Reality on the Ground
This is my 100th blog entry. It seems like a good time to share a couple of things that have heartened me about the growing interest in Library 2.0.
Last week I received an e-mail message from a media center volunteer, asking if she could show Soren Johanassen's video of my Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto at a district meeting of media instructors.
I found her story to be so compelling that I asked her for permission to reproduce it here. I've removed the identifying information.
Dear Ms. Cohen,
Your Manifesto on YouTube is very moving and inspiring.
I am a volunteer in the media center at a public school for gifted children in [snip] grades 2 through 12. Statewide there have been budget reductions that are putting media centers in jeopardy, as they do not appear to be a priority with administrators. The media center where I work largely depends on volunteers, and the very talented media specialist is overwhelmed with the demands for services that the media center must provide, in addition to forming plans to move the library forward. I found your Manifesto and sent her a link, and she was very impressed.
Our school is hosting a meeting of the Media Instructional Improvement Committee, with all media instructors in the district attending. This is a big deal for us, and we are anxious to make a good impression, especially since volunteers worked with the media specialist full time throughout the entire summer (all for no pay) to weed the collection, make significant improvements, take inventory and clean up the database.
We would very much like to show the Manifesto video at this meeting. It would be perfect to link to the youtube link, except that YouTube is blocked by the school board on the School network. Would you consider sending us a video and permission to show it at this meeting? [snip]
Thank you very much for the manifesto, and your blog. And thank you for taking the time to read this email. We appreciate your consideration of our request.
This, folks, is reality on the ground. When I read this, I couldn't help thinking about how much perspective this puts on discussions about ourselves and to what degrees we are pro or con this or that aspect of Library 2.0. The blogosphere is full of this kind of talk. In the meantime, here is a group library volunteers working in challenging circumstances, and still there's an interest in encouraging each other to take heart and forge ahead.
I could give other examples. Just this morning, I heard from a librarian associated with the University of Sarajevo, who wants to translate the Manifesto for the journal of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
What can I say? Discussions and debates are valuable and important. We all learn from them, even (sometimes) when they're negative. For me, the reality on the ground also teaches me something. When I see hardships coupled with a spirit of progress, I'm both encouraged and impressed. I wish the volunteers and the Sarajevo librarians all the luck in the world.