Define your library impact

We all have occasional long days of frustration. At a recent meeting I attended where training needs were discussed, people shared stories about patrons being more cranky and frustrated lately too. The guy who waited 45 minutes to get an internet computer so he could submit vital online forms and the woman coming in your library for the first time because she needs an email address to apply for a job aren’t always in the same chipper mood as the avid literature lover or the smiling mother of 3 getting books for her kids who makes time to drop in for story hour, but we all know that public libraries serve everyone with valuable resources. It’s a tall order to fill.

When the mission of your library is to help people and your community, and every day, all you want is to do is meet more and more overwhelming community needs, it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Then you’re hit with the idea that you might not have as much money to do it with in the future. It can be a really devastating thought. All this comes at a time when more items than ever are going through our doors. Some days we need more inspiration. Find it in the impact.

Imagine for a moment, a world without libraries. What if you woke up this morning and there were no libraries. I know it’s far fetched, but imagine it……….

After that temporary moment of fear about what you’ll when what you believe in is gone, look around: What does the world look like without libraries? Imagine no academic libraries, no public libraries, no special libraries, no law libraries, no medical libraries, no school libraries. Pretend it’s a world where Melville Dewey was never born and WorldCat didn’t allow you to search multiple catalogs. Imagine there’s no OPAC, no ILS. How’s democracy looking? Or is it an Idiocracy? Where are all the scholarly works stored and how does a person get to see them and use them? How do publishers, artists, and other creatives feel (if there are any left)? How are people reading and consuming information? Can they find anything? And the internet? Librarians changed that too and they keep on changing it.

Do you have a vision for libraries? Do you have a story that demonstrates how the library changed a life?
Share it. Record it. Write it. Film it. Do it. Plan it. And have fun with it.
The world without libraries isn’t a pretty place. See all the value in what we do. Do whatever it takes to Be inspiring.

Share your ideas to make sure EVERYONE (including those who assist with the funding) learns the impact your library work makes on everyday life.

Comments are always welcome below.