Dear Libraries,
I've had the pleasure of working for a software distribution company this summer and on as a sort of library liaison-consultant person, and this position has allowed me to learn so much about libraries and working with them rather than in them. It's been (and continues to be) a great experience, and I'm lucky to have bosses that care about libraries too and understand how badly I want to get into a public library. By far and away the best part about this job though is the Techlift.
As soon as my bosses pitched the idea of a large library giveaway focused on providing technology for a children's center in a needy library, I was in love. The project quickly became my baby, so much so that my company agreed to keep me on past the end of my summer internship to see it through. I researched, drafted guidelines, pored over legal documents to make sure I understood how giveaways and contests worked. I emailed every Ohio librarian whose contact info I could find to let them know about the giveaway. I gratefully absorbed our entries and organized them lovingly. If I couldn't work in a library just yet, I still felt blessed to be able to do something good that has the potential to change a library so much for the better. The giveaway has just closed for entries, and if I have learned anything from the process so far, it's that wow, libraries, you have so many ideas and so little funding to make them happen.
The first entry we received was so exciting. It felt like such a validation of my hard work, that someone agreed to share their story with us and put the time in to take a chance on the possibility of winning new technology for their kids. It was heartwarming and inspiring. And then the entries kept on coming. I read more and more stories of struggling libraries with huge visions and big plans that would greatly improve the lives and access of their youngest patrons and I was so moved. More than that though, I've become extremely troubled by the fact that we're supposed to pick just one library as the most deserving, the most able to make an impact in its community with the giveaway. I want everyone to have their dream fulfilled. I'm still not sure how we're going to decide.
Most importantly, this experience has had a profound impact on my own vision for the future of libraries. Up until this point, cloistered in my own experience separate from the real decision-makers and those who truly see the Big Picture of public libraries, I've been able to focus on the infinitum of possibilities: every new development, every cool and engaging program has been mine to cherish and adore. But not every thing is possible for every library. I do not pretend to understand the intricacies of funding, but I do understand that it is shrinking. More library projects must be supported by individual fundraising efforts; federal funding is a joke, state funding is scarce and local funding has more pressing issues to deal with (the ALA has some excellent studies on public library funding and use, if you're not aware). And yet patron demand keeps on rising. I've scoured countless reports, and the consensus is always that even as the recession hits the hardest and library funding suffers the most, library usage rises continually. Libraries are where people go when they can no longer afford to keep up with the rising costs associated with the ability to access information for themselves. And the access to information is the key to self-improvement; without free access, those with the drive but without the means fall behind and become unable to find a job, to further their education, to communicate with peers and reap the benefits that social media has to offer.
I want to thank each and every library who took the time to enter in the giveaway, on a personal level. While every additional entry broke my heart all the more with the knowledge that we can only allot the prize to one winner, every entry also solidified my personal drive to go out and seek the answers necessary to shape the future of free and equal access. Public libraries are doing the best they can, but quite frankly, the model that exists now has many difficulties keeping up with technology that constantly changes and grows. A radical change is probably necessary in order to fully realize the potential a public library has to offer its community. But ask anyone who knows me well--solving puzzles is my favorite task, and I often confront great problems as issues to be untangled in an often creative way. And I am more than committed to applying myself to the Great Puzzle that is the library conundrum. Stay tuned, Libraries. Great things to come.
Faithfully,
Maggie
I've had the pleasure of working for a software distribution company this summer and on as a sort of library liaison-consultant person, and this position has allowed me to learn so much about libraries and working with them rather than in them. It's been (and continues to be) a great experience, and I'm lucky to have bosses that care about libraries too and understand how badly I want to get into a public library. By far and away the best part about this job though is the Techlift.
As soon as my bosses pitched the idea of a large library giveaway focused on providing technology for a children's center in a needy library, I was in love. The project quickly became my baby, so much so that my company agreed to keep me on past the end of my summer internship to see it through. I researched, drafted guidelines, pored over legal documents to make sure I understood how giveaways and contests worked. I emailed every Ohio librarian whose contact info I could find to let them know about the giveaway. I gratefully absorbed our entries and organized them lovingly. If I couldn't work in a library just yet, I still felt blessed to be able to do something good that has the potential to change a library so much for the better. The giveaway has just closed for entries, and if I have learned anything from the process so far, it's that wow, libraries, you have so many ideas and so little funding to make them happen.
The first entry we received was so exciting. It felt like such a validation of my hard work, that someone agreed to share their story with us and put the time in to take a chance on the possibility of winning new technology for their kids. It was heartwarming and inspiring. And then the entries kept on coming. I read more and more stories of struggling libraries with huge visions and big plans that would greatly improve the lives and access of their youngest patrons and I was so moved. More than that though, I've become extremely troubled by the fact that we're supposed to pick just one library as the most deserving, the most able to make an impact in its community with the giveaway. I want everyone to have their dream fulfilled. I'm still not sure how we're going to decide.
Most importantly, this experience has had a profound impact on my own vision for the future of libraries. Up until this point, cloistered in my own experience separate from the real decision-makers and those who truly see the Big Picture of public libraries, I've been able to focus on the infinitum of possibilities: every new development, every cool and engaging program has been mine to cherish and adore. But not every thing is possible for every library. I do not pretend to understand the intricacies of funding, but I do understand that it is shrinking. More library projects must be supported by individual fundraising efforts; federal funding is a joke, state funding is scarce and local funding has more pressing issues to deal with (the ALA has some excellent studies on public library funding and use, if you're not aware). And yet patron demand keeps on rising. I've scoured countless reports, and the consensus is always that even as the recession hits the hardest and library funding suffers the most, library usage rises continually. Libraries are where people go when they can no longer afford to keep up with the rising costs associated with the ability to access information for themselves. And the access to information is the key to self-improvement; without free access, those with the drive but without the means fall behind and become unable to find a job, to further their education, to communicate with peers and reap the benefits that social media has to offer.
I want to thank each and every library who took the time to enter in the giveaway, on a personal level. While every additional entry broke my heart all the more with the knowledge that we can only allot the prize to one winner, every entry also solidified my personal drive to go out and seek the answers necessary to shape the future of free and equal access. Public libraries are doing the best they can, but quite frankly, the model that exists now has many difficulties keeping up with technology that constantly changes and grows. A radical change is probably necessary in order to fully realize the potential a public library has to offer its community. But ask anyone who knows me well--solving puzzles is my favorite task, and I often confront great problems as issues to be untangled in an often creative way. And I am more than committed to applying myself to the Great Puzzle that is the library conundrum. Stay tuned, Libraries. Great things to come.
Faithfully,
Maggie
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