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Prepared for the ALCTS President’s Program June 2005 Karen Calhoun

A Boundary- Breaking Perspective. Prepared for the ALCTS President’s Program June 2005 Karen Calhoun. “They come and go and draw from the well” I Ching , hexagram 48, Ching – The Well. The Well. The Library as a center of collections

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Prepared for the ALCTS President’s Program June 2005 Karen Calhoun

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  1. A Boundary- Breaking Perspective Prepared for the ALCTS President’s Program June 2005 Karen Calhoun

  2. “They come and go and draw from the well” I Ching, hexagram 48, Ching – The Well The Well • The Library as a center of collections • The Library as a center of experts and tools to guide users to appropriate resources

  3. The River

  4. Boundaries and boundary-breaking

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

  6. “Knowledge creation is everyone’s concern, and not the responsibility of a specialized few.” –Chun Wei Choo, 2002 Teaching, Learning, and the Creation of New Knowledge DOMAIN EXPERTS: Professors, grad. students, researchers, deans, university leaders and staff UNIVERSITY KNOWING COMMUNITY IT EXPERTS: Desktop, computer lab and server support; applications for academic, research, administrative support; networks, telecommunications, security INFORMATION EXPERTS: Librarians, records managers, archivists, others

  7. “Instead of being a hoarder of containers, the library must become the facilitator of retrieval and dissemination.”—William Wulf, 2003 Exemplars of 21st Century Librarianship Blakeley, Daniel H. Cornell Center for Materials Research Facility Staff page

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

  9. “2 ½ cheers for Google.” --Paul Duguid, May 5 2005, Cornell University 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

  10. 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 great difficulty in … implementing the revolutionary changes that are needed for automated digital libraries.” --Bill Arms, DLib Magazine, 2000 Managing “Mindsets”

  11. 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 Creativity: A Way of Managing One’s Inner Processes

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

  13. “Transforming an organization is the ultimate test of leadership.”—John Kotter, Harvard Business School, 1998 Creative Leadership: People Matter • 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” • Find mutual purpose • Provide transitional roles and phases • Support staff development • Recognize it will take time • Persevere • Tolerate ambiguity

  14. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. —Franklin D. Roosevelt A New Kind of Library • 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 • Build a vision of a new kind of library • Actively collaborate in learning and creating new knowledge

  15. Visibility and Creative Leadership • Increase our visibility • Examine mindsets • Nurture creativity and innovation • Invest in people

  16. Thank You! Karen Calhoun ksc10@cornell.edu

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