It’s rare — and amazing — to spend a weekend with over 800 librarians. As Karen Stinchield, director of the Cushman Library, explained in her article in last Thursday’s issue of The Greenfield Recorder, she and I attended the American Rural and Small Libraries Conference, Tap Into Libraries, earlier this month. Karen and I went to different workshops to better cover the conference. I’ve written about two of the keynote speakers and several of the workshops I attended.
Author and columnist Rebekkah Aldrich Smith, executive director of the Mid-Hudson Library System in New York, was the final keynote speaker at the conference. She shared the idea of “hopepunk,” coined on Tumblr in 2017 by fantasy author Alexandra Rowland, who wrote, “Hopepunk is the opposite of grimdark. Pass it on.” Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction that’s particularly dystopian, amoral or violent. Hopepunk is an active, non-mainstream movement and a lifestyle representing a brighter philosophy. Rebekkah talked about this word, “hopepunk,” in the context of climate change and the role that libraries can take to help teach sustainability and hope in the face of coming climate-related changes.
As librarians, we strive to make our libraries flourish. In changing times, this requires adaptability, openness to change, being active and involved at all levels of our communities. We respond to our global ecosystem and global society by beginning right here at home.
Another of our four keynote speakers was standup comedian, storyteller and national speaker Susanne Schmidt of NPR’s The Moth radio program. Schmidt asked, “Why tell stories?” Because, she told us, storytelling can bring us closer to each other and what we hold dear. In a symbiotic relationship, we create our stories and our stories shape us. In turn, we shape our communities, deciding which of our needs will create our social institutions and structures. Some voices are heard, others are not. This is where libraries come in, with our collections, programming, and community activities. Libraries are in the heart of communities and are part of social justice and change.
“Be vulnerable in our storytelling,” said Schmidt. She suggested that libraries host “story slams” during which community members are invited in to tell a story about their lives. This sharing not only documents history, but also the fabric of our communities, creating vulnerability and in doing so, bringing us closer together.
In a presentation titled Engage Community and Spark Change, we talked about Community Conversations, facilitated gatherings where a group of people come together to discuss one pre-determined topic. The library provides a safe space and sense of community in which to discuss sometimes challenging subjects, and the facilitators ensure that the conversation stays on topic. One of the messages of this presentation: Conversations in a face-to-face setting tend to be civil and empathetic, less likely to get bogged down in argument compared to conversations in some other forums.
Looking at how we function in our libraries, I attended “Did Slamming Your Head Against the Wall Help? Reframing Issues in Your Library and Community.” Workshop leaders Kieran Hixon and Sharon Morris presented a bright new way to look at our libraries. Creativity and inspiration are tools for reframing how we approach our library work. The two gave examples of how we may see a situation in a certain light; we might “frame” the situation in a negative light, defining a problem incorrectly. By looking at the problem in a way “that’s about the possibility,” we can be better stewards of our public places, explained Kieran and Sharon.
“The Hidden Biases of Good People,” given by Jean Marie Hellig and Beth Crist, was a surprise to me. I think of myself as having few biases. Apparently, they can sneak into your subconscious levels. Some of them come from direct sources, others vicariously: for example, from social media, news sources, movies, books, etc.
A tool to help identify your biases is Harvard’s Implicit Association Test, at implicit.harvard.edu. Biases can include gender, skin tone, religion, age, weight, race, ethnicity, economic status. The list goes on. Without realizing your biases, they could be impacting a library’s customer service, collection development, or reader’s advisory. Steps to tackle your biases? Take the I.A.T, or just think about how you are with people; diversify the people around you; think of positive stereotypes.
Many of the workshops attended are on subjects which I hope to integrate into the Arms Library during the next few years. By resource-sharing, some of the workshops Karen attended are also part of my plans. I loved the idea of coding in our library, and am interested in working to make the upcoming census more successful from our small hilltown library.
We are just beginning our strategic planning process — setting goals for the library’s next five years — and we will be soliciting ideas from the community as well as introducing some of these new ideas.
Together, the workshops reminded me of the limitlessness of our potential roles in our communities. Rebekkah Aldrich Smith’s message holds true for everything we learned at the conference. She described librarians as “the optimists in our communities” and advocated that we “be active in what we are and what we do.” One of our jobs is to teach sustainable thinking and resiliency, by what we say and do and the choices we make in our libraries. Engage in practices that are environmentally and fiscally sound, and socially equitable. Work within the community and engage with our people, they said.
While understanding globally, think and act locally. One idea she suggested is the creation of a ‘people catalogue,’ in which people with various skills are invited to be part of a database of local talents.
“Figure out (what) in my tiny corner of the world makes a difference.” said Smith. “Grow people who can fix our world. We’re playing the long game.”
Laurie Wheeler is the director of the Arms Library in Shelburne Falls.
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