1. The Role of the New Librarians
Jill Hurst-Wahl
@jill_hw
June 12, 2012

2. WHAT IS NEW LIBRARIANSHIP?
The mission of
librarians is to
improve society by
facilitating
knowledge creation
in their
communities.
Photo by Anna-Stina Takala

3. QUALITIES
 Have a world view
 Want to make a difference
 See every resource as a tool
 Willing to experiment
 Expect to fail forward
 Want to learn more
 Believe in the power of the community
 Do not have preconceived notions of what a library
can do
 Do you have these qualities?

4. FIVE EXAMPLES OF
NEW LIBRARIANSHIP
IN ACTION

5. LIVE FACT-CHECKING
 Presidential debates (Erin Dorney, Millersville Univ.)
 Budget hearings
 Community discussions
 Exemplifies “improving society.”
 Demonstrates to students how information can
inform real world events

6. WORKING WITH STUDENT STARTUPS
 Student entrepreneurs have great ideas that are not
always connected with reality.
 Fact-checking
 Environmental scan
 Competitive intelligence
 Have an entrepreneurship-focused librarian
 Hold office hours in the student incubator
 Create services specifically for entrepreneurs

7. ACTIVE LEARNING
 Makerspace, hackerspace, DIY content creation, tool-
lending library, FabLab, TechShop, art space, craft
studio, digital darkroom, musical instrument lending
library, video recording studio, teaching and
demonstration kitchen.
 Public libraries are doing this, why not more
academics?
 Facilitates knowledge creation.

8. PRINT ON DEMAND
®
(ESPRESSO BOOK MACHINE )
 Delivering content in a different way.
 Being like a bookstore.
 Generating income.
 J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah
 The Brooklyn Public Library
 NYPL’s Science, Industry and Business Library
 Darien Library (Connecticut)
 Michigan State Univ. Library

9. TEACHING TRANSLITERACY
 “Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact
across a range of platforms, tools and media from
signing and orality through handwriting, print, T V,
radio and film, to digital social networks .” –
Transliteracy: Crossing Divides
 Right now people can consume all types of material,
but can they create?

10. WHAT MAKES THEM &
THEIR IDEAS DIFFERENT
FROM YOU?