by Reece Dano, Oregon Chapter, Advertising& Marketing Division

Much has been made about design-thinking and its supposed ability to summon up innovation and transform organizations. True, its flashier proponents have led many to question the scope of its utility. However, working as an information specialist within a design consultancy, I’ve seen how carefully designed systems, products and communication methods can change lives. So what is it all about?

In brief, design-thinking is any process that allows you to change your point of view. These processes often use abductive thinking to promote creativity and temporarily subdue logical constraints. Participants in design-thinking activities are asked to make logical leaps in service of idea generation. The more ideas generated in this manner, the more your default (and possibly stale) thinking patterns are shaken and called into question.

The change of perspective design-thinking grants can lead to the acceptance of information that opens you to greater flexibility. For information professionals, this flexibility can inspire more relevant user-oriented services, career agility and the chance to envision even greater opportunities.

Design-thinking isn’t that hard. Changing your point of view is.

If you’re interested in opening your current services to a creative examination, here are some questions you can ask yourself to kick off a design-thinking session. Some of these questions are challenging. Others may seem a bit silly. However, the insights gleaned from all can easily lead to new and fruitful perspectives.

• If I were to plot my services on an axis from least-used to most-used, what would I see?
• If I were to plot my services on an axis from most-mission-critical to least-mission-critical, what would I see?
• If I transformed these axes into a Cartesian coordinate system, where would my services lie? Would I feel the need to reposition any of these services to a new quadrant?
• If the CEO or president of my organization suddenly became my assistant, what would I have them do? Why? What would that say about me and my role?
• If the receptionist of my organization suddenly became my assistant, what would I have them do? Why? What would that say about me and my role?
• How would I characterize the differences between the tasks I would assign the CEO versus the receptionist? What does that say about me and my role?
• If I had to take away all my services, save for one, which one would remain? Why? Would this remaining service be the core of my identity? Should it?

As you can see, these questions are loaded with imaginary scenarios that could easily lead to oversimplification. However, the purpose of these questions is not to generate carefully framed hypotheses – at least not yet. Rather they are meant to provoke thought, begin dialog and reposition perspectives.

Try them out. Come up with your own. See if you can use them to spot emerging opportunities for you, your customers and the information industry as a whole.

Reece Dano is an embedded Information Specialist within the Consumer Insights and Trends Analyst Group at Ziba Design. He has worked in both corporate and academic libraries since 1999. He holds an MLIS from the University of Washington iSchool. He currently serves on the board of the Special Library Association’s Division of Advertising and Marketing and is Chair of SLA’s First Five Years Advisory Council. He was a recipient of the SLA Rising Star Award in 2010.

by Kama Siegel, Oregon Chapter, Legal Division

I think most SLA members consider themselves to be tech-savvy, if not “on the cutting edge” of gadgetry, social media and other innovative forms of communication. Even those who find individual forms of communication distasteful make a point of, if not embracing it, then using it fairly competently. The reason one of my colleagues gives for reluctantly accepting Twitter, for example, is because she knows that a fair number of her patrons or colleagues rely on it as a handy tool.

However, what if you run across colleagues who refuse to even try out these new tools, let alone adopt them? Do you just shake your head and leave them to their Luddite tendencies, or do you explain to them how they’re shooting themselves in the foot? I advocate the latter for while it may be uncomfortable to tell someone they are falling behind, it is a far worse proposition to ignore a way for our patrons to slip through the communication cracks.

Here are some reasons why a colleague would eschew the use of some form of technology (hardware or software), and the way you might address each:

• Cost/budget – Most communication platforms cost nothing, and are hosted on the web. It is understandable if someone balks at spending $500 for an iPad or a smartphone, but there’s no excuse for ignoring a tool that even one patron might be using.
• Fear of the new/fear of looking ignorant – The best way to get over your fear of new technology is to play around with it. No one is disapprovingly looking over your shoulder. And if you play around with it enough, you’ll find that you will either incorporate the technology into your routine, or you’ll discard it in favor or something else. Once you’re competent enough to make that choice, you’re no longer going to be ignorant. Additionally, your colleagues are librarians – they’re used to helping people! No one is going to laugh at you.
• Lack of time to properly learn/continue using the technology – This one might be the most difficult to overcome. However, if you can convince your colleague that all they need for competence is a mere 5-10 minutes a day for as long as they feel comfortable, you’ve won most of this battle. The other half of the battle is finding the time to keep using the technology in your everyday job duties. But again, if you start with 5 minutes and work your way up, you may find that it helps with your productivity.
• Lack of interest in a specific software or item of hardware – “Oh I’ll never use _________” says your colleague. Oh no? Famous last words. I nearly gave up on Twitter before I realized just how useful it is as a tool to increase productivity, and industry news feed. Stress to your colleague that some of these tools might need a lot of front-end work before she makes the decision to discard them or move on to the next available product.
• Belief that no patrons will be affected by the librarian ignoring the technology – Have your colleague walk around your organization and see what sort of tools your patrons are using. Tell her to talk to her patrons to find out how they’re using these tools. She might be surprised about all of the different methods by which patrons are harnessing information.
• Not sure about what’s available – Encourage your colleague to follow tech blogs or tech-savvy librarians’ blogs. They need to be at least a little curious about the tools in the first place before they can start to use them.

Ignoring any method of reaching our patrons is the opposite of Future Ready. To do so willfully should constitute malpractice.

Kama Siegel is the President of the Oregon Chapter of SLA and is the Computer Automation and Reference Librarian at the law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt.

 by Judy Anderson, Oregon Chapter, Academic Division

What keeps you coming to SLA? Is it because you are making things happen that benefit you and those you know?  Is it meeting new people and making contacts? Supporting a strong volunteer campaign and program can bring that enthusiasm and interest to others, too. One of the saddest comments is, “I would like to get involved but don’t know how.” Or even sadder, “I said I’d like to be volunteer but no one got back to me.”  Making getting involved easier may spark new life into our Chapters.  Volunteers bring fresh ideas and positive energy that can’t be beat.  

A few thoughts to keep in mind when working with volunteers:

1. Match their interests and opportunities for career growth (something to add to their resumes as a skill) with things your organization needs done; busy work is not helpful for anyone.
2. Support their enthusiasm and fresh ideas…try new things. If they work, that’s fantastic; if not, you know now that they don’t work and can move to something else.  Both experiences are valuable.
3. Choose projects that are needed but not mission critical or time sensitive to get them started.
4. Break the project into small segments that are easily managed and have an end point so it’s readily apparent that progress has been made and there is a finished product to be proud of.
5. Figure out the type of recognition needed for that person…verbal praise? Recognition at a meeting? A plaque? A thank you letter to their employer? How are you going to thank them in a way meaningful to them?

Like many of you, Oregon added a volunteer coordinator position to our Board. Not only does it provide a volunteer opportunity, but it’s helping us reach our members to let them know how they can take a more active role in the organization and is keeping track of their areas of interest so we can match projects with volunteers.  After all, we’re all volunteers, so think about why you’re enjoying our association and work to bring that life and joy to others in the membership and beyond. 

 Judy Anderson is the current Past-President of SLA’s Oregon Chapter. She is the Head of Reference & Instruction at Concordia University-Portland, Oregon.

by Jason Kramer, Executive Director, New York State Higher Education Initiative

Here we are in the information age and librarians – information professionals – everywhere seem glum.  Shrinking budgets and changing technology are frightening and worse, but if librarians do not take a more active role in defining the future someone else will do it.  The result for the librarian and the library could be disastrous.

The firmament has been shaken and we are in the midst of the third great revolution in information.  In the first the great Library at Alexandria sparked a revolution in collecting information.  In the second, Gutenberg’s press changed forever the way information is disseminated.  Now, in our digital age, information is being collected, disseminated, and created like never before.  Amidst this eruption in information the librarian should be more important than ever.

If this opportunity were not enough to motivate you to be “future ready,” consider the challenges.  The rise of the internet has many questioning the relevance of libraries and widespread fiscal and budget problems threaten the funding of even the most beloved library.

Ready or not, the future is here.  The choice before you is to affect the change all around you, or merely absorb it.  

One way forward is to wield a none-too-subtle mace.  Through Marketing, Advocacy, Collaboration, and Experimentation, you can mold the future.

Marketing the library involves educating everyone about the role and importance of libraries.  With a clear consistent message it is possible to capture attention and minds.

Advocating for the library is a task that falls to each of us.  The decision-makers and stakeholders of our libraries must be persistently lobbied.  They must be brought to understand that libraries are not a money-eating building, but a dynamic tool that can solve greater problems.  Information is the raw material of the information age, with libraries the vital infrastructure for progress.

Collaboration is a habit that must be extended beyond the usual partners.  Think of non-traditional collaborations.  Business, entrepreneurs, researchers, health practitioners, mechanics, programmers and nearly everyone else relies on information to succeed in their jobs.  Work together and they will become your best advocates.

Finally it falls to us to experiment.  Pursue your goal, but always try new approaches, different angles, and creative collaborations.  No one has ever succeeded in anything grand on the first effort.  Keep at it.

Now is the moment to build the library of tomorrow.  The future is ready for you, are you ready for the future?

Jason Kramer is the Executive Director of the New York State Higher Education Initiative, a non-profit organization advocating for the interests of the public and private academic and research libraries of the state. He has held various public affairs and communications positions and served as a guest lecturer at several colleges and universities in New York.

by Berika Williams, PR Chair 2011, IT Division/Web Services Librarian, UH-Victoria

I love this profession and I’m completely fulfilled in the work that I do. As information professionals, we adapt to emerging technologies surrounding the access to information we provide. As a result this poses fresh opportunities to organize, manage, represent, and access it.

I believe that being Future Ready is about knowing where your values lie and having goals, dreams, and pursuits that support them. I value the work that I do, time spent with family, friends, colleagues, giving back to the community, and being open to new skill sets and technologies. I am learning to say “no” to commitments, things, and even people that pull me away from my vision.

I am Future Ready at my job and beyond the office by being under the mentorship of those more experienced and absorbing as much training, knowledge, professional development (and interpersonal) skills to be truly successful as a newbie librarian. The greatest part is that this development is continuous and built on life-long learning.

We are service oriented, but we also enhance the goals and missions of organizations by providing consultation in being more efficient in information management. Many of us sit on the brink of technological developments and create new tools and systems that meet a variety of information needs. The versatility of our knowledge base provides immense value. This is why I love this profession.

Berika Williams is the web services librarian at the Victoria College/ University of Houston-Victoria Library. She is currently the PR chair for the Information Technology Division of SLA.

by Toccara D. Porter, Kentucky Chapter, Information Technology Division

The idea of being future ready, particularly as a newbie to SLA, leads me to examine the style of leadership within the entire Association on down to the Divisions and Chapters. In attending my first Leadership Summit I walked around introducing myself to people. Many of the conversations focused on their experiences being in a Chair-Elect or President-Elect position.  People talked of either finding themselves ‘thrown’ into the position without a clue about what to do or having adequate support from the incumbents and the entire board.

Considering these prospects as a toss up of what could happen to me in the same situation brought to mind the summer of 1993. The year marked my entrance into the 5^th grade. Anxiously I awaited ‘the letter’ from my elementary school that would reveal which teacher’s class I would be joining: Ms. Roberts or Mr. Patterson. All the kids at school had nothing but great things to say about Ms. Roberts: she was nice and was always welcoming when someone approached. However, Mr. Patterson was the opposite; grumpy and a bit of a pushover. When the letter finally arrived it seemed as if my entire life rested on whose name was inside as I opened the envelope: Ms. Roberts or Mr. Patterson?

The point is: thinking about what type of leadership style awaits within a Division and Chapter makes me a little hesitant about opening that envelope. As SLA prepares its members—new and established—to be ready to demonstrate strong leadership qualities we must continually reflect on whether the current leadership structures in place can truly open the door to that future or close it; because I am ready to walk through it! What about you?

In case you were wondering, I had Ms. Roberts. And, yes, being in the fifth-grade was a good year!

Toccara D. Porter is the Librarian-In-Residence at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. She is a member of the Kentucky Chapter and Information Technology Division of SLA. 

by Bill Fisher, Silicon Valley and Oregon Chapters, Leadership & Management, Business & Finance Divisions

Among the many responses this question may elicit, one that resonates with me is the idea that we need to understand and evaluate our heritage, our history and how we address our current circumstances. This outlook is influenced by an article I used this past Fall in preparing for a presentation on change. The article dealt with two major forest fires — one in 1949 and the second in 1994 and the inability of firefighters at both these fires to anticipate and respond to rapid change — they were not future ready. Thirteen firefighters died in the 1949 fire and fourteen died in the 1994 fire. As the title of the article (“Drop Your Tools”) suggests, these firefighters were not agile and paid the ultimate price for this lack of agility. The author defined tools very broadly to include the professional practices and patterns of thinking these firefighters took with them into the field as well as their axes, shovels and chainsaws.

As we look to be future ready as information professionals, as members of a professional association, or as members of both our work and non-work communities, we need to continually assess our tools and determine if they are viable for what lies ahead. No matter how well a tool has served us in the past, we need to be creative in using old tools in new/different ways as well as search for and perhaps develop new tools to remain relevant in the future.

Bill Fisher is an SLA Fellow and is Professor at the School of Library & Information Science, San Jose State University.  He has held numerous leadership positions at the chapter, division, and national level.

by Mary Strife, Pittsburgh Chapter, Academic Division

In this age of iPhones, iPads and “I want it now”, there are a few things that still take time. And sometimes we benefit by taking the time. The Evansdale Library opened in 1980 and received updated technology, some new furniture and new carpeting in 2000. By 2005, there was something lacking. We negotiated with the administration for funds to retool the first floor only. We added weight to our cause by conducting student surveys and focus groups. I sat in the room for all three focus groups, run by the chair of the Interior Design Division. She did a great job with the questions, getting the exact information needed to support our floor redesign. The majority of the renovation happened in the summer of 2009. Students did not get everything they wanted, but what did happen was a great change. We put in movable furniture, white boards, and three new study rooms. Students asked for space to display their projects, since students do not generally go into other’s areas. So we have used floor space and provided different types of cabinet space and wall cases for their projects.

The Fashion Design students and faculty were the first to take advantage of this area. Everyone was very pleased with the results. We are now working to install a hanging system for art work and bringing in other student displays. I think that giving students a way to connect with the library is essential to the future.

Mary Strife is the Director of the Evansdale Library at West Virginia University. She is a past-President of the New York Upstate Chapter, has been Bulletin Editor for the Chemistry Division, and currently serves on the Information Ethics Advisory Council.

by Kevin Carroll, Kevin Carroll Katalyst LLC

Think back to your childhood and to the years dominated by playtime, when there were endless hours to fill and the only agenda was to be captivated in the moment, to have fun. But playtime was also productive time, even if as kids we did not realize it. What we thought was entertaining was also instructive. Activities we called tea party, show-and-tell, kick-ball, finger-painting, hide-and-seek, daydreaming, and tag were also exercises in planning, strategy, design, decision-making, creativity, risk-taking, conflict resolution and teamwork.

In play we did not avoid obstacles, we looked for them by voluntarily challenging ourselves. We eagerly tackled insurmountable odds—height, speed, lack of money—to make our desires reality. Using imagination, we climbed Mt. Everest, competed in the Super Bowl, conquered the world or made a house out of a cardboard box. We voluntarily tested ourselves and accepted failure as part of the play. We ran, stumbled, and got up to run again. When we lost a game we simply started a new one. When something did not pan out as intended, we tapped into our seemingly endless supply of cleverness, resourcefulness and/or our creative agility to prototype or experiment with new solutions until we were satisfied. When faced with an enemy or new challenge—be it a competing team, a broken toy, or our friend playing a cop to our robber, an ogre to our princess—we figured out how to win, remedy the malfunction, or flee the imagined danger.

Far from frivolous time, our childhood play was constructive because it strengthened our resolve as well as our skills. Play gave us courage and instilled confidence. No doubt about it, the many forms of play—board games, sports, pretending, arts-and-crafts, writing, exploring, building—required us to invent, analyze, innovate, socialize, plan, communicate and problem solve. Play was serious business in our youth and play should continue to be serious business in our adult life.

Lifelong Play + Creative Confidence = Future Ready!

Kevin Carroll is the founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC and the author of three highly successful books: Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, What’s Your Red Rubber Ball?! and The Red Rubber Ball at Work. As an author, speaker and agent for social change (a.k.a. the Katalyst), it is Kevin’s “job” to inspire businesses, organizations and individuals – from CEOs and employees of Fortune 500 companies to schoolchildren – to embrace their spirit of play and creativity to maximize their human potential and sustain more meaningful business and personal growth.

by Sharon Morris, ALA, Colorado State Library

Thinking about the future is an odd thing. How do we imagine something that has not yet been? The best thing to do is to open our minds up to new ways of thinking. Below are some strategies to try.

1. Embrace uncertainty. The thirteenth century poet, Rumi, said, “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” In other words, to see things differently, one must start with confusion.
2. Take time to dream.  Take a walk, stare out the window, sit quietly and let your mind float from subject to subject. Notice any images or vivid memories that come to mind. Be nowhere and everywhere.  Imagine and dream.
3. Talk it out. Share your ideas about the future with other future-minded people. They will keep you looking ahead. They will help you expand your own thoughts and ideas. Also, listen to them.  It is often easier to see what’s next for others than for ourselves.
4. Join forces. Form a confab with others who read about the future so you can keep each other up on things. Share blogs like this one with each other. Schedule time regularly to talk about new innovations and ideas that each of you is discovering.
5. Don’t just imagine, try stuff.  If you have an idea, do something to make it happen. Jump in and explore. Start small with a pilot project. Even mistakes and failure can lead to wildly unexpected innovation.
6. Read widely. Review blogs, journals, and publications from other fields to determine how they envision the future. This kind of environmental scanning can help you identify common themes and issues that may indicate the salient future trends.
7. Be curious about problems. At times, issues in organizations point to a need for systemic change. Finding opportunities where others see only barriers will open new paths to the future.
8. Give up perfection. We no longer have time to be mired in the drive to do things perfectly. We have to do what is good enough now so we save time to explore what can be.
9. Use our values. When you hear of a new technology, tool, or resource, view it through the lens of our values: access for all, intellectual freedom, privacy, and intellectual property rights. Will the emerging technology or innovation enhance or challenge those values? If there is a conflict, how might you resolve it?
10. See space. When learning to draw, students are encouraged to sketch the space around an object instead of the object. This gets them past their preconceived notions of what a common place object “looks like” and actually gets them to see the real shape. This attention to space rather than the object can apply to many things. You can notice the silence between words as much as the conversation. You can give attention to the time between activities as well as the activities. This builds awareness at a different level and opens us up to perceiving things in new ways.

–If you have remarks or would like to contribute your own strategies for being future-minded, please add them to the comments below.–