Rethinking the Way we Work in Libraries - how to get the staff involved in making the future libraries
Rethinking the Way we Work in Libraries - how to get the staff involved in making the future libraries Jaana Tyrni, Library Talks 2012, Geneva & Bern
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Rethinking the Way we Work in Libraries - how to get the staff involved in making the future libraries Jaana Tyrni, Library Talks 2012, Geneva & Bern
I am glad to be here • Because I love my topic: Rethinking libraries with the staff
Rethinking libraries • Is the most important thing for a library director to do right now • And doing it with the staff is inspiring and fun
Gadgets, widgets and Geeks
Gadgets, widgets and Geeks
Espoo City Library • Has 4 regional libraries, 10 branches and 2 book mobiles. • Espoo City Library is one of the four HelMet Libraries serving the metropolitan area • We have 200 hundred staff members
Jewel workshop
Environment is changing all the time • It is impossible to plan ahead everything on a detailed level • A management group of a library has to decide only the direction where library activities are going • but the steps to the goal should be planned with the staff and customers • We directors need not to have so many ideas of our own – it is more important to make sure that all ideas of the staff will be utilized
Mölkky Game outside the library
My presentation is about • How to facilitate change in every day life in libraries • I have no fancy theories, just telling you what we have done
Making a Christmas tree of old books
Talking, talking and more talking Börje, the Reading Assistant Dog
Taking responsibility of the future means constantly giving answers to questions like: • where is this library going to, why we are going to this direction and what happens to each individual • and the most crucial question for everyone: “What happens to me?”
Learning by doing • One of the most powerful tools of learning • Everyone may involve, there is a job for all
Japanese tea party
Odd ways of working • Inspires your mind
Socrates poison bar
Making a barn of book covers
Staff meetings and training in open space • Swift meetings in library entrance hall every morning • Nearly all the staff training is open also for library users
Managers meeting
Learning about social media
Boss working at stage • Easy to find
Being available
Library open during all the renovations • People can see what is going on • One of the best ways to initiate discussion about what library should do nowadays
New name for youth space
Working clothes • A vest for everyone, easy to see who can help you
Everyone is wearing a vest
Rethinking libraries not only with staff, but also with customers •
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FIFA South Africa Tournament
Customer councils where people can tell us how would they like their library to look like and what they like to do in libraries Presenting new services to customers all the time and observing what they think about them
Letting users make a space of their own
Different styles of studying
Letting people to use library for their own purposes
Young talents contest
Building up a art gallery
Religions and politics Allowing library to be • a place for prayers and • a political arena This all means challenging ourselves. It means seeing things from different viewpoints and not seeing things either black or white.
Climate forum
We think that not every library should look the same • Each library in Espoo has a profile according to the needs of the citizen of that specific neighborhood • It allows the users to choose from different libraries
Salt room
Heavy use of social media • To get users involved • Every library has at least a Facebook site and is present in Foursquare • To get staff started, it takes a lot of training and also some gadgets/devices, e.g. cameras, headsets
Sometimes it takes a lot of explaining
Social media makes it easy
Facebook – a way to work together
• To share ideas among staff when you have 15 libraries • To know each other better even when you don’t work in same library • To gather people of same interest areas, we have groups for customers service matters, for leadership, for techies, for fun • It helps to see that there are also people outside our own library
Social media brings out power distance issues • It is better to concentrate on encouraging people rather than giving too many warnings • A boss has to rethink her/his role in organization because on the net you have to be personally involved
Book bubble club
Book bubble club
Courage – what it means in our library In our library one step to the goal was renewing our values. Courage is the most important value of our library right now. Courage means: • looking for the future instead of the present (that is not easy)
• it means inappropriate and dangerous ideas (that is not comfortable)
• it means taking sides and having argues (that is not cozy)
• it means to be criticized by your colleagues and fellow libraries (that is scary) Circus Aikamoinen
Fighting against bureaucracy • Courage means doing what you need to do, not only what you expected to do. – or otherwise you don’t have time for important things
Baby poetry
Security vs. easiness of use • Which one comes first and when? • An excellent example of fighting for user needs
Courage means allowing people to make mistakes • and take responsibility for the mistakes made • and more importantly the boss has to stand up for the staff no matter what
Knitting together
A director has to make mistakes also • and above all: tell publicly about own mistakes
Demo night
Audience of the demo night
Rotating staff and bosses • One key element of change is rotating staff from a library to an other • We began with the highest bosses, been doing that for over ten years
Want to be a boss - mentoring
How to be a boss for digital cowboys • Or Y-generation? • Working as a network and be open and ready for critical discussions • http://www.nofear-community.com/intro.php
Not everyone has a room or desk of his own
This room is for techies from all libraries
Making the change visible
And finally: remember not to take ourselves so seriously • because making mistakes belongs to life even in libraries
Happy at work
New methods of library work are tested at Sello Library •
