The Project
Community First is a series of interviews with the "library luminaries" who were using technologies available in time to build community, participatory library services, and networking for professional development.
The Point
- The work that we're doing is built on the work (both success and failures) of those who came before us
- "We are /not/ amateurs!" and "We're /not/ the old guard!" The series might help us tell that story and make that case
- Connecting what we learn from the series to what's happening in libraries now (web 2.0, participatory librarianship, etc.)
- Getting these stories out; the content is unique to the library field
- It's not about the technologies so much as the connections and communities we make with them
The Logistics
- Volunteers interview a selected "library luminary" during 30-45 minute conversations, which are recorded live, via telephone, or VoIP
- We use a standard set of 4-5-8 questions (sent first via email), along with some back up questions waiting in the wings
- Volunteer audio editors help us publish quality full-length interviews and shorter (less than five minutes) excerpts
- We publish and store the files and interview materials at WebJunction
- We aggregate the interviews through an RSS feed (at WebJunction)
- We try to capitalize on "in person" meetings and conferences already in attendance so that we can do in-person interviews, where possible
Community First: Overview Presentation
The attached presentation includes the full script of the presentation, but does not contain notes for the "open forum" discussion that followed with the audience.
Interview with Karen Schneider
KAREN SCHNEIDER is the Community Librarian at Equinox, the support and development company for Evergreen open source library software. Her library career path includes managing the popular portal Librarians’ Internet Index, managing a computer network for a public library, directorships in small rural and small special libraries, children's librarianship, adult reference, academic systems management, and running a one-person Internet training business. Before her library career, Karen was an aircraft maintenance officer in the U.S. Air Force. A native San Franciscan who has lived worldwide, Karen is a prolific writer who has published two books and over 100 magazine articles and blogs regularly at Free Range Librarian. She holds degrees from Barnard, University of Illinois (GSLIS 1992), and the University of San Francisco.
CINDI TRAINOR interviewed Karen for the Community First Project in 2008 (she also took this fabulous photo). DAVID FREE edited the audio files. Short and full-length interviews are linked with the MP3s above.
Interview with Roy Tennant
ROY TENNANT is Senior Program Officer for OCLC Programs and Research. He is the owner of the Web4Lib and XML4Lib electronic discussions, and the creator and editor of Current Cites, a current awareness newsletter published every month since 1990. His books include "Technology in Libraries: Essays in Honor of Anne Grodzins Lipow" (2008), "Managing the Digital Library" (2004), "XML in Libraries" (2002), "Practical HTML: A Self-Paced Tutorial" (1996), and "Crossing the Internet Threshold: An Instructional Handbook" (1993). Roy wrote a monthly column on digital libraries for Library Journal for a decade and has written numerous articles in other professional journals. In 2003, he received the American Library Association's LITA/Library Hi Tech Award for Excellence in Communication for Continuing Education.
CINDI TRAINOR interviewed Roy for the Community First Project in 2008 (she also took this fabulous photo). DAVID FREE edited the audio files.
In the upper right hand corner of this article page, you'll find links to the full interview, and a short (5 minute) excerpt from the same interview.
Interview with Marilyn Gell Mason
MARILYN GELL MASON is the recently retired founding Executive Director of WebJunction. Previously she was Director of the Cleveland Public Library and the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library. She also served as the Director of the First White House Conference on Library and Information Services in 1979-1980 and was appointed by President Clinton to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science in 1999. Ms. Mason has published widely in the areas of strategic management and the integration of print and electronic information and is currently working on topics of innovation and leadership.
CHRYSTIE HILL interviewed Marilyn in October 2008. DAVID FREE edited the audio files. Just click on the above links to access and listen to the full interview or excerpt.
Interview Questions
- early career: why did you become a librarian?
- brief biography: tell us briefly about your career as a librarian
- particular project: tell us about an early career project that involved creating connections, relationships or community that you're proud of
- outcomes: what came out of the project that was particularly meaningful to you or to others involved?
- participatory/community building: how did the project you speak of above create community for your users or provide the means for them to participate in the project or contribute their own content?
- technology: how did the project engage or use technology? did you think about technology as an important part of the project
- current work: how do you use technology today? what connections do you see between technologies you use today and those that came before?
- professional development and network: who constitutes your library technology community, and how do you keep in touch?
- what was the best piece of advice you received from a mentor during the course of your career?
- what advice would you give?
Sample Invitation
Dear [name],
My name is [name], I'm a librarian, and I'm working with a small group of colleagues on a project called "Community First: using technology to connect people and library service through the decades." This multi-media series captures and highlights historically important stories of individuals, libraries and librarianship as they have connected technology, community, and library service. We're writing because you were recommended to me by [name] for your work [explain]. We'd love to interview you, at your convenience, via either digital audio or video, about your unique contributions to the library field.
The interview will take less than one hour, and can be scheduled whever you're available. Audio-only can be arranged by phone, and video can be arranged either [place/time] or at an upcoming conference. We'll send a list of 6-8 questions in advance of the interview, but we'd like the conversation to be informal and flow naturally as we move through the questions.
Inspired by an impromptu discussion someone in our group had with several "library luminaries" last year at ALA, this series has three goals: to share stories unique to the library field; to allow new librarians to learn from these stories and connect them with what's happening in library service now; and to deconstruct the myth that participatory (or "2.0") library services are entirely new. I hope you'll join us in collecting these unique oral histories by sharing the stories of your success, lessons learned, and overall contributions with others in Libraryland.
Please let me know by [date/time] if you'd like to participate. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you,
[signed]
