21st Century Librarianship: Research Paper Abstract

Library 2.0 theory is ready to be tested against the information age by librarian leaders in the 21st century. Librarians who understand the benefits of both community-driven change and monitoring trends in emerging information and communication technology (ICT), can be called librarians 2.0, ‘contemporary librarians,’ or 21st century librarians. Even though the world is changing, librarians still hope to remain relevant by continuously learning new ways to empower library patrons.

Librarian leadership in the information age illustrates a mentality of patron empowerment. A 21st century librarian must help library patrons contextualize information by delivering relevant resources and providing/recommending the support services required to gain knowledge and wisdom from these resources. Librarian leaders possess the wisdom to listen to market conversation in order to realign library services to meet the technology expectations of existing (and potential) library patrons and compete in a global market – augmented with ICTs.

21st century librarians work with diverse members of the library community and ICTs to stimulate positive patron-centered change. Librarians in the information age incorporate teamwork, creativity, and flexibility into their work. Collaboration, knowledge-sharing, diversity, and leadership are all practices that 21st century librarians must demonstrate during these time of evolutionary and revolutionary changes in information seeking and human communication.

Community Informatics Terms

“Define the following 8 terms / phrases as they relate to community informatics in your OWN words and in no more than 3 sentences.”

1. Bridging and bonding (in the context of social capital)

In the context of social capital (the strength of a community network), bridging usually refers to large-scale, instrumental network ties between diverse, innovative people/groups.  Bonding ties are similar to ties between family and close friends.  With bonding social capital, there is a greater emphasis on the trust and culture of a group; less emphasis is put on productivity.

2. Civic engagement

Civic engagement refers how individuals or communities (local or virtual) use information and communication technology (ICT) to participate in social or political communities.

3. Community informatics

Community informatics (CI) is a growing interdisciplinary field of study that considers how different communities can utilize information and communication technology (ICT) to stimulate community action.  Individuals interested in library & information science and/or community technology centers (CTCs) can use CI theory and research to design contextually appropriate ICT solutions for institutions working to foster digital inclusion in their local communities.

4. Digital citizenship

Digital citizenship allows people to participate in social and political activities online.  Communities with no (or poor quality, or inappropriate) ICT access, technical support, and/or digital literacy skills will not have equal opportunities to collaborate and share.  CI aspires to contribute to equality in both local and global citizenship.

5. Participatory action research

Participatory action research is an in-depth exploration of a community’s use of ICTs.  The researcher is focused on investigating specific, context-sensitive methods of improving current community practice.  Each researcher (or research team) selects unique aspects of a community to study, so findings will be unique to each community.

6. CI as a global strategy

Each human community on Earth could potentially use ICTs to collaborate and innovate to solve major global issues (ie. eliminate poverty, environmental sustainability, universal education, etc.) and prepare to respond and recover in times of crisis.  CI theory and practice stimulates contextually relevant CTC and ICT development in communities all over the world.

7. Social network

People and organizations can use social networks to develop relationships and connect with other people and organizations.  Relationships on social networks can be classified as strong or weak and they can fluctuate independent of or alongside real-life relationships.  Social networks facilitate new types of community sharing, collaboration, and conversation.

8. Sustainability

Community technology centers (CTCs) could become gathering places for community groups to brainstorm and work to resolve communal issues and build closer relationships with individuals (in-person and/or online).  CTCs and ICTs are considered successful when members of a community feel empowered.  CTCs and ICTs are sustainable if members of a community are able to synthesize them into education, work, and (ultimately) daily life.

Literature Review: Excerpt & Bibliography

Here, again, is my research question for our LIS 768 research paper:

In a Web connected world, how can the librarian 2.0 empower patrons with relevant knowledge?

Below is an excerpt from the literature review of my research paper.  I still have to decide how to construct the contextual narrative behind this:

Ultimately, the goal of the librarian 2.0 is to work with patrons in contextualizing information (Beagle, 1999, p. 88). In best case scenarios, patrons will convert contextualized information to knowledge and apply that knowledge to demonstrate wisdom in their actions (Gradmann, 2010). This has the potential to benefit individuals and empower leaders to speak out and collaborate to address local community issues (Bajaj, 2010) and build stronger ties between community members (Pigg and Crank, 2004, p. 69) to increase enthusiasm about improving the community.

Librarians can help their library community sustain a diverse, collaborative, safe, and compassionate environment (experiential and experimental) by leading patrons to different opinions and stories – good stories – “stories that spread” (Godin, 2008, p. 16) and community outreach (LaRue, 2007, p. 97). Using emerging and evolving social media tools (Kroski, 2009), the online conversation librarian can ensure “that the library is both participant in the conversation… and facilitator of conversation” (Lankes, Silverstein, and Nicholson, 2007, p. 18).  What type of conversation?  Conversation that embraces diversity (Bajaj, 2009), empowers individuals with skills to acquire and share knowledge and wisdom (Shuhuai et al., 2009, p. 255), and fosters collaboration between diverse individuals – each with unique information needs (Franks and Tosko, 2007, p. 114).

References

All URLs accessed on 9 December 2010

Bajaj, D. (2009). #Diversitytweet: Embracing the growing diversity in our world. Silicon Valley, CA: SuperStar Press.

Bajaj, D. (June 30, 2010). Social media and tribes #4: Tribal leadership. Active Garage. Retrieved from http://www.activegarage.com/social-media-and-tribes-4-tribal-leadership

Beagle, D. (January 01, 1999). Conceptualizing an information commons. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 25(2), 82-89.

Casey, M. E. (January 3, 2006). Born in the Biblioblogsphere. LibraryCrunch. Retrieved from http://www.librarycrunch.com/2006/01/post_1.html

Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2007). Library 2.0: A guide to participatory library service. Medford, N.J: Information Today.

Franks, J., & Tosko, M. (January 01, 2007). Reference librarians speak for users: A learning commons concept that meets the needs of a diverse student body. The Reference Librarian, 47(97), 105-118.

Godin, S. (2008). Tribes: We need you to lead us. New York: Portfolio.

Gradmann, S. (April 2010). Knowledge=Information in Context: On the Importance of Semantic Contextualisation in Europeana. The Hague: Europeana Office. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/32110457/Europeana-White-Paper-1

Hill, C. (2009). Inside, outside, and online: Building your library community. Chicago: American Library Association.

Kooy, B. K., & Steiner, S. K. (January 01, 2010). Protection, not barriers: Using social software policies to guide and safeguard students and employees. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(1), 59-71.

Kroski, E. (October 01, 2009). Should your library have a social media policy? School Library Journal [Online]. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699104.html

Lankes, R. D., Silverstein, J., & Nicholson, S. (January 01, 2007). Participatory networks: The library as conversation. Information Technology and Libraries, 26(4), 17.

LaRue, J. (2007). The new inquisition: Understanding and managing intellectual freedom challenges. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.

Maness, J. M. (June 2006). Library 2.0 theory: Web 2.0 and its implications for libraries. Webology. Retrieved from http://webology.ir/2006/v3n2/a25.html

Partridge, H., Menzies, V., Lee, J., & Munro, C. (October 01, 2010). The contemporary librarian: Skills, knowledge and attributes required in a world of emerging technologies. Library and Information Science Research, 32(4) 265-271.

Peltier-Davis, C. (November 01, 2009). Web 2.0, library 2.0, library user 2.0, librarian 2.0: Innovative services for sustainable libraries. Computers in Libraries, 29(10), 16-21.

Pigg, K & Crank, L. (2004). Building community social capital: The potential and promise of information and communications technologies. Journal of Communtiy Informatics [Online], 1(1), 59. Retrieved from http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/184/132

Shuhuai, R., Xingjun, S., Haiqing, L., & Jialin, C. (April 10, 2009). From information commons to knowledge commons: Building a collaborative knowledge sharing environment for innovative communities. The Electronic Library, 27(2), 247-257.

Sodt, J. M., & Summey, T. P. (January 01, 2009). Beyond the library’s walls: Using library 2.0 tools to reach out to all users. Journal of Library Administration, 49, 97-109.

Stephens, M. (November 15, 2010). Goals of an LIS educator. Library Journal [Online]. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/ljinprintcurrentissue/887408-403/goals_of_an_lis_educator.html.csp

Stephens, M. (October 15, 2010). Office hours. Library Journal [Online]. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/communitylibraryeducation/886961-272/office_hours_october_15_2010.html.csp

Reflections: Group Collaboration and Drupal Gardens

A few hours after LIS 768 chose project groups, I thought it might be appropriate to create a group within our class website. I used Google Image Search to locate a picture appropriate for a group avatar. Soon after group creation, Michael Stephens, Nate, James, Terri, and I were all Admins of the Fall 2010 LIS 768 Drupal Group.

Due to the mismatched schedules in our group, we worked together using a few social media tools (the Class group, Skype, and Google Docs). Through the class group we decided early on that building a prototype for our project would be the best way to learn and present Drupal to our classmates.

A tweet from @infomancy, live from School Library Journal summit (#sljsummit10) directed me to the article Drupal Gets Easier: Making a site? Ning-less? Try Drupal Gardens. From her hometown library in Iowa, Terri found a library website that could potentially benefit from a Drupal Gardens makeover. The Blairstown Public Library in Iowa provided a content base for us to work from on the prototype. Our goal was to create a working library website for Blairstown Public Library with Library 2.0 features (i.e. commenting, feedback, RSS, etc.) to encourage patrons to converse on the library’s website.

Drupal Gardens allowed for multiple log-ins for the same user-name, so we were all able to work on the website simultaneously. Our group used Skype to talk on a few Sunday mornings. James emailed us a sitemap he created, and also attached it to the documents section in the Class group. Nate initiated conference call sessions where we could hear each other and sometimes exchanged links via type-chat features. I tried using Facebook for its Note and TinyChat applications, but soon became frustrated with HTML barriers and persistent buggy mashups. The Google Docs and Presentation created by Nate and Terri, and edited by all of us, was the final collaborative movement.

Through our Drupal Group Project, we were able use a new Content Management System (CMS) to build the structure for a library website with Web 2.0 features. We carefully considered Blairstown Library culture in order to provide an appealing, practical, and community sensitive website prototype. Web 2.0 tools were used in the making of this Library 2.0 website; and staff at Blairstown Public Library in Iowa can use the same tools to maintain and further develop their online presence.

Here is a link to our Drupal Gardens presentation hosted by Google Docs.
Blairstown Public Library website prototype by the Fall 2010 Drupal Group (Nate, Terri, James, and me)

Conversations, Humans, and Libraries

For my LIS 768 Brand Monitoring Assignment, I intend to shine a brighter light on conversations about The Human Library in Web 2.0 media sites and social networks.

Why are conversations important?
Lankes, Silverstein, and Nicholson (2007) believe they know one answer: “Knowledge is created through conversation. Libraries are in the knowledge business. Therefore, libraries are in the conversation business.” Conversations can occur between 2 people, between groups of people, or within one’s self. The Human Library surrounds us everyday! Living Books are people. The Human Library blends “conversations… sparked by a book” and conversations that “center on the foundations of ourselves and our humanity.”

In the first chapter of The Cluetrain Manifesto, Christopher Locke states that, “Networks greatly facilitate the sharing of relevant knowledge within a community joined by like interests.” The Human Library’s online network could catalyze a global movement. A movement designed to help people confront, converse with, and clear-out superficial prejudices. Let us convert our prejudices to acceptance. Let us learn through conversation.

---

Social Media and other Web 2.0 sites facilitated excited conversation about Toronto Public Library’s first Human Library event – taking “place simultaneously at five branches across the city.” TPL provided people with information about reserving their time with a Living Book for November 6, 2010.

The Toronto Community News began advertising on their website
The Human Library visits Toronto Public Library

People were updated via The Human Library’s Facebook Page.

Also, the Bloor Gladstone Branch Public Library in Toronto created a Facebook Event for the date. Followers of The Human Library Facebook Group receive updates directly from founder Ronni Abergel. Although the group’s most recent update states that it is suspended (in favor of the Facebook Page), I believe that the new features of Facebook Groups would facilitate more centralized collaboration and communication between Human Library organizers and followers in the future.

The Human Library on Twitter: 93 Tweets, 125 Followers
The Human Library’s Twitter page is still young. So far, this Twitter page is primarily used to update Followers about articles and events. If The Human Library provided a link to their Twitter via their website or Facebook, people might direct updates @TheHumanLibrary more often.

The Bloor Gladstone Public Library in Toronto tweeted about the event:

About a week after the event, Toronto Public Library continues to Tweet about The Human Library (#humanlibrary)!

Blog from a Living Book!
Visual essayist, Franke James, wrote a blog entry informing her “Green Conscience” followers, and other curious web surfers, that she was volunteering to be a Human Book! Below her blog entry, people can view others’ tweets about Franke James at The Human Library event on November 6th.

Librarianista reblogged the Toronto Community News report on Tumblr – a social blogging community. In fact, I discovered The Human Library through the ‘blogroll’ on my Tumblr dashboard!

The Human Library posted an entry describing the successes of the Toronto event. They cite a remark made by one Living Book borrower:

“It felt like a conversation with an inspiring and interesting new friend.”

If rap music makes you uncomfortable, confront your prior judgments! Be sure to check out the Human Library Introduction, via TheHumanLibrary YouTube Channel, for DIY statement of The Living Library’s mission. The number of YouTube videos about The Human Library is growing every year! As The Human Library continues to inspire healthy conversation about important and sensitive issues, more people will search for this alternative library online! For example, the video posted above has over 2,500 views!

The Human Library’s web presence is growing. March 21, 2010 was the first day anyone bookmarked The Human Library on del.icio.us. Today, this alternative library has been bookmarked 52 times! Over time, The Human Library will develop closer connections to people in both local communities and virtual communities; and the conversation will continue to grow.

The Librarian 2.0, Transparent Leadership, and Community Empowerment

In Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service, Michael Casey and Laura Savastinuk ask the question central to an evolving model of library service:

Are librarians reaching out to all members of the community?

Library 2.0 Ripples
David Lee King
Click to learn more!

How can librarians possibly reach out to all community members?

There is so much work to be done within the library’s walls: organizing, analyzing, instructing, advising, preserving, and documenting! If a librarian feels like his or her library lacks adequate resources and support (staff and funding) to facilitate returning patrons, when will he or she ever be motivated and excited to engage new patrons? However, the disheartened librarian has something new to look forward to! It is change. A change in service. A change in attitude. A change towards a Library created by the community.

Library 2.0 allows librarians to engage new patrons (not familiar with library services) in a way that is relevant to humanity’s increasing interest in creating and consuming electronic information on the Web. So far, some librarians (and library patrons) are uncomfortable with participating in the unfamiliar, and seemingly complicated, Web community. However, to remain relevant in this digital age, it is necessary for librarians (the Librarian 2.0) to become aware of emerging information and communication technology (ICT) relevant to the communities (virtual and placed-based) he or she serves. Knowledge about emerging technology will help the Librarian 2.0 assist patrons learn to: evaluate the myriad electronic information sources available and use the Internet safely.

Through research, I hope to answer the question:
How does the Librarian 2.0 lead people to relevant knowledge in a Web connected world?

I intend to frame my research paper around correlating ideas from Casey and Savastinuk (2007) Library 2.0, Seth Godin‘s Tribes, and Deepika Bajaj‘s #Diversitytweet.

Casey and Savastinuk (2007) conclude their participatory service guide with a call to embrace and celebrate community uniqueness and patron diversity: “In the end, Library 2.0 will look different for each library, based in part on users’ diverse needs.” Library 2.0 is the Library’s chance to demonstrate (first-hand!) how information and technology in context can reveal a clearer path towards relevant change.

Further Reading:
Abram, Stephen. (2006, January). Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and Librarian 2.0: Preparing for the 2.0 World. SirsiDynix.

Hill, C. (2009). Inside, outside, and online: Building your library community. Chicago: American Library Association.

---

The Human Library
A ‘Living Book‘ is a human who has volunteered to represent a stereotyped group of people. “The ‘reader’ of the [living] library can be anybody who is ready to talk with his or her own prejudice and stereotype and wants to spend an hour of time on this experience.”

“With diversity, we make innovation and evolution a reality” (Bajaj, 2010, p. 23).

When people are ready to let go of their prejudices and first impressions, librarians and library patrons will have more opportunities to share unique perspectives and experiences and contribute to library culture. The Librarian 2.0 can help empower communities to: discover useful information and communication technologies (ICT), harness diverse community knowledge, inspire relevant change, and achieve common goals.

---

P.S. Thanks for everyones’ patience while I learned my lesson about laptop hard drive crashes the hard way… Fortunately, Godin was right about the Apple tribe. The young man at the genius bar replaced my hard drive for FREE! I didn’t have AppleCare, or anything! That is customer-driven service. That service further roots loyalty to the Apple tribe. Libraries might learn something from this type of tribal leadership.

ANYWAY! To ensure that I don’t lose most of my data again, I plan to continuously:

1. Backup my digital files on an external hard drive
2. Upload digital files to the communal computing cloud