Prepared for the ALCTS President’s

Program

June 2005Karen Calhoun

Librarians

Creativity

LearningA Boundary-

BreakingPerspective

June 2005 2

The Well

“They come and go and draw from the well”I Ching, hexagram 48, Ching – The Well

•The Library as a center of collections

•The Library as a center of experts and tools to guide users to appropriate resources

June 2005 3

The River

June 2005 4

Boundaries and boundary-breaking

Technologycenters

Culturalheritage

orgs.Library org.

“silos”

Librarybuildings

Analogcollections

Communities of users

Libraries

June 2005 5

Being a 21st Century Librarian

• Starting points:– Technology-driven research, teaching and

learning– Disintermediation (users perceive they are

self-sufficient)– Accelerating shift in information seekers’

preferences for Web-based information and multimedia formats

Librarianship: “There are few professions whichcontribute so much to the saving of time and tothe progress of science.” –Library Journal, 1890

June 2005 6

DOMAINEXPERTS:

Professors, grad.students, researchers, deans,university leaders and staff

UNIVERSITY KNOWING

COMMUNITYINFORMATION

EXPERTS:Librarians, records

managers, archivists,others

IT EXPERTS:Desktop, computer lab

and server support; applications for academic, research, administrative

support; networks,telecommunications, security

Teaching, Learning, and the Creation of New Knowledge

“Knowledge creation is everyone’s concern,and not the responsibility of a specialized few.”–Chun Wei Choo, 2002

June 2005 7

Exemplars of 21st Century Librarianship

“Instead of being a hoarder of containers, thelibrary must become the facilitator of retrievaland dissemination.”—William Wulf, 2003

Blakeley, Daniel H.

Cornell Center for Materials Research Facility Staff page

June 2005 8

“Blow up the corporate library”—Thomas Davenport, 1993

June 2005 9

June 2005 10

June 2005 11

Making Library Collections and Services Visible

• Librarians must be where the users are• Library must be where the users’ eyes are

– Interconnections, interoperability, and information delivery

• Partnerships, partnerships, partnerships

“2 ½ cheers for Google.”--Paul Duguid, May 5 2005, Cornell University

June 2005 12

Managing “Mindsets”• Neither good nor bad• Essential for making sense

of the world• Contain hidden

assumptions• Not absolute truths• Some get stuck in them• We need to be aware of

them, and sometimes challenge them

• “Everything is available on the Web”

• “Librarians wear sensible shoes and check out books”

• “The library is a wonderful storehouse of books”

• “Public services librarians understand users’ needs”

• “Users should search in the right way so they find the best resources”

• “The best catalog record is the fullest one possible”

“Research libraries, as organizations, have greatdifficulty in … implementing the revolutionarychanges that are needed for automated digital libraries.” --Bill Arms, DLib Magazine, 2000

June 2005 13

Creativity: A Way of Managing One’s Inner Processes

• Friends – Play, inquisitiveness– Inner stability

• Open, receptive• Let go of the past• Question assumptions

– Flexibility • Foes

– Cynicism– Fear– Anger– Unexamined “mindsets”– Narrow focus

“ A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance, 1841

June 2005 14

Vision

• Founded in the belief that the world can be a better place, even in the face of great challenge, even despair

• Demands individual and organizational creativity: new ways of thinking, seeing, doing

• Can empower and align people, build momentum, and harness creative spirit

Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.--Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863

June 2005 15

•Find mutual purpose•Provide transitional roles and phases•Support staff development•Recognize it will take time•Persevere•Tolerate ambiguity

•Foster teamwork and innovation•Manage transitions, not just change•Honor the past•Walk the talk•Build a coalition•Respect people and endings•Learn how to have a “crucial conversation”

Creative Leadership: People Matter

“Transforming an organization is the ultimate test of leadership.”—John Kotter, Harvard Business School, 1998

June 2005 16

A New Kind of Library

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.—Franklin D. Roosevelt

•Build a vision of a new kind of library•Actively collaborate in learning and creating new knowledge

•Make organizational boundaries porous•Lower barriers to discovery and use•Leverage the skills of librarianship to advance knowledge•Integrate librarians in community social and information processes

June 2005 17

Visibility and Creative Leadership

• Increase our visibility• Examine mindsets• Nurture creativity and

innovation• Invest in people

June 2005 18

Thank You!

Karen Calhoun

ksc10@cornell.edu