Reflection Blog #3: New Models

I was inspired by all of the ways libraries are incorporating kitchens, food preparation, and nutrition into their services. I had not gone through the New Models module before creating my Innovation Strategy and it excites me that libraries are doing this. I especially like the idea of the mobile kitchen going to local food deserts to teach food literacy and provide meals. This is how mutual aid and library services can blend. My biggest motivation for getting into librarianship is caring for communities. From mutual aid and social justice to the basic library tenet of services for all, I want my career in librarianship to be about people, equity, and access. Literacy is so much more than simply knowing how to read. I love libraries’ creative approaches to literacy, encompassing media literacy, art literacy, and even food literacy. Everything in librarianship is about helping the community thrive.

Another interesting service in this module was the library hosting art residencies, giving their patrons a place to experience different art forms and providing local artists with a place to work and exposure to the community. The community-created woven tapestry was a great way to connect people with art and each other, providing a sense of ownership of the space and the community. I am not a particularly artsy person, but I’ve dabbled in a few crafts like beading, weaving, and macrame. At home, I don’t have space or the financial ability to have my own loom or general craft space. The library hosting a space like this not only for an artist in residence, but for patrons like me to test the waters of a new art form in a basically risk-free way is incredibly valuable. There are so many ways libraries can provide art spaces beyond childhood. Because of this module, I learned that my library, the Missoula Public Library hosts an art residency program in collaboration with the Open Air Montana art residency program. The video embedded below is long, but an interesting look at a really cool program.

Finally, I loved the robots at Oodi Library in Helsinki. The way that automation and AI are being used for art is disturbing and dismaying, but this library is doing it right. They understand that automation can be used to complete the menial tasks of sorting and shelving books, leaving librarians to use their actual professional skills to serve the community. This is how AI and automation should be used. They are tools, not humans. Humans make art. Humans write stories. Automation is a tool to allow humans more time and energy to create.

Open Air Montana https://www.openairmt.org/

Missoula Public Library with Open Air MT https://www.missoulapubliclibrary.org/open-air-artists/