of about a week where it was all cleared out and nothing lingered there at all. But the community still rebuilt the pile, and it’s thriving again. It really does go back to the point that most people are good and are happy to share–very few people would exploit something like that maliciously; even your one missing charger may have been an accident, a misunderstanding, or someone in deep need.
@megan I really enjoyed your presentation! I especially liked your story about sharing your chargers with the library while the charging station was down—that was such a great example of radical trust and encouraging others to embrace it. You also made a great point about how scarcity mindsets can make library workers hesitant to adopt radical trust. It’s a good reminder to extend that generosity to colleagues who might be wary of change.
Hey Megan!
Great personal anecdote to tie into the the exploration of radical trust – I love that you brought up little free pantries and mask blocs, because those 2 aspects actually led me to think about libraries as a viable career for myself! I also work as an editor for a community archival zine right now, so your presentation on radical trust made me realize that in some ways, my life has been structured around it. If anything, that just proves the value it can have for our communities if we continue to practice it. 🙂
I found your anecdote about the chargers very moving. This is a great wakeup call for me, because I come from a test engineering and safety background where my whole job was to think about what could go wrong and how people could abuse and exploit a system. And yet, I’ve participated in plenty of little free libraries around my neighborhood, both giving and receiving. I’ve found gems; I’ve left books there that have found a new home an hour later; there was a period of about a week where it was all cleared out and nothing lingered there at all. But the community still rebuilt the pile, and it’s thriving again. It really does go back to the point that most people are good and are happy to share–very few people would exploit something like that maliciously; even your one missing charger may have been an accident, a misunderstanding, or someone in deep need.
@megan I really enjoyed your presentation! I especially liked your story about sharing your chargers with the library while the charging station was down—that was such a great example of radical trust and encouraging others to embrace it. You also made a great point about how scarcity mindsets can make library workers hesitant to adopt radical trust. It’s a good reminder to extend that generosity to colleagues who might be wary of change.