Miles’s Library: Annotated

"Miles's Library: Annotated" appears as a chapter in the just published book Visionary: Leaders for Information compiled by Dr. Arthur Winzenried from the School of Information Studies at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, Australia. (I still think is my favorite town name!) You can order the book here. (They are still looking for a US distributor.)

Dr. Wizenrund has kindly allowed me to link to my chapter online. (And yes, you may have read a draft version on the Blue Skunk about a year or so ago.)

In story form, the chapter envisions what a school library might look like in 2025. Not much sex or violence, but still a thrilling read.

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Book description:

Visionary Leaders for Information looks in detail at the place of the librarian, particularly the teacher-librarian, as a pivotal part of their organisational. The immediate past and the sometimes confusing present challenge the need for an intermediary. Financial considerations have brought all non-teaching staff in schools into high relief and assumptions are often made on very little evidence.

Just a little of that situation is the fault of the teacher-librarian themselves, Where they immerse themselves in dealing with books and general resources, they provide the bean counters with ample excuse to save the cost of wages.

This new work from Winzenried highlights the need for teacher-librarians and information leaders generally to take a more active role in leading their organisations. Relationships with people, and especially a new vision of client needs that is not marked by antique and out-of-date rules is going to be vital for survival. Client satisfaction needs to be far more prominent in the thinking of information personnel. 

The new work looks at many key aspects of the organisation as well as highlighting aspects that must become more of a focus. Vision is needed. To highlight this, the book contains seven scenarios form experts in the field that take this vision firmly into the future. Doug Johnson and Sue Healy in particular offer rather detailed views of the future.

Visionary Leaders offers both a challenge to review current practices and a timely reminder of the value of the client. Serving their real needs rather than our conceptions of what they are will be an essential aspect of future information provision.

Orders from CIS at  http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/educat/sis/CIS/forms/order-form.pdf