The Value of a Visit | From the Bell Tower
If you are passing up opportunities to visit other libraries, you don't know what you're missing. Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA Nov 18, 2010One of the keys to a fit, forward thinking, future-proof academic library is staff development. Smart library managers understand the value of providing all library workers with opportunities to improve their skill sets and gain exposure to the latest news and developments for maintaining or advancing expertise.
The digital age has certainly improved our access to all the types of resources that support these efforts. As Library Journal's recent ebook symposium demonstrates, for a reasonable fee we can obtain access to top-notch speakers-if we choose to take advantage. I'm less enamored with ebooks right now than some of you, but I certainly wanted to hear what Kevin Kelly had to say, and I was satisfied with the time I invested in his virtual presentation. But while the opportunities for virtual learning are increasing, it seems the ones for good old face-to-face interaction are diminishing for a whole host of reasons—with which you are no doubt familiar, including budgets, travel, job pressures, family demands, and more.
On the road
I am fortunate to have opportunities to visit other academic libraries across the country thanks to the occasional invitation to speak to library staff or deliver a presentation for a local organization. I'm not shy about inviting myself to a library I'd like to visit, and you should think about doing the same (but make sure you are as just as open to visitors from afar). I appreciate colleagues who will take the time to host me, and set up an entire day of interviews, tours, lunch, etc. I know it requires added work and coordination, but the payoff is usually mutual—we learn from each other.
Thanks to a supportive library dean and colleagues, I'm able to spend an extra day away from the office here and there for such visits. More often than not, what I bring back is of considerable value to my colleagues.
A learning experience
I recently visited two ARL libraries, Penn State University and Washington University in St. Louis. At Penn State I learned about their plans for an extensive renovation of the first floor of the Patee Library, where an impressive knowledge commons is in the works. The design offers great possibilities for the academic library as "kitchen" where students will cook up new ideas and knowledge, not merely consume it. This was a great learning experience because my own institution is exploring new service delivery models. A meeting with the library's administrators yielded a valuable exchange of information about staffing challenges, recent experiences with position searches, and technology matters. Don't get the impression I only meet with the higher ups, though; I learn just as much from conversations with library workers at every level of the organization.
A few weeks later I traveled to St. Louis to give a presentation for the Missouri Library Network Corporation. The ARL directors know each other pretty well, so I asked my dean to make contact with his counterpart at Washington University to see if they'd be open to my visit—and they said they'd be glad to have me stop by. They organized a day that combined some individual and group meetings, which is a great way to meet even more folks.
Of course, no visit would be complete without a thorough tour, and that's how the day started. Visiting another library? Remember your camera. I snap photos of everything from the stairwells to the donor plaques on study rooms. They also arranged for me to do an informal presentation—not a feature of my typical visit, but I was more than happy to oblige. It led to some good conversation.
The highlight of my day was some one-on-one time with library dean Shirley Baker, who defies that misguided perception of ARL director as ready-for-retirement barrier to change and innovation. You'd be amazed at what you can learn and how you can be inspired in a 45-minute conversation with the library fean.
Bringing them to us
What if you and your colleagues are finding opportunities to visit other academic libraries few and far between? Allow me to make a suggestion: use technology to put together a virtual meeting. It's less fulfilling than a face-to-face visit, but it can achieve some of the same outcomes. Last summer, my public service colleagues and I organized a retreat to discuss, among other things, new models for public service operations. What better way to find out the latest practices that others are trying than getting together for some shop talk?
Even if our budget had allowed for bringing in a speaker from out of state, we identified no less than six academic libraries that had already instituted public service models that we wanted to learn more about. That's when we decided to invite our speakers via Skype. We were able to schedule four back-to-back Skype calls with colleagues from geographically dispersed institutions. With technology like this, long distances and lack of funding no longer need present a barrier to learning from colleagues.
Road trip anyone?
Virtual visits are useful, but I really want as many of my colleagues as possible to have the experience of going to another library. What to do? Road trip. Located in the Delaware Valley region of the Mid-Atlantic States, we are fortunate to be within driving distance of some darn good academic libraries. So for the last three years, each summer when things slow down a bit, we've rented a bus and loaded on as many of our library staff who want to make a day trip to visit a library. To date we've gone to Rutgers, Princeton, and NYU.
We typically organize the itinerary around a theme of interest to both groups. We may invite an outside speaker or we just have our own librarians make presentations, then we set aside time for group meetings so that counterparts can get together. And, of course, a good tour of the spaces only insiders get to see. Getting the whole thing organized requires no small effort on both ends, but I believe everyone at each library benefits.
Eventually we'll reach the point where new libraries are a tad too far off for a day trip. The folks at Penn State would love to have us visit, but it's three hours each way. Guess we'll have to work on that one.
No distance is too far
If nothing else seeing new libraries is a great opportunity to make a new friend or two. These days, when we're all challenged to come up with smart solutions to difficult problems, it's good to have a network of colleagues to call on for advice. Sure, discussion lists and social media allow all of us to tap new reservoirs of knowledge that exist far beyond the walls of our libraries. Given a choice, though, I think all of us would prefer sustained personal conversation over the staccato bursts of information we exchange with virtual colleagues. In a world in which it's possible to attend meetings and conferences without ever leaving one's office, the beauty of a face to face visit is still something to which we can all look forward.
Steven Bell is Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. For more from Steven visit his blogs, Kept-Up Academic Librarian, ACRLog and Designing Better Libraries or visit his website.
