The Message Matters

I recently read a post by R. David Lankes about the mindset that "librarians" (I believe this term encompasses all library employees) have about "libraries." As employees of a public library system, we each maintain a perception of the library but if that perception is one of peril versus one of advocacy or a "declaration of pride," we run the risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. I found the following passage from the post to be quite poignant:

"..we must give up a deficit model and embrace the aspirations of the community. Rather than talking about how the community can’t read, or research, or access the Internet, we need to talk about how reading, researching, and accessing the Internet can help our communities unleash their potential. We should be asking how libraries help our communities thrive. If we can put together that vision in a compelling way, people will support libraries out of self-interest, not out of pity, charity, or a sense of obligation."

We are under no illusion that the "library," be it Metro or any other public library, is a perpetual shoo-in with local and state governments when it comes to funding. But it's how we think about the library, how we advocate on its behalf, how we "tell its story" that can impact our community's perception of us and we, as the messenger, get to decide whether perception is reality.