Keynote for the ASLA 2011 Conference: http://www.asla.org.au/pd/conference/

1. DaNgerous
ideas for
liBraries
ASLA 2011
@malbooth
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2. Why?
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According to the ASLA program I am supposed to be discussing future academic libraries and why I think their development should really
be approached like social innovation. I’ve done a lot of that kind of thing recently and it is all over something called the Internet. If you
look you can find it.
So, rather than that I thought I’d aim at exploring some ideas that may be more relevant to school libraries and librarians. Not everything
here will be relevant or possible for everyone, but hopefully everyone will get at least an idea or two that makes them think about their
own approach in their own backyard. So, here we go, mind the step.
The quotations mostly come from Alan Fletcher’s wonderful book The Art of Looking Sideways. An endless source of wit, intelligent
advice and inspiration.

3. Almost all really new ideas have a
certain aspect of foolishness when
they are first proposed.
Alfred North WhiTehead
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4. Library3.0
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I’m not going to cover Library2.0, so I’m assuming some knowledge of it as it exists. It is what we are grappling with today – a vast
landscape of competing priorities and many issues that seemingly pull us in different directions at the same time. New values and
opportunities are emerging, however, and there are many exemplars to follow if inspiration is needed. What remains, however, is the
imperative to tailor what you deliver in your library for the needs of your community. To do that we MUST understand what your
community’s core business or priorities are and then stay relevant to them.
Here is where I think we are heading covering, some of the key areas. There is a bias towards what is most relevant to academic libraries,
but that in itself should be of some interest.
Sure, some of the long-established obligations and responsibilities will also come with us, but the challenge is to decide what must be
dropped so we can ramp up for new demands and the new environment we are working within.

5. What?
5
So, the highlighted words here are those I will try to cover in the rest of this presentation for ASLA 2011.
I thought it would be best to try and cover the following ideas with some hopefully inspirational examples of what is possible, some useful
quotes from those more knowledgeable than me and a few stories (in no particular order): curation; culture; learning; design of services
and spaces (not really represented above, except for some important attributes such as being user-focussed, user, centred, robust,
trusting, inclusive, self-service, intuitive and agile); engagement; books; discovery; and creativity.

6. Are we Curating our Collections?
Research
Acquire
Arrange
Describe
Provide
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Here area a few of my ideas relating to being more active in curating our collections and our services. This is merely to stimulate a bit of
thought and perhaps some re-imagining beyond the silos we now seem to operate in. Somewhere, someone has to consider the entire
process or curation lifecycle.

7. Curating: From this
Liaison Research
Publishers, passive, Acquire
mostly text
Dewey, set, inflexible Arrange
Publishers, Worldcat Describe
Shelves & catalogues Provide
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The From slide:
This might be a bit hyper critical, but if we asked some random library users about who does what on this curation process, what would
they say?
I think we’ve sliced it up and specialised far too much. We’ve lost the continuum.

8. Curating: to thiS?
Liaison Research Connect, engage, learn
Publishers, passive, Active, beyond text,
Acquire publish(!), produse
mostly text
Dewey, set, inflexible Arrange Virtual shelves, crowd
curation, other?
Publishers, Worldcat Describe Folksonomies, ratings,
artist-in-residence?
Shelves & catalogues Provide Exhibits, discovery,
OA, create, imagine!
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The To slide:
So here are a few random ideas to encourage us all to think beyond the ordinary, beyond what we’ve always done.

9. Curating: at its best
... creativity: experimentation, innovation,
diversity and edginess ...
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This video by Dr Jacqueline Strecker introduces The Mad Square, an exhibition now on at the Art Gallery of NSW. It is the epitome of
contemporary curation. Based on scholarly research, it brings together over 200 works from all over the world that help us to
understand this influential period of art in Germany between the two world wars.

10. CreaTivity
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Light projections on Customs House during Vivid 2011.

11. Creativity is the defeat of
habit by originality.
ArthUr KoEstler
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12. LeArning
You should try everything
once, excet incest and
folkdancing.
Sir Thomas Beecham
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13. Fostering learning & creativity with
play
Treasure hunts
Games
Quizes
BBQ
Planning
Fun Day
http://youtu.be/lpoycjmxxRM
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Library Fun Day: 2010 and 2011
Lots of library staff involved; Students had fun; they Got to know the library and meet librarians in informal atmosphere
It encouraged use of social spaces, new technology. We used Wii games, Kinect (see the short YouTube film linked above)
QR codes were used for the treasure hunt: a game. Participants were required to navigate through 6 stations, photograph each one and
be first back to claim the prize. In just 15 minutes most were able to navigate all stations and cover everything normally taught in a one
hour introductory IL class.
Mobile technology helped to create an interactive experience in the physical library. It has been used as a model for 1st year IL sessions in
several faculties.
Prizes included iTunes vouchers, USB sticks, chocolates
We’ve taken the concept of play further and encouraged staff to play, experiment, be more adventurous, flexible etc
Library Planning Day & two Edible books festivals for staff.

14. FB Club
Blog
eBooks
eReaders
Overdrive
Reading
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These initiatives are VERY important at all levels: connecting; engaging; facilitating learning & assisting our
clients
eReader Loan Trial
The Library is trialling an eReader loan scheme, with 5 eReaders available from the Open Reserve section at the
City Campus Library: Amazon Kindle iRiver Story Kobo eReader Apple iPad (2). Search the Catalogue for availability: eReaders in the
Catalogue; iPads in the Catalogue.
Borrowing eReaders
Available to UTS students, faculty and staff; 7 day loan period with no renewals. $5/day fine for overdue items to a maximum of $50.
Replacement costs will be charged for lost or damaged items: $250 Amazon Kindle and Kobo eReader, $475 iRiver Story, $700 Apple iPad
16 GB, $40 USB cable/power adaptor.
Returning eReaders
eReaders must be returned to the City Campus Library Open Reserve Desk. “To avoid damage please do not return eReaders in the
after-hours return chutes.” “Ensure you return all cables and instruction manuals in the original packaging
Delete your files (e.g. books, documents) and fully charge eReaders before returning.”
Using eReaders
An instruction manual is included with each eReader. Manufacturers provide detailed support and instruction on their websites: Amazon
Kindle iRiver Story KoboeReader Apple iPad
Downloading eBooks
You will need to download eBooks to your computer and then transfer to the eReader by connecting it using the
supplied USB cable.You can use Library computers to download eBooks.There are many sites on the internet for downloading free
eBooks or purchasing eBooks. The Library is investigating eBooks for loan. Some suggestions (these sites are not affiliated with UTS
Library): BeBook Project Gutenberg eBooks@Adelaide Getfreeebooks ManyBooks.net

15. SupPorTing ReSeArcH
UTSeScholarship
Blog
Diigo
Save me time
Make me famous
Research Week
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Our major research initiatives are linked above. I think there is a fair bit of effort being made at UTS Library to support research in a
creative way, while still providing genuine value-added content and services at UTS.

16. CUltural, LearNIng & SOcial hub
Culture is activity of
thought, and receptiveness
to beauty and human
feeling. Scraps of
information have nothing
to do with it. A merely
well-informed man is the
most useless bore on
God's earth.
Alfred North Whitehead
Image credit: http://davidgarciastudio.blogspot.com/2009/07/archive-series.html
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From service provider -> cultural, learning & community hub
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Going beyond the ordinary; Importance of cultural materials within academic & other communities: context!
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Developing cultural & special collections, not an assumption, not passive!
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Artist-in-residence programs
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Culture – what it is & why it is important (providing context for learning & knowledge). How did we ever forget that role?

17. Cultures are maps of
meaning through which the
world is made intelligible.
PetEr JAckson
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18. diScOVery?
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So, what is discovery?

19. SeArch Discovery
19
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We think there is a spectrum of difference between search and discovery.

20. SeArch Discovery
20
20
Search is a bit like White Pages. And discovery ...

21. SeArch Discovery
21
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Discovery is completely different, it is more like Christopher Columbus. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, nor where it was.

22. efficient
targetted
specific
advanced
expanded
text-biased
SeArch Discovery
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Libraries are pretty efficient at search.

23. Our thoughts and dreams
possess no typographic
system. We dream in
pictures, feelings and
imaginary awareness.
GUnter RambOw
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As Professor Brian Cox would say: “but ..”.

24. efficient accidental
targetted incidental
specific abstract
advanced non-text
expanded browsable
text-biased shared
SeArch Discovery
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But discovery is different and we don’t do much of this.
It is the “what was I looking for” effect that you get when a few hours of your life disappears wandering around Wikipedia, Flickr or
Tumblr.
The discovery end of the spectrum is more playful and poetic and we can assist and expose our collections and our services by curating
them more. Sometimes search is abstract, more like discovery and that can stimulate deeper thought, and the exposure of new
information, content and knowledge.
Searching or discovery on platforms like Flickr, Tumblr or StumbleUpon is accidental, incidental & serendipitous.
Discovery should be encouraged, facilitated and even led sometimes.
We MUST understand this better if we are going to have an impact with data, otherwise it will disappear in repositories, never be shared
and that is where its potential really lies: in the relationship between different data sets that expose new connections and different
perspectives.

25. efficient accidental
targetted incidental
specific abstract
advanced non-text
expanded browsable
text-biased shared
SeArch Discovery
80
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Remember the 80:20 rule? I guess we all know where the 80% lies. Where is the 20?

26. efficient accidental
targetted incidental
specific abstract
advanced non-text
expanded browsable
text-biased shared
SeArch Discovery
80 + 20
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26
Yep, it is also down that end.

27. efficient accidental
targetted incidental
specific abstract
advanced non-text
expanded browsable
text-biased shared
SeArch Discovery
80 + 20
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But maybe we should be shifting just 20% of our effort to the discovery end of the spectrum?

28. Debate
Language
Visibility
Exhibitions
Collaboration
YouTube
EngaGe
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Another image from BikeTank at u.lab.
We participate and engage in workshops like this with students, academics and others from outside the UTS community. The academics
and others love having us there. It is about visibility on campus from librarians at all levels.
We also facilitate and encourage debate in the Library on contemporary issues, engaging in it ourselves and inviting others with expertise
in the subject areas.
We arrange and host exhibitions of cultural material, particularly that which is created by UTS students and staff within our Library and
we include and commission student-created videos on our YouTube Channel.

29. An invisible librarian is
a vulnerable librarian.
Mal BOotH
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30. DeSign 30
An image from Foster & Partners’ “Berlin Brain” - the Philological Library of Free University, Berlin.

31. ... seduce, shape and
perhaps more importantly
evoke an emotional
response.
APril GreimaN
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I think we need more design input to our spaces, services, technology initiatives and perhaps even the language we use.

32. Future Students want
Art
Atriums
Natural light
Randomness
Comfy chairs
Decent ceilings
Grand entry area
Thematic identity
Greenery & water
Meaningful signage
Intuitive technology
Gaming/media spaces
Obvious sustainability
Curved & open spaces
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(Image taken by me in the Philological Library of Free University, Berlin.)
These points are what the year 7 & 9 students told us they wanted in a university library of the future after a half
day informal workshop in our current library in September of 2010. It is almost a design brief!
Extended learning means the opportunity to learn beyond the set curriculum.
What can we do to provide randomness in our libraries. Everything we do is about (mostly outdated ontologies and
structures!
Gaming & media spaces are probably essential now. A library without them in the future will be irrelevant.
Orientation spaces have a significant effect, more significant than any signage, on the behaviour of those entering.
It is expected by our clients.
Water features, greenery and natural light are probably things we would wish to see ourselves.
Future students will expect all technology that we provide to be intuitive. If it isn’t it won’t be used.
Signage can be over-done, and to be effective it must be meaningful.
Our future students expect like-books to have some kind of thematic identity that gives users/readers a clue
about their content.
I didn’t really understand why students said they liked the curved spaces in the UTS Library until I saw those of the
Philological Library in Berlin’s Free University.
Library spaces and services must learn to be customisable and personalised. Maybe we are too precious about
those spaces and don’t understand their true potential.
We want our future library to be a social hub, but it also must provide exposure to culture, so the use of art within
the library will be critical.
Our sustainability initiatives must be visible and demonstrate our progress (or not) in all dimensions/facets.
Comfy chairs are essential because patrons simply will not spend every hour in a library awake.
“Lack of rules” perhaps indicates that we still have too many rules, or too many signs indicating the rules. Perhaps
there are other ways to influence and encourage behaviour besides rules.

33. 33
From “Lending” “Research Help Desk” “Access” “Security” “IT” “Information literacy” -> triage HELP & expert consultancies
We like the Apple model that is more generic and helpful than ours is at present.
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Not the consumers’ job to know what they want.
•
Who asked for an iPhone or a iPad?
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Leadership - from above and below, particularly on hard stuff like sustainability
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How do we design and offer better services
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How do we move from Lending, Research Help Desk, Access, Security, IT, databases, and information literacy to triage HELP and genius consultancies (or “visitor
experience” like SLQ)? We like the Apple model that is more generic and helpful than ours is now.
•
Jane Fulton Suri from IDEO suggested bringing observation, intuition, empathy & imagination together to make an empathic
economy in a presentation for the Business Innovation Factory-2 (2006) event: Finding inspiration Through the Power of
Observation. See http://www.businessinnovationfactory.com/iss/video/bif2-jane-fulton%20suri
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The Stanford DSchool model: empathise>define>ideate>prototype>test
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What does design thinking have to offer us?
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Importance of language – meaning what you say & saying what you mean; so others can easily understand
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Innovation from within
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Design process – where, when, how
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Agility
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Good knowledge of external (non-library, non-academic environments and services)
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DIY – or why consultants are not always good for your business
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Breaking free from traditional views about library roles!
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The importance of collaboration between librarians
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The importance of sharing

34. http://www.flickr.com/photos/malbooth/sets/72157625026319281/with/5075774661/
BrItiSh Library: BUsIness & IP Centre
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(Image taken by me in the British Library in the lounge & networking area outside the BIPC reading room.)
•The British Library: NOT a museum of the book.
•Business and Intellectual Property Centre. This is impressive new business for the British Library and an example of seeing an
opportunity and grasping it with both hands. They’ve developed great partnerships with the business of the City and now librarians in this
centre help people starting up new businesses. I believe this is the kind of thing all of us need to learn how to do in our own
communities. http://www.bl.uk/bipc/index.html
•On the far wall you can see examples of success stories encouraged as businesses by this centre.
•For UTS I see this as a model we might use somewhere in our new Learning Commons, probably targeted at our research community,
perhaps to link industry experts with researchers or others from URS starting businesses or seeking help getting inventions and
prototypes off the ground.
•It might also be a useful industry mentoring centre for post-grad students.
•We could even use the model to assist academics and researchers with e-publishing and in order to understand Copyright better (in the
way BIPC does much the same thing with IP and Patents law).
•What are banks, local government organisations, non-profits, and airports doing?
•How will we handle growing collaboration between faculties & universities?
•What is relevant in YOUR community? (e.g. reference materials & services for the unemployed, disadvantaged, children, assisting literacy,
ageing population, changed industry base, IP/Copyright needs, etc.)
•Collaboration with creative industries (digital media, games, digital services, entertainment, our future)
•Facilitating and welcoming industry links and partners
•Look outside for possibilities beyond your usual small world
•Another example in London are the Idea Stores in East London – deeply relevant and connected to their communities, providing
what they need. http://www.ideastore.co.uk/

35. (re)designing
libraries is:
sOciAl
InnoVation
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Another image taken by me at UTS BikeTank in u.lab. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/malbooth/sets/72157627536632004/
Is our process more like that of Social Innovation? See also http://www.nesta.org.uk/library/documents/Social_Innovator_020310.pdf
Social innovation – what it means and why it is relevant . . . sustainability, social justice, social inclusion, community engagement

36. BOok deSign
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This is an image of T.E. Lawrence’s 1926 Subscriber’s Edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph. It is the copy owned by the Australian
War Memorial.
Whether we like it or not, as librarians, we work in institutions still dominated by books. Growing digital content threatens the primacy of
traditional print publication, but it still dominates. I do not believe the book will ever die, but what will see books survive? Will it initially be
those not yet (or ever) to be found in digital format? Or will it be those we prefer to consume, read, own, view, hold in print format? Why
do people love books? What is it about some books that makes them cherished possessions.
Sometimes it is content, but I think we also need to be able to talk about the design of books and what makes some of hem “special”.
So, I think that as librarians we need to understand book design, writing, typography, binding, Copyright, publishing, paper, stitching, end-
papers, bookplates, manuscript layout, etc.

37. Who?
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38. OUr People
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Staff need to be found or developed. Why is there a divide between “professional librarians” and library technicians?
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New roles? UX, design, design thinkers, visual communicators, leaders & managers, visionaries.
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Encouraging talent, not qualifications
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Encouraging risk taking, experimentation, exploration, e.g. social media: Create, curate, manage; Community; Corporate to personal
voice; Networking, promotion; New, improved services; Explore, share; Improved ICT awareness
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More inclusive, less hierarchical
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Trust!
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Modelling & recognising desired behaviours (if you look & act like a dinosaur ...)
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Looking for possibilities, not problems (worst possible case scenario planning)
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Learning by doing, NEW SERVICES: (Research Week & Shut-Up&Write)
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A new/old identity and role in the community as connector/facilitator/provider?
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Ensuring that life and energy are evident in your library
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Encourage, reward, recognise creativity!
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Letting go – of control & of old things that we don’t really need to be doing – how much value add is there as opposed to some stuff that
people want that we don’t want to do or can’t do?
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Being transparent/visible
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Importance of playgrounds/sandpits
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Gaming, reading, play at work
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Hours to do things that matter (not usually 9-5)
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SM only first step – to human connections, relates to space & place & community
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Using multiple channels for conversations and connections (e.g.)
•
Radical trust (it drives change)
•
Disruptive technologies
•
Try & fail!
•
Be optimistic!
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viral distribution, small data (mobile), P2P
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Delighting patrons
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Surprise – something they don’t even know they want yet
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Be active not reactive – anticipate needs, be a leader, not a follower
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It's not about the technology – we are in a service industry!
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And we already have a recognised strong service ethic.
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Challenge sacred cows – slavish worship of traditional norms, roles, tasks, processes and practices because we’ve always done them
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Adaptability – to changed environments. Not doing more with less, but less of some stuff and more of others.
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Have some fun – it isn’t that serious and you might attract some attention for your great new idea
•
Be visible! If you're needed don't hide!
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Don't be afraid to be different. More of the same isn’t surprising and sometimes it isn’t needed
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Libraries are not churches & we are not priests.
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Imagination
Letting go of stuff others are doing better. The hard decision is deciding what to drop. We won’t be getting additional resources.

39. Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcysurfer/4949977037/
We are all in the gutter, but
some of us are looking at
the stars.
Oscar Wilde
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Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcysurfer/4949977037/