“I actually was told by one librarian that libraries aren’t the corporate world where things are planned out by relevant statistical data.”
Libraries may not be corporate but librarians sure as heck should be looking at statistics and qualitative data. We should examine community data, library survey data and ask users for their input — their stories — to build services and buildings of the future. Just saying.
We should also gather stories of successes and learning from our staff! This reminds me of this recent post at the Clio Institute Blog. Click through to see how your organization ranks according to “learning culture.”
Learning Culture:
People at all levels ask questions and share stories about successes, failures, and what they have learned.
Everyone creates, keeps, and propagates stories of individuals who have improved their own processes.
People take at least some time to reflect on what has happened and what may happen.
Anti learning Culture:
Managers share information on a need-to-know basis. People keep secrets and don’t describe how events really happened.
Everyone believes they know what to do, and they proceed on that assumption.
Little time or attention is given to understanding lessons learned from projects.