Should Libraries Have Non-Traditional Programming?

Do libraries risk getting “off message” when we focus on non-traditional services and community collaboration. Is there a line to walk and if so how do you think an innovative organization walks that line?

Libraries can’t do everything. I know librarians wish that libraries could do everything, but there just isn’t enough money or manpower. And really, when it comes down to it, libraries don’t have to do everything. It’s perfectly acceptable to leave the coffee-making to baristas in a café, or karaoke night to the local watering hole. The question is, how does one choose which programs to implement and which to skip?

I think it all comes down to creating a detailed mission statement for your library. Once you have this in place, it will be easy to decide if a program idea furthers the library’s mission or not. If it doesn’t, how can the idea be modified to do so?

This mirrors exactly what Nina Simon reiterates in both the book The Participatory Museum and her follow-up blog post. She writes on the blog, “I still feel strongly that there is no universal reason to encourage visitor participation.” She emphasizes that you need to have a reason to implement collaborative and participatory projects.

I think if one of a library’s explicit missions is to foster dialogue or connections among patrons, then certainly non-traditional services will be a great way to do this. But if it is not, then a participatory program must be designed such that it meets the stated goals of the library. Hopefully, it will be able to do so in a stronger and more lasting way than a traditional program. For example, if fostering childhood literacy is one of a library’s missions, then using a “flipped learning” approach or even a participatory bulletin board that invites kids to write about their favorite book would both work toward that mission very well, perhaps better than a librarian standing up in front of a group of children talking about books would. Or maybe it wouldn’t. Programs need to be evaluated, and if it turns out that it is not furthering the mission, it shouldn’t be done anymore.

I think an innovative organization can always find ways to design good programs that meet the organization’s goals. With a wider arsenal of tools to choose from, including all the ways programs can be collaborative and participatory, there is an even greater chance that these goals will be met with better results and efficient use of resources. As always, there is no disadvantage to having more knowledge at your disposal. If something doesn’t work for your library, you don’t have to do it.

Simon, N. (March 4, 2015). The Participatory Museum, Five Years Later. Retrieved from http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-participatory-museum-five-years.html

How Amazing is the ALA Library of the Future Site?!

Click on and check out the individual trends ALA sees as most impacting the library of the future. What do you think of these trends? Did you see something you hadn't considered? Do you think they are missing anything important?  http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/future/trends

First of all, can I just say that this section of the ALA site is A-MAZING? Who knew this was here?! Not only are all the hot-topics of the future here, but they are so well explained that what seem like huge sprawling topics are concisely explained in just a few paragraphs. And then, on top of that, how each topic relates to libraries is explored! Do people know about this?! People should know about this!!

So, as I was clicking around this site and looking at things, almost every trend I clicked on stimulated my brain to think of ideas. Talk about prompts! For example, I first clicked on “Badging.” Aha, I thought. Yes! People love badging and companies seem to all be doing this. When I got my fitbit, I started getting emails from Fitbit with “badges” I earned for walking 100 miles, visiting certain places, etc. My five-year old loves going to the kids’ workshops at Home Depot. Every time you do a project, you get a pin with a picture of the project to pin to your Home Depot apron. Not only do kids love getting a little something, but then you can look back and see all the things you’ve accomplished over time. We could totally incorporate badging into libraries very easily, by setting up milestones for reading or doing or making, etc. Especially for summer reading programs, this would be a really easy and fun addition.

Next I clicked on “Unplugged.” Yeah, that’s right! I thought. Even though we are, on the one hand, spending more time with our devices than ever, the unplugged trend seems really popular as well. Why not have libraries jump on that trend and celebrate spaces where you can sit quietly and read or work? You could set up a space to look and feel like a spa (why not have new age-y music and some plants and a little bubbling fountain) and call it the Unplugged Room.

I learned something from every trend I clicked on, and got ideas too. I even learned about trends I didn’t know about, and terms I hadn’t heard before (Haptic Techology—how cool!). I don’t consider myself someone who is on top of trends, so this page was a mind opener and so fun to explore. The only trend I can think of that I didn’t see here is the slow food/back to the farm-type of trend for cooking and eating. I don’t know if it has any implications for libraries, but it could… library gardens? Cookbook tie-ins? Cooking demonstrations? Everything has possibilities!

Participatory Art and Museum Exhibitions

Is there a downside to making more museums and cultural institutions more interactive?

I thought the NY Times article we read by Judith Dobrzynski this week was particularly thought-provoking. While it is clear that she doesn’t exactly approve of the experiential-culture trend and she put forth some good arguments for traditional museum exhibits, it took me some thinking to figure out why I couldn’t wholeheartedly agree with her.

I definitely agree that in the last decade, there has been a huge increase in popularity for “experiences,” as Dobrzynski states. However, I think there’s a huge difference between participatory museum exhibits as described by Nina Simon in The Participatory Museum, experiential art, and experience-focused businesses. 

Obviously, businesses are trying to make money. People want to buy experiences these days, so business are scrambling to come up with experiences they can sell people. Nothing wrong with that. The problem is when artists adapt art to be more “sellable” to the public because it’s popular right now. I think the subtext of Dobrzynski’s article—what she really wants to say but cannot come right out and say—is that she thinks experiential art is not “real” art.

I can see why she might think this. Is building a transparent slide between a 4th floor gallery and the 2nd floor that visitors can slide down really art? Is sitting in a room across from a silent artist really art?

Here’s what I think: I think that when Marcel Duchamp put a urinal on a wall, most people thought that it wasn’t art and couldn’t believe what this world was coming to. When Phillip Glass wrote a piece of music that was nothing but several minutes of silence, people thought that was certainly not music. When Mozart wrote The Magic Flute, it was performed in a rowdy vaudeville theater because it wasn’t considered real art. When Michelangelo painting his figures with bulging muscles and rounded forms, people thought it was blasphemous.

So for museums, I think that there is a place for all sorts of museum experiences. Participatory museum experiences will bring in a certain type of patron while traditional exhibits will bring in another. Or the same person can enjoy traditional exhibits in one museum and participatory ones in another. The downside to any one interactive exhibit is that it will turn off some people. This is the same downside that traditional exhibits have, so in the end, I think there are only upsides to having a wide range of experiences available in many different museums.

Even I Can Be a Caregiver!

When looking at the Organizing and Building Personas, do you recognize those styles in your colleagues or yourself?

I work at a middle school library, and the first thing I noticed when I started this job was how welcome I felt. Even though I was new, I felt immediately embraced by the community. This initial impression I had coming in has made a huge difference in my own attitude. I enjoy going to work every day and I try to be as kind to others as they were to me. I’m pretty sure this attitude of Caregiving is fostered by the administration in a very deliberate way. It creates a warm environment for everyone here, including the faculty, staff, and students.

I have actually been thinking about this for a while, because I am not really a natural caregiver. But I have found that working here makes me want to try harder. Because it doesn’t come naturally to me, I am paying attention to the specific actions people do to make me feel cared for.

There are a few colleagues on staff here that always make me feel particularly special whenever I see them. I figured out that what they have in common is that they always greet me by my first name. It’s that simple! So I have been consciously trying to do the same to others. Last week, I walked by one of the new teachers and I said, “Hi, Melanie,” as I walked by. I think she was surprised because I had never spoken to her before. She probably didn’t even know my name. When I walked back in the other direction, she greeted me with a quip as I passed. And the next time I saw her, she was all smiles and hellos for me.

I’m also trying to do the same to the students, if I know their names. It requires great effort from me because I am an introvert and I am always worried that I’ll get someone’s name wrong, but I think it’s worth the effort. If the students feel like all the staff on campus care about them, they will have a much better experience here as well. I like the idea of the Caregiver being an integral part of an innovation team because it’s true. When a customer or patron feels cared for and special, they will come away thinking that the company/school/library is special too.