post #6 - what we're all about

I started off the semester labeling myself as technologically "brave", although I was open to the possibility that I may want to tuck my tail and cower away before the semester was over.

At this point, my only “fear” of technology is the “waste of time” factor. When I think about libraries developing podcasts, blogs, wikis, YouTube videos, Facebook accounts, etc, etc, I can’t help but wonder if it's worth the time and effort.

I guess my biggest concern has been that many of these technologies are not the informative, research-rich tools we are used to developing in libraries. They seem to focus more on the flashy, socially-oriented side of things.

What’s the purpose of all this glitz and glam? Is it really vital to the mission of the Library?

That’s the keyword… mission… What are we all about? And what does the technology that we are using have to do with it?

I was leaning more towards the “waste of time” attitude until I thought about one of my biggest struggles at my library. I lead a team of undergraduate students who just so happen to be working at the circulation desk. That’s seriously how they view it. I desperately want them to understand the purpose and mission of the library and to be excited about it, but I have found this SO hard to do. When I get questions from my students like… You have to go to school to be a librarian?... I am confounded that these bright (really, they are) young adults WORK HERE and we haven’t been able to communicate what we do. How on earth will the patrons understand and appreciate what the library can do for them?

This is where those glitzy little technologies are working their way into my heart. Although Facebook accounts and YouTube videos may not be the best format for disseminating scholarly research, they are flashy… flashy things are interesting and attract attention… and therefore can be used to communicate ideas that may be hard to communicate otherwise… see where I’m going with this?

I think one of the greatest strengths of integrating some of these technologies into the library is their ability to give a personality to the library. This personality enables us to communicate what is important to us and what we have to offer. Even just the fact that we are using popular technologies communicates that we are cutting edge and want to be accessible to the users.

Part of my plan for next year with my student workers is to better educate them about the mission of the library by having them help create some of these technologies to incorporate into the library website. The bigger part they play in the library, the more they will be in touch with what we are all about. And if they can help us bring that mission to light for the rest of the student body… that sounds just about wonderful! (Surprisingly, in a survey I took this week, almost 50% of my student employees said that they would ENJOY working on extra project instead of just “sitting at the desk”…) Thus begins my summer of figuring out how on earth to coordinate something like this. Success or failure, the experience will only increase their understanding of the library’s mission… and that could only be a good thing.