CHICAGO – Two afternoons of deep conversation about the evolving needs of our communities and how we can transform libraries and librarianship to meet their challenges will take place at the ALA 2012 Midwinter Meeting. Hosted by ALA President Molly Raphael, the conversations will be a highlight of the Meeting’s multiple themes of conversation, empowering [...]Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:37:22 +0000
You asked for it, you got it. I’ve uploaded a word-for-word transcript of the Killing Librarianship NELA keynote (see the link right after audio or just click here). I’m also working on an edited version if folks want to include it or parts of it in newsletters and such. Stay tuned.Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:50:54 +0000
I just wanted to let folks know that I will be greatly limiting my travel and speaking schedule for the winter and spring (don’t worry librarians of Kansas and Rome, you can’t get away from me that easily). My wife is having some foot surgery and will be pretty immobile for a couple of months. [...]Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:58:41 +0000
Heather Braum, Technology Librarian for the Northeast Kansas Library System, put together this short video teaser for the Kansas Library Conference April 11-13. Looking forward to it:Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:59:32 +0000
R. David Lankes will present “A New Librarianship for a New Age” to the 57th National Conference of the Italian Library Association Congress on November 18th in Rome. The theme of the meeting is “Il futuro in biblioteca, la biblioteca in futuro” (The future in libraries. Libraries in the future”). UPDATE Here is the announcement [...]Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:55:37 +0000
I have been invited to be a part of the Salzburg Global Seminar “Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture” which will be held in Salzburg, Austria in October. The session is being convened jointly by the Salzburg Global Seminar (SGS) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). From the seminar [...]Tue, 31 May 2011 13:00:00 +0000
The Swedish Library association’s annual conference “Bibliotekdagarna” will feature a talk by Syracuse University School of Information Studies Associate Professor R. David Lankes. Lankes will present “The Librarian Militant, The Librarian Triumphant.” Held for the past 10 years, Bibliotekdagarna is the biggest library conference in Sweden and includes librarians from a diverse set of working [...]Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:00:05 +0000
The folks at the Next conference put up a nice short(ish) excerpt of my talk on the Librarian Militant, Librarians Triumphant talk. It’s the last 12 minute conclusion:Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:38:40 +0000
Marie L. Radford G’75 and R. David Lankes ’92, G’99 will celebrate the publication of their new book Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends (Neal-Schuman, 2010) on Monday, April 5 at 4:00 p.m. in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons on the first floor of E.S. Bird Library. Radford will give a talk about what information [...]Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:39:50 +0000
R. David Lankes, director of the Library & Information Science program at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool), will speak at the U.S. Embassy Rome’s spring event “Libraries in the 21st Century.” The event will be held Wednesday, April 21, 2010. The day-long conference is being organized by the U.S. Embassy to Italy [...]Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:53:29 +0000
Just a quick note on a minor format change for my presentations. For a while now I have been posting streaming screencasts of my presentations in addition to slides and audio. I have been posting them as separate files because they take a bit of time to upload and process (meaning the audio and slides [...]Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:30:33 +0000
So it doesn’t make sense to have two RSS feeds anymore, one for the all blog entries and one just for podcasts. I’ve consolidated everything into just one feed: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/?feed=rss2. If you subscribe to this in iTunes or any podcasting tool you will still get all my presentations and screencasts. Please update your feed readers [...]Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:28:34 +0000
Here is the Keynote I did for the Conversants Conference/Conversation back in April. It is the same one that has been available through the Ning site, I’m just posting it here since that site is now wrapping up. They Named the Building After Us: The Library as Conversation from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:20:55 +0000
The Conversants Confernce/Conversation is now open to all at http://conversants.ning.com. You can already see the keynote, start conversations, watch tutorials, read papers, and see cases. We’ll be adding more presentations over the next two months…including hopefully yours.Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:43:11 +0000
Here are the title and abstract for the keynote: They Named the Building After Us: The Library as Conversation The mission of librarians is to improve society through facilitating knowledge creation in their communities. Through service, innovation, and leadership librarians facilitate conversations in schools, communities, colleges, government, businesses, and beyond. It is this act of [...]Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:40:37 +0000
Call for Participation and Collaboration Announcing “Conversants A Participatory Conversation,” a new idea in professional development for challenging economic times. We invite you to join the movement to create and share information through worldwide coordinated conversations. Library communities and organizations are uniquely poised to employ the latest collaborative resources; the conversations that result from these [...]Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:22:38 +0000
Here is a screencast of the Reference Extract from ALA. It was part of a panel that included Paul Ulrich of the Berlin Central and Regional Library. You can see a screencast of the entire panel here: http://blip.tv/file/1701683.Sun, 25 Jan 2009 08:40:21 +0000
Presentations 2002-Present
See 'Vita' for a full list of presentations
Latest
Expect More: Our Most Important Conversation Part 2
Posted: Jan 22 2012 21:42:49"Expect More: Our Most Important Conversation Part 2" ALA Midwinter 2012 Presidents Program, Dallas, TX.
Abstract: Description from the program:
Empowering Voices, Transforming Communities: join these conversations and leave Midwinter with new tools to become a better advocate. Libraries rely on partners within the community to advocate on their behalf more than ever before. But how can libraries stay relevant to these stakeholders in an environment of ever-changing priorities? Join visionary professor David Lankes, author of "Atlas of New Librarianship" ( (http://www.newlibrarianship.org), in two afternoons of innovative and interactive conversations about harnessing the evolving role of libraries, and strengthening the librarian's voice to help shape community perception.
Facilitators from the graphic recording company, Sunni Brown (http://sunnibrown.com/), will help create visual images of the plenary conversations that conclude each afternoon. The Saturday, January 21, 2012, session focuses on "Understanding Your Communities." The Sunday, January 22, 2012, session focuses on "Transforming Librarianship." Both run from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Sessions are open to all Midwinter Meeting attendees; please add them to your Scheduler to indicate that you plan to attend. Attendees will also receive a coupon for 5% off the price of David Lankes' galvanizing "Atlas of New Librarianship" (ACRL/MIT Press, 2011) at the ALA Conference Store.
Slides: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2012/Midwinter-Sat.pdf
Audio: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/pod/2012/MW-Sat.mp3
Posted: Jan 22 2012 10:15:26"Expect More: Our Most Important Conversation" ALA Midwinter 2012 Presidents Program, Dallas, TX.
Abstract: Description from the program:
Empowering Voices, Transforming Communities: join these conversations and leave Midwinter with new tools to become a better advocate. Libraries rely on partners within the community to advocate on their behalf more than ever before. But how can libraries stay relevant to these stakeholders in an environment of ever-changing priorities? Join visionary professor David Lankes, author of "Atlas of New Librarianship" ( (http://www.newlibrarianship.org), in two afternoons of innovative and interactive conversations about harnessing the evolving role of libraries, and strengthening the librarian's voice to help shape community perception.
Facilitators from the graphic recording company, Sunni Brown (http://sunnibrown.com/), will help create visual images of the plenary conversations that conclude each afternoon. The Saturday, January 21, 2012, session focuses on "Understanding Your Communities." The Sunday, January 22, 2012, session focuses on "Transforming Librarianship." Both run from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Sessions are open to all Midwinter Meeting attendees; please add them to your Scheduler to indicate that you plan to attend. Attendees will also receive a coupon for 5% off the price of David Lankes' galvanizing "Atlas of New Librarianship" (ACRL/MIT Press, 2011) at the ALA Conference Store.
Slides: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2012/Midwinter-Sat.pdf
Audio: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/pod/2012/MW-Sat.mp3
Posted: Nov 21 2011 04:48:31"A New Librarianship for a New Age" 57º Congresso nazionale AIB (57th National Congress of the Italian Library Association), Rome, Italy
Abstract (English): A new librarianship is emerging, taking the lessons learned over that nearly 3,000 year history to forge an approach based not on books and artifacts, but on knowledge and community. This librarianship is based upon how people learn, not how they browse. This new approach to librarianship will require a change in the skills and preparation of librarians, new types of services, and ultimately a new relationship with communities. The problems faced by our communities are too important to wait for people to come into our buildings. This presentation will examine the foundations of new services, and a new role for librarians as facilitators of knowledge creation. It will offer examples of librarians engaging their communities, and challenge each librarian to take responsibility for the future of the profession.
Abstract (Italian): Una nuova biblioteconomia sta emergendo, utilizzando quanto appreso in oltre 3.000 anni di storia per forgiare un approccio basato non su libri e manufatti, ma sulla conoscenza e sulla comunità.Questa biblioteconomia si basa su come le persone imparano, non su come navigano. Questo nuovo approccio alla biblioteconomia richiederà un cambiamento nelle competenze e nella preparazione dei bibliotecari, nuove tipologie di servizi, e infine un nuovo rapporto con le comunità. I problemi delle nostre comunità sono troppo importanti per aspettare che la gente venga nei nostri edifici. Questa presentazione prenderà in esame le basi dei nuovi servizi, e un nuovo ruolo per i bibliotecari come facilitatori della creazione di conoscenza. Offrirà esempi di bibliotecari che coinvolgono la propria comunità, e sfiderà ogni bibliotecario ad assumersi la responsabilità del futuro della professione.
Slides: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/Rome.pdf
Audio: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/pod/2011/Rome.mp3
Transcript (English): http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/RomeEN.html
Transcript (Italian): http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/RomeIT.htm
Posted: Nov 18 2011 21:12:57"Librarians as Change Agents" Video Webchat, U.S. Embassy in Rome, Rome, Italy.
Abstract: This is more a recorded conversation than a formal presentation. How can librarians promote social change? Join Professor R. David Lankes from Syracuse University's School of Information Studies to discuss how today's global challenges require a new librarianship based on community engagement. Learn why librarians must adopt a mission of transformative social action to help improve society, not simply document it.
Posted: Nov 09 2011 22:07:59"Expect More: Service is Proactive" CARLI Virtual Meeting, Webcast.
Abstract: There is an old joke that goes "what do you call three librarians at a bar?" "A consortium." The library field does have a lot of consortia. This is a testament to the openness and attitude of sharing in the profession. For decades libraries have worked across boundaries to better serve our members. We shared through the postal then dial-up, not the Internet. We built the web of knowledge and resources before the world wide web. Libraries have a long and proud tradition of thinking beyond our own walls to serve our communities. We should be proud of that history, but we need to expect more.
We need our communities to expect more of us - not do more with less, but rather show the community that we are truly about transformation not simply information. We need to expect more from CARLI. The paradox of success is that the work that garnered that success is rarely the work that will ensure future accomplishments. We should expect CARLI will challenge us and innovate. However, ultimately we must expect more of our selves. We must look up from the day to day reality of staff shortages, toner cartridges, and cataloging backlogs and become our own future. We must prove to others and ourselves every day that librarianship is not clerical, nor about materials, or about the building. Librarianship is about improving society.
We must now think about sharing more than just our licenses and loaning our books. We must share authority and responsibility with our communities. We must share our services and expertise with each other. Ultimately we must become a truly open market of ideas. You may have joined CARLI to expand your database offerings - use it now to expand possibilities. You may use CARLI to share materials, now use it to share yourselves and the brilliance of your local communities.
Slides: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/CARLI.pdf
Audio: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/pod/2011/CARLI.mp3
Publisher of the Community: New Librarianship Unencumbered by Our Stacks
Posted: Nov 04 2011 08:50:00"Publisher of the Community: New Librarianship Unencumbered by Our Stacks" PLS President's Program at the NYLA 2011 Annual Conference. Saratoga Springs, NY.
Building the Skills of Library and Museum Professionals
Posted: Oct 26 2011 06:09:07"Building the Skills of Library and Museum Professionals" Lecture to the Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture Summit, Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria.
Abstract: This is the world we have asked for, this is the world we have worked for. Why showcase culture if we are not enabling contribution to that culture. Why information if not for informed participation. Why educate if not for advocacy. Why is it when we espouse the values and virtue of empowerment, we are surprised they seek power in shaping our destinies as well?
The time for introspection is done. The time for trivia is done. The time for looking for the future of libraries in catalogs, and strategic plans is done. The needs of our communities is too great, and our promise for improvement too large. Already at this summit we have heard about the need for education, jobs, food, and disaster assistance. Many of us, including myself, are returning to riots and civil unrest. Our appetites for energy are unsustainable, and the very memory of our society is eroding behind walls of commerce, false scarcity, and obsolescence.
For too long have we defined the core of our profession - service - as standing ready to serve. No one ever improved the world by standing ready.
Slides: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/Salz3.pdf
Audio: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/pod/2011/Salzburg.mp3
Posted: Oct 25 2011 10:16:45A few weeks ago I did the Keynote at NELA and it was received very well, including a very thoughtful blog post by Agnostic, Maybe. I needed to create shorter more pithy version for the iSchools webpage, and so edited it down from an hour to 25 minutes. I thought it might be useful to others, so here it is:
if you want the longer version with more jokes, ums, and New England references you can find it here. Also, due to popular demand I should be able to post a transcript of the original this week. Comments: 2 see or add comment
Killing Librarianship
Posted: Oct 03 2011 00:31:15"Killing Librarianship" Keynote New England Library Association Annual Conference, Burlington, VT.
Posted: Sep 28 2011 15:08:26"LIS Grand Challenges and the Death of the User" iSchool Colloquium Series University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
Abstract: Grand challenges are hard problems with solutions that have societal level impacts. They are as much rallying cry as research agenda, and are useful in promoting innovation in the field and building strong cross-disciplinary partnerships. What are the grand challenges in library and information science? This presentation will focus on efforts to define these grand challenges and the implications for research and education in the LIS field. Special emphasis will be put on moving past concepts of users to true participation and past information to knowledge.
Slides: http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2011/SIS-Pitt.pdf
