hyperlinking

This is my fourth semester in SJSU’s MLIS program, and the most emphasized, highlighted, and returned-to theme across all of the classes I’ve taken so far is the need to innovate. The function of the library has changed, I have been told in lectures, readings, and assignments––we are no longer repositories of books, but purveyors of information and opportunities in the new world of digital literacy.

This seems self-evident and important, but much less clear is how to continue to innovate as technology continues to shift. There are many specific ideas (makerspaces! classes! open-floor design!) to this end that are excellent starting places, but seem to me to be somewhat tied to the current micro-era in the exponential curve of innovation.

What I enjoyed about this module is that it presented a mindset that will serve librarians well now, and continue to serve them as the future comes with whatever technology and developments that it may: that librarians should approach their work with a sense of compassion, curiosity, and openness to connection (Wholehearted Librarianship, in Professor Stephens’ words). A fundamental, but easy to forget, element to this is that technology is developed by humans, and reflects our innate drive to share, connect, and create. Centering these core instincts is a great place from which to navigate new technologies. A recurring theme in the readings this week was to connect with patrons, learn from them what they are hoping to achieve and what they want to explore, and then design library programming to serve that need in a feedback loop that centers connection and creativity.

This mindset will not become obsolete as many of the technologies we use today will, and gives the need to innovate a human-centered roadmap of the way forward.

If there is one theme that has been drilled into us repeatedly throughout the course of this MLIS program, it is this: the best way forward for libraries as an institution is to position themselves at the front of the wave of exponential change in information and technology we are experiencing as a species… and surf it.

The article that most caught my interest in our readings so far was Empowerment, Experimentation, Engagement: Embracing Partnership Models In Libraries––largely because it took the amorphous call to innovate and distilled it into not only clear examples, but included a framework to continue this distillation. Mathews, Metko, and Tomlin called this framework a partnership model, wherein the library strives to develop a relationship with their patrons that is grounded in dynamic, interdependent partnerships. They write:

“As this effort evolves, our attention moves beyond purchasing, licensing, and providing access to collections and encompasses a greater emphasis on content that students and faculty generate themselves. Libraries are repositioning themselves as laboratories for exploration, incubators for ideas, and essential collaborators across the teaching, learning, and research enterprises.”

Partnership models, as a phrase on its own, gets you deep into business lingo internet, but with after some searching, it became clear to me that what Mathews et al. describe as a partnership model is being spoken elsewhere in the information sciences community as participatory design. In simplest terms, participatory design is the process of involving the end-users of a design process in the process itself. For libraries, ask what do the patrons want? Then get them involved in making that happen. This cultivates “a co-creative environment of mutual learning, power sharing, and equity, with the objective of advancing together toward shared goals.” (Fargo & Young, 2023).

This seems to me that participatory design must be the ideal framework to implement a new era and understanding of the library’s function in society. As libraries are shifting from repositories of books to purveyors and navigators of information, developing a supportive place to explore, create, and strengthen information literacy skills should be central to their mission. Asking patrons what technologies they are curious about and what kind of making and learning they want to do is essential for direction in the sea of infinite possibilities we’re navigating, and also creates the strong community bond people want from their libraries.

In 2016, the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) adopted a new “framework” for information literacy that better fits the ever-shifting information landscape we now live in. The six main concepts of their framework are:

1. Authority Is Constructed And Contextual
2. Information Creation As A Process
3. Information Has Value
4. Research As Inquiry
5. Scholarship As Conversation
6. Searching As Strategic Exploration

The library is in a uniquely ideal role to teach these concepts to the public, and because these are complicated ideas that need to be practiced to be understood, also provide ongoing programing that can strengthen and develop understanding of these essential skills. What I like so much about participatory design is that it seems to encompass *all* of the six information literacy frameworks––making it a great learning tool atop a great way to develop programs.

The first frame, Authority Is Constructed And Contextual, is at the core of participatory programing. By asking the patrons what they want to explore, moves aside the existing power dynamic that the library provides the programs you need, handing the authority of the design process to the community. The frames “Information Creation As A Process” and “Scholarship As Conversation” are so pertinent that you could use them simply to better describe the participatory design process.

In conclusion, the future of libraries is an exciting unknown, but why put the burden of determining what that unknown will be solely on the information professionals? By including the community and asking what they want to explore, a much richer and more relevant programming will evolve naturally.

 

References

Fargo, H., & Young, S. W. H. (2023). Participatory Design as an Approach for Library Assessment and Student Engagement. Journal of Radical Librarianship, 9, 11–47.

Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. American Library Association. (n.d.). https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

 

Hi everyone– my name is Zoe. This semester will be the halfway point in the program for me. I live down in Santa Cruz, CA. I’ve been working at the local book store, Bookshop Santa Cruz, for the last five years, which is where I’ve solidified my love of working with books and helping people find the literature they’re looking for. Hoping to enter the public library system upon completion of my degree.

Outside of the program, I tend to spend my time reading or kickboxing and occasionally getting involved with community theatre and other art projects. I enjoy live music, walks to the beach with my dog, and eating and making excellent food.

Here’s the dog that will be curled up next to me during all the readings and assignments:

Looking forward to the semester with you all 🙂