How will I make a difference?
For me, changing the world and influencing the future starts firmly with me. If I want my current & future world to be a certain way, then I have to take responsibility to contribute to creating the reality that I want to be part of. I can’t change other people’s minds by dictating what they should do, but in being the best of myself, then I can demonstrate how it is for me.
What aspirations do I have for the next generations of librarians?
What is my long-term plan for librarianship?
By standing on the supportive shoulders of others, we can see beyond the visible horizon, to catch a glimpse of the seemingly invisible & apparently impossible future.
Not everyone is going to step up and be a leader. For one thing, there aren’t enough places – there’s usually only one person out front being the leader. But a great leader doesn’t get to that position by walking alone, they have a tribe of active supporters walking with them. A leader does not exist without a vision, and a leader does not exist without a tribe. While not all great leaders begin their journey with a tribe of supporters, they don’t get to where they are going without eventually finding that tribe to carry them forward.
What aspirations do we have for the next generations of librarians? What is our long-term inter-generational plan for librarianship?
I’ve been hearing talk of plans for building capacity, succession planning, strengthening the profession, all discussed alongside a reluctance for leadership since I finished my studies in 2006. I’ve heard the stories of how our image needs to be improved. I’ve heard the stories about unqualified folks getting jobs that are supposedly for qualified librarians. I’ve seen various initiatives, I’ve seen project teams, I’ve seen the reports. I am not sure what has changed with all of these ‘things’.
What are we actually doing to support the next generations to a) become librarians and b) support them to transform librarianship?
Look around you. Find a 5 year old. What will the world in which they grow up in look like in 15 years?
Your actions now will inform their worldview. You will influence their life experience. You can choose to give them skills to navigate an ever changing world. You can build their confidence to actively participate in their chosen communities.
What if … that 5 year old chooses to become a librarian?
This topic is going to be a challenge to explore cohesively. I have had so many disparate ideas jumbled in my head for a while now, fizzing away & bubbling over. I am going to attempt to put some comprehension around them. Over the past week I have had several conversations that have inspired me to try and make sense of these slightly out-of-reach ideas that haven’t quite fully connected, yet.
For the remainder of this month, I am going to put on my future-looking glasses and switch on the dreaming lens. I am going to explore what I want the future to be, and what I am actively doing to influence & shape the future of libraryland.
Audacious Fizz 