My new Library Journal column is all about the Next Library experience. Please take a look.
Next Library enhanced the global perspective that I’d argue benefits all information professionals. Over fifty Ignite sessions gave participants a sampling of innovation in libraries around the globe. Petar Luka?i?, Head of Adult department in Fran Galovic Public Library in Croatia and a scholarship winner to attend the conference, told me “I realize that our core value is the same all around the world: see what your community needs and react. If you talk to someone from Denmark or Ghana, it’s the same problem, but a librarian with a heart always finds a way.” And these connections were forged with grace and courtesy from all. Jeff Nyoka expressed thanks by sharing a saying in his Zulu language on the Next Facebook page: “umuntu ngumuntu, ngabantu” — one becomes a better person through good relationships with other people. “Next Library made me feel like a better person because of everyone’s kindness.”
Rebecca T. Miller, Editorial Director, Library Journal and School Library Journal, also wrote up her conference experiences here: International, Interactive, Innovation and wrote an editorial too, Asking for More: Four New Approaches to Community Engagement.
More Links:
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/nextlibrary
Next Library 2017: http://www.nextlibrary.net/all-about-next-library-2017