Slides & Notes

Keynote, PDF, PowerPoint

Schedule for the Afternoon

1:15 - Why it's important to understand our values (i.e. me and the dog)
1:30 - Discussion of lunchtime activity & personal values inventory
2:15 - Values scenarios - assessments of library situations
2:45 - Hidden values & priorities - Ask vs. Guess culture
3:15 - Quick Exercise - Charitable Interpretations
3:30 - Elevator pitches
4:00 - Buddy system and wrap-up
4:15 - Event wrap-up and evalations

Lunchtime Activity: Library Values

Each table will have a group of twenty flashcards representing a set of library values (cards in pdf).

In discussion with your table mates, choose the "Top Five" values that you think represent librarianship the most. Please also pick your "Bottom Five" values. Pick one from each list that you would personally advocate for. If there are values which are missing, please note them on a blank piece of paper. We'll be discussing these decisions after lunch.

Learn & Discuss: Personal Values Inventory

It's one thing to outline your personal values. It's another to try to prioritize them and determine which of them are the ones that are driving your actions. This personal values inventory (pdf, here's a longer list if you'd like one) gives you a chance to think about which of the many characteristics are the ones that are most important to you.

Activity: Library Scenarios

Now we'll learn to deal with conflicting values. Pair up. Grab one scenario and a Support/Oppose card. Make a values-based assessment (i.e. "Our library believes ____________ and so we should do ___________") of the scenario.

Learn About: Hidden Priorities

Sometimes what we say are our main priorities are not the ones that wind up driving our decision making. We'll look at why this can happen (for good and ... less good reasons) and how to work around that. Here's a link to some information about Ask Culture vs. Guess Culture from MetaFilter.

Quick Exercise: Charitable Interpretations

It can be helpful for your own peace of mind to try to ascribe positive values to people's sometimes inexplicable behavior.

Learn & Discuss: Elevator Pitches

Have these at the ready when someone asks you what you do or what your workplace is about.

Wrapping Up: Finding a Buddy

I am going to bug you in a few weeks and see if you've actually had a chance to use the stuff we've talked about. But you'll have a buddy who you can discuss some of this with today, and then I'll just nudge you to contact them in a few weeks.

Suggested Readings

• Our Enduring Values Revisited: Librarianship in an Ever-Changing World (2015) by Michael Gorman
• Atlas of New Librarianship (2012) by R. David Lankes
• Librarianship and Human Rights: a twenty first century guide (2007) by Toni Samek
• Barbarians at the Gates of the Public Library (2006) by Ed D'Angelo
• A Library Primer (1920) by John Cotton Dana
• The function of the public library in a democracy (1920) by John Hopkin Leete
• A librarian's open shelf: essays on various subjects (1909) by Arthur Bostwick

Credits

• Initial values inventory list by Mindtools
• Complaint icon by Francisco Garcia Gallegos from the Noun Project
• Checklist by Arthur Shlain from the Noun Project
• Chat icons from by buzzyrobot from the Noun Project
• No dogs is from the public domain AIGA collection from the Noun Project
• Long cash register receipt image from Twitter
• Dollar sign by Lubos Volkov from the Noun Project
• Sleep icon from Rémy Médard from the Noun Project
• Gavel by Creative Stall from the Noun Project
• eye mask by Creative Stall from the Noun Project
• Ghost by Mike Wirth from the Noun Project
• Flying by Alex Tai from the Noun Project
• QA by Sergey Novosyolov from the Noun Project
• Lollipop by Lilit Kalachyan from the Noun Project
• hands by chiccabubble from the Noun Project
• Most B&W photographs from the State Library of NSW Flickr photostream