After the tour there was a fun reception, and then the evening dine-arounds. I lucked out and chose a fantastic bunch of librarians with whom to share the evening (but, since librarians are the nicest people ever, it would have been pretty difficult to not have had a wonderful dinner with any of the groups dining around at various restaurants). We had a lovely supper filled with the delicious food, fun conversation, and a fair dose of laughter at Rubaiyat Restaurant. I got to better know other librarians from the Des Moines area and beyond and also got a chance to visit with the keynote speaker, Michael Porter, who joined us for the evening.
The next day began early, as I arrived on campus around 7 a.m. to assist with setting up Membership Committee materials and other signs. The conference began with a general welcome and introductions from the ILA/ACRL Spring Conference Committee Chair, the ILA/ACRL President, and the Vice President/Dean of Luther College. Then Michael Porter, President of Library Renewal, shared his passion and ideas for the future of libraries with us. He began with a simple, yet important equation: libraries = content + community. I think this speaks to the heart and mission of libraries: service to patrons is why we exist. We need to bring them the content they need (and oftentimes the content they don't yet know they need) in order to fully nurture them as an entire person (meeting their educational needs, social needs, and even emotional needs in the case of programming & support meetings held in group spaces). As Porter noted in his presentation, libraries balance out economic and other disparities and are a place where all can come to access information, be a part of the community, learn, and exchange information and perspectives. The library serves as an equalizer, providing opportunities for all, no matter the circumstance.
This is something I am very passionate about and found myself agreeing with much of what he had to share. I find myself drawn serve those in need; in my past life as an orchestra teacher I served children in a community that was struggling (and continues to struggle) economically. Currently I am in an institution where students have struggled academically or financially but are working hard toward a better future for themselves. I often think of Grand View as a place that embraces all kinds of learners, especially those who may not have been accepted anywhere else, and this is a part of my vocation as a librarian and educator--to meet students where they are and help them reach where they need to be. We can talk about the principles of librarianship (access, community, preservation, learning, literacy, dissemination of knowledge, etc.), but, in my opinion, when you boil those all down to their simplest form they would all fall under this larger umbrella of service.
Porter also emphasized the importance of adaptation to meet the needs of those we serve (and, for libraries to survive in the future, we must adapt). So much has changed in the past two decades, but how have libraries embraced this? I think the nature of change in academia has already been a form of hindrance to the type of progress Porter and Library Renewal seek, as it does tend to take a very long time. Library Renewal looks to forward the switch from the current emphasis on print and what I'm calling "broken e-content" (clunky, inaccessible, overpriced, not managed in a way that best serves users, etc.) toward a more open and transparent information sharing platform, changing the infrastructure so that libraries & patrons have a say in how they receive digital content, as opposed to being at the mercy of the greater publishing industry. That's not to say all publishers are evil--they are also currently experiencing a huge shift in how they do their business and are learning to adapt, but how is the way they are choosing to adapt hindering big picture progress (and at what cost to the public)?
If nothing, I heard an awesome new phrase I can begin incorporating into my quirky phrase repertoire: completely borked, so that's a pretty sweet deal. Seriously though, I share much of Porter's enthusiasm and passion for raising awareness of these issues and for bringing about change, but at the same time, I know I'm starting my second career as a new librarian in an institution with 4 librarians to staff all instruction, reference, outreach initiatives, do liaison work, and all of the other things that come along with academic libraries, so the change I can make at this point (especially as a non-bigwig person) involves speaking out to legislators, doing what I can to promote change on a local and individual level--and change takes time...
