A Philosophy For The Future?

I wrote this some time ago when I needed to synthesize my thoughts under the broad heading of something called vision. It encapsulates my vision not only for libraries, but for our society at large.

I am humbled and honored to have been asked to run for president of the North Dakota Library Association. If selected, I will serve the organization well and work to carry on the fine work of my predecessors. As president, I seek to continue the tradition of an office that is both responsive to the membership and proactive in engaging with the vagaries and vicissitudes of the organization, while providing leadership toward the future.

In the vein of leadership, there are some things that I struggle to get my metaphorical head around, wondering if together, we might make some sense of it all. In addition to the omnipresent challenges of meeting the needs of  library funding and services, there are vexing issues that we should engage with as an ongoing part of questing for a viable future. Let me start with a little vignette from history to help illustrate.

In 7th century China, monks began to record Buddhist scriptures onto stone tablets in an effort to secure the texts in a time of growing insecurity. The project, began in 605 C.E, continued until a few decades after Shakespeare wrote his works in the mid 1600’s. It is incredible to think about a contiguous undertaking lasting so long and being completed a millennium later,  the primary vision of the undertaking unchanged. The project outlived those who started it as well as whatever troubles it was created to weather. It remains a singular achievement in the annals of human endeavor.

As we move fully into the second decade of the 21st Century, the essential form of the library is undergoing a disruptive transition that may eventually be the birth of something quite new. Simultaneously, the specter of climate change, with all its associated instabilities, both dire and benign predictions, looms ever more on the horizon. An amazing library future is possible, but only if we meet the challenges that stand in the way of future.

Like the eponymous boiling frog, sitting in the churning cauldron of change, we can either passively wait for the water to get too hot or we can be a proactive force in securing the future of libraries in a time of transformative evolution. As NDLA President, I would like to lead a discussion about these issues. Similar to the one-thousand year process of carving Buddhist sutras onto stone tablets, I believe it is a journey more than a destination. The ongoing goals, stretching forward into an unknown future, must focus on the resilience, sustainability and reinvigoration of libraries.

Most of us are struggling with decision making as we negotiate the fractious landscape of possible library futures unfolding before us. It is difficult to discern the way forward when there is so much uncertainty. We may be in the very early stages of one of the most momentous transitions in human history. A change not witnessed since a world of largely orally transmitted information gave way to one in which the written word played an important supporting role to human memory. The two-thousand year reign of the book may be in the early stages of a long protracted sunset, presaging a new world of information and knowledge that transcends physical boundaries. The form of the library that would be recognizable to librarians in the famous ancient Library of Alexandria over two-thousand years ago is changing. It is up to us to manage that change. The digital transition is primed with the potential to lead us to amazing possibilities, now only dimly conceived, or over a cliff, as we inexorably lose control of the very things we have been the steward of for so long.

The linkages and connections that sustain our libraries are so much greater than they were just a few decades ago.  We increasingly rely on connections situated in remote areas across the country and even around the world. Despite the virtual nature of the content, the hardware that makes it possible is rooted in the physical world. It is a system in a state of constant flux, change, update and obsolescence.The rapidity of change and the ephemerality of technology force us onto an never-ending treadmill of keeping up and trying to pay for it. Also, the growing power of “digital gatekeepers,” who increasingly dominate our world and drive the agenda in their preferred direction, is a challenge we need to meet.  Additionally, when the power goes out, the Internet goes down or there are issues with a network or piece of hardware, the inability to get to what we need is very real.  Ensuring the ongoing resilience and sustainability of linkages and systems is a key challenge that we face. Finally, despite the saturation of digital access among some and the promise it offers to the many, issues of how to provide, expand and sustain it for everyone are still at the top of the agenda. These are issues that transcend us all and have ramifications for everyone.

Throughout history, few things have had a more unsettling or lasting impact on human societies than changing climate. Unfortunately, in the present zeitgeist, scientific questions become political ones, obfuscating observable data in a fog of hyperbole. The fact is, climate has always changed, and humanity survives and thrives on a veritable knifes edge of climatic conditions. It threatens to put everything we are building in the new library future at risk. Thinking about what that means for libraries and how we can be more resilient is helpful not only to us, but for society as well.

I would be honored to serve as NDLA president and foster a discussion about the myriad possible futures that the emerging century will reveal. It is a discussion that I hope others will have as well, as we ensure that libraries continue to have a pivotal role in our communities, our society and our world.