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Rachel KersleyParticipant
I love that quote Robynne, and I think that’s the sort of librarian a lot of us want to be. Something I find really interesting in a similar vein, is the way that librarians are so often stereotyped as quiet and almost conservative, when so many of us are absolutely subversive – we want to change the world by sharing information.
Linking this back a little to the actual post, I think that sticking to definitive labels of ‘high’ and ‘pop’ culture, in addition to being something of a value statement can lead to people not experiencing something because of that label. Whereas if it was given a more nuanced label – or no label at all – they might discover something they really enjoy. In other words, sticking to hard and fast labels might help with organising information, but it doesn’t necessarily help people to find or experience it.
Rachel KersleyParticipantHi Luke!
Unfortunately I don’t have many ideas on better engaging with teens (probably because I’ve never really had a period of not going to the library), though I think one option is to – somehow – make it clear that the library is a space that’s open to them without trying to push them into participating in things or reading, so that they get used to just going to the library and when they want/need something they realise that it’s an option.
Mostly, though, I wanted to chime in on the topic of video games as narratives, because I agree with you so much! Video games tell stories just as much as any other medium, and while it’s possible to argue that some of them aren’t particularly good stories, you could say the same thing about literally any other form of storytelling as well. (And that’s not even getting into the validity of those sorts of value judgements or who gets to decide what counts as ‘good’…)
Rachel KersleyParticipantYeah, I think it’s probably a case of trying to find a middle ground – not quite the ideal in terms of knowledge, but much more workable for the librarians in question.
Rachel KersleyParticipantHey Chris, I think the idea that familiarity with current research might become more of an explicit requirement is interesting, though I’m not sure how likely it is. Mostly because it would require a fairly high degree of specialisation (I know I wouldn’t want to be the librarian trying to be familiar with current research about everything) meaning that libraries would either need to become far more specialised as well, or employ a lot more librarians – at least one for every area. Of course that’s taking the idea to its extreme, so it might still be fine if done to a lesser degree. Regardless, it’s interesting to consider.
Rachel KersleyParticipantI definitely agree that it’s a case of limited vision on the part of the people in charge.
If the government’s going to move everything online – which unfortunately seems to be what’s going to happen – then there needs to be a lot of work done to make it accessible to everyone. One of the big things that I really hope happens is easier (and cheaper!) access to assistive technology, either through libraries or through another route.
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