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From the President
I've had the luxury this week of being able to think about the future. I'm tremendously jealous of folks who can justifiably call themselves futurists. My work does not usually allow me to think about the future; I'm too pressed upon by the day-to-day necessities of running the library, recreation, and arts & culture. However, it's a good practice for all of us, imaging what could be, given the trends that emerge in demographics, society, technology, politics...you name it.
The middle of the week, I was in Pasadena learning about the Baby Boomers at the California State Library's Transforming Life After 50: Public Libraries and Baby Boomers training, which was a partnership of CSL, Libraries for the Future and CLA. The Boomers, now made up of 43-61 year olds, numbers around 78 million, and makes up around 1/3 of the entire population. It was an exciting, thought-provoking week, as I considered that many people defined "old age" as beginning at 100! And, many Boomers never intend to retire. Beginning with a great DVD through Ken Dychtwald at Age Wave to the Boomer Project and its information on marketing, from urban planning and AARP's information on health care, brain health, and civic engagement, to spirituality, demographics, longevity, and how one charitable trust is funding projects related to aging and older adults, we were treated to some of the best ideas and speakers in the country. This generation wave is going to change many libraries, and, if done right, we can reap many many benefits. The City of Tempe has Tempe Connections, a café and education experience. Multnomah County Library has found new ways to collaborate with partners and reach out to their community - great examples to us. One of my favorite moments came while watching Denver Public Library's YouTube video for fresh city life, programming for adults of all ages. What a dynamic, creative, solution to programs in a public library setting!
So far, I've heard the new Deputy State Librarian, Stacey Aldrich, twice. Each time I find more and more to interest me in the great ideas she's talking about. If you have an opportunity, go see her! Better yet, invite her to your library to speak to your staff, library board, Friends, or elected officials. A recent discussion at San Jose State's Library School can be seen (most likely by about Dec. 5) at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/events/colloquia07fa.htm#oct1007f. I, for one, am thrilled to have her in California, and think we are very lucky to have someone so creative and thought-provoking at the State Library level. She's one of those futurists I'm jealous of; I admit it freely.
Want to check out something else that was a creative experiment in thinking about the future in libraries? Take a look at Transformation Lab a project in a library in Denmark. Very exciting, don't you think? My favorite idea from this comes in the flexibility of space. Thanks to Melinda Cervantes for letting us know about this one.
Oh, and for those of you who saw the recent FBI rankings which ranked Richmond as the ninth most dangerous city in America, I have just one of the many positive stories from Richmond this week: a story in Friday's Contra Costa Times about Bertha Ramos, a 17-year old (Contra Costa Times: Senior gets historic title). Not a Boomer, but another good reason to keep our libraries fresh, innovative, and responsive to an ever-changing community.
Hope you can take a moment to think about the future today!
Monique le Conge
2008 President
Posted on December 3, 2007 8:23 AM | Permalink