Summit on the Future of Illinois Library Cooperation

November 13, 2009 by ILAblog · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Articles 

by Chris Watkins, Illinois Library Association

More than seventy representatives from the Illinois library community—along with the infamous eight-hundred-pound gorilla—came together at Allerton Park and Retreat Center in Monticello on Monday, November 9, 2009.  Led by facilitator Maureen Sullivan, the purpose of the gathering was to discuss the future prospects for cooperation among all types of libraries in Illinois.

The combined effects of the changing environment for both library services and funding prompted this exploration of how library cooperation might be redesigned to result in greater benefits to the citizens of Illinois.  A joint effort of the Illinois Library Association (ILA) and the Illinois State Library, this one-day plenary session launched a process that could lead to what one participant described as “quantum” or breakthrough change.

An interim planning committee identified and invited the summit particpants.  The goal was a diverse group representing the geographic, demographic, and professional range of library services in the state, including school, academic, and special librarians.

In opening the session, ILA President Carole Medal noted the fall of the Berlin Wall twenty years ago on the same date, sounding the day’s theme of removing barriers to cooperation, and paraphrased Rahm Emmanuel in advising the group to “never waste a crisis.”  Sullivan, who has worked with consortia and systems in several states to help them explore how to strengthen collaboration and prepare for a changing future, presented a set of outcomes for the day’s discussions:

  • Key components of a vision
  • Desired attributes of a possible new approach
  • Benefits/risk assessment
  • Potential opportunities for programs, services
  • Conditions for success
  • Next Steps

Trends and Developments Affecting Library Service in Illinois

The summit alternated between small group and plenary sessions.  The small groups were intentionally structured to include participants from across the spectrum of library types and roles; participants were encouraged to look at the issues from the broadest possible perspective, rather than their specializations.  The first session listed a number of current trends, such as:

  • Resource sharing and cooperation is more about partnerships than books
  • Consolidation is parallel to examples in the business world
  • Outdated library laws in need of overhaul
  • Changing demographics bring change to library needs, services
  • Print usage is up, as well as digital
  • Broadband access
  • Variety of products, exponential growth in services
  • Libraries are distributors, as opposed to collectors
  • Need for different organizational structure
  • Changing definition of “library”
  • State budget deficit, declining property values
  • Changing personnel needs—retrain, new skills
  • Competition from search engines

The groups then turned to an examination of the trends, looking for themes, which included an overall sense that while libraries are addressing these challenges on a local level, there’s a need to expand the scale and work on them collectively.  As one participant noted, it’s “sink or swim” together.  Another recurring theme was the need to remove boundaries from library service, both geographic and other, and develop seamless service across the state for all citizens.  Questions of whether the “tipping point” had been reached and whether the profession was really ready for the change (“Do we have the right DNA?”) were raised.

Sullivan translated the themes into a list of core values that would be used later in the session to outline the underlying elements of the vision:  service, cooperation, collaboration, education/learning, interdependency, inclusiveness/inclusion, adaptability, and innovation.

Crystal Ball:  Envisioning Illinois Library Service in 2020

During the course of the day, the groups continued to envision the form and function of library services in an idealized future.  Many of these aligned with the trends noted earlier, some specific and others comprehensive, with examples including:

  • One statewide “brand,” one card, one message
  • “Embedding” the library presence throughout the community, in other organizations, etc.
  • Libraries as indispensable, ubiquitous, integrated
  • Consolidation as both a “big stick” and “helping hand”
  • Transcending the Google race
  • School libraries open year-round
  • Reorganization of systems by function, not geography
  • Franchise model, standardize at a high level
  • Improved advocacy and marketing by ALL libraries
  • User/patron centered

Ensuing discussion raised some of the more complex issues that accompany change, such as who loses and who gains, will services continue to be “free,” and how to move from aspiration to realization.  The process moved toward identifying the possible, with one participant suggesting a balance between standardizing common elements in order to be able to customize the rest.  Another returned to the anniversary of the Berlin Wall collapse and suggested it was time to “tear down the walls” in library services.  Sullivan described the process as “mapping the territory,” identifying potential partners, stakeholders, and players in the process.  Hiring for the future and developing current staff were also key components of the discussion.

In moving from the realm of the imagined to the achievable, the group sought to identify what kinds of conditions and preconditions would need to exist for such change to be possible.  The process was variously described as needing to be inclusive of all, with accountability and designated leadership; politically supported, stakeholders actively involved; balanced between common good and self-interest; transparent, with data and examples to prove the case; based on experience (e.g., school consolidation from the 1960s); subject to ongoing evaluation with means to measure progress; effectively branded to identify what libraries do that people cannot live without.

As summit participants moved to evaluate risks and benefits, gains and losses in this newly envisioned future, they struggled to come to grips with what the “it” really looked like.  One of the small groups developed an “800-lb.-gorilla” list, identifying some of the unspoken realities.  Ranging from further consolidation of systems, restructuring funding, and the role of the state library to the potential closing of more libraries, the elimination of jobs, and the “territorialism” and self-preservation that might result, the gorilla was a welcome guest in bringing the discussion down to earth.

Far from halting the flow, acknowledging some of these obstacles allowed participants to articulate how and why change could still occur.  As one participant noted, the losses may be easier to list, but the gains will be significant enough to eclipse or contain them.

Throughout the afternoon, in both large and small groups, participants continued to amplify their vision for a better future for statewide library service.  The list of conditions for success captured much of the day’s earlier discussions, and was both more focused and comprehensive.  (See sidebar.)

Where Do We Go From Here?

Sullivan outlined a workflow for the group to take the ideas, energy, and information that came from the summit and work toward a truly transformative model for library cooperation in Illinois.  The interim planning group will provide a summary to participants, capturing the important contributions of the participants, while this article in the ILA Reporter will serve to provide an overview to ILA members, the broader library community, and the public.  All materials are being made available to Illinois Library Systems, Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries of Illinois (CARLI), Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA), Illinois Chapter of the Special Libraries Association, and ILA including the Illinois Association of College and Research Libraries (IACRL) Forum, Library Trustee Forum, Public Library Forum, Reaching Forward:  Forum for Library Support Staff, and any other interested groups, organizations, or institutions.  Progress will continue to be updated on the ILA Web site.

The following chart outlines the multiple tasks and directions that will be pursued, and we look forward to engaging all of you in the weeks and months to come.

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Is Google Making Us Stupid?

November 5, 2008 by ILAblog · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Discussion 

We reprinted the Atlantic Monthly article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” in the December 2008 issue of the ILA Reporter. Did you have a chance to read it? Did you think it was too long to read? Did it keep your attention? What were your general thoughts about the article?

Some questions to consider:

As the world’s attention spans shorten, how does our increasing reliance on scanning the Internet for information affect our cognitive abilities?

Do these developments have an impact on libraries and our services?

Please discuss the article and your reactions in the comment section below.

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