Abstract

This keynote presentation was based on the 2018 Charleston Library Conference. The session outlined broader economic shifts facing higher education and libraries, then facilitated audience participation vis anonymous live poll at the Ex Libris Bluegrass Users Group (eBUG) annual conference focused on library systems.

Broader economic trends spawn budget pressures for education and libraries, prompting a plethora of studies on the value and relevance of libraries. Numerous reports on economic decline in libraries and studies with mixed pronouncements on the value of libraries have led to a negative self-image within the library profession. Yet libraries' leadership in connecting learners to knowledge is at the heart of producing many of the key skills sorely needed in robust societies and economies. Librarianship has many untapped opportunities for positioning itself as a prominent strategic partner.

Audience members entered live poll responses to the following ten questions:

  1. What type of organization are you with? (shown live and reported as bar chart)
  2. What best describes your role? (shown live and reported as bar chart)
  3. How do systems tools help libraries serve users? (responses shown as word cloud)
  4. How integrated is your library in your broader organization and community? (shown & reported in weighted averages on Likert scale, lowest value=1; highest value=5)
  5. How isolated is your library from the organization and broader community? (shown & reported in same type of Likert scale)
  6. What key challenges do you see for library / information professionals? (shown real-time as individual scrolling quotes; reported as at-a-glance word cloud and responses written out verbatim and grouped by major topics [financial. structural & management, outreach, upskilling needs, technology, relevancy & relationships])
  7. What great opportunities do you see for library / information professionals? (shown real-time as individual scrolling quotes; reported as word cloud and verbatim entries sorted alphabetically)
  8. Society‘s unassigned problems: What needs are library professionals strongly suited to address? (shown real-time as individual scrolling uptes; reported as word cloud and verbatim entries sorted alphabetically)
  9. Soft advocacy: What can libraries do to be effective ambassadors for the profession? (shown real-time as individual scrolling uptes; reported as word cloud and verbatim entries sorted alphabetically)
  10. Your closing thoughts: free-form & open-ended (shown real-time and reported as word cloud).

These presentation slides include the reporting-out from the conference session.

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

6-14-2019

Notes/Citation Information

Keynote presentation at the 2019 Ex Libris Bluegrass Users Group (eBUG) Annual Conference in Bowling Green, KY.

Related Content

2018 Charleston Library Conference presentation and Proceedings paper of same title.

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