“Focus on People, Not Tools”

I just read this great article posted by Library Journal: here is a link to the article.

Here are two highlights and my reflections on them:

Focusing on the technologies rather than the outcomes changes the way we talk about these topics and the way we learn about them. When we aim for the outcomes, we’re more likely to think deeply about the problems we’re trying to solve and consider multiple strategies that speed us to our goals.

Let me be clear: I’m not downplaying the importance of technology in libraries or setting up a false dichotomy. As a profession, librarianship has developed many mechanisms to learn about technology and the web. This is important, and we need to keep learning about the broader world of resources that can help us efficiently deliver our services. But let’s shift our collective eye to learning about people first, so everything we know about technology can be put in service of supporting meaningful goals.

Yes! Too often I fall into the habit of thinking about technology as the end itself rather as a means to a greater end. I really shouldn’t care how many people like a particular post or follow us on twitter – I really should care about the online community that has gathered around the library and meeting their needs.

Our collective focus on technology also prevents technology from being as deeply integrated into our libraries as it should be. When we fetishize technology, we can only look at it shallowly. When we depend on emerging technology librarians to be the ambassadors for relevant technologies, we take the rest of the organization off the hook.

In fact, if we put the emphasis on people, library technology will become even more important. Currently, it is all too easy to implement tech solutions halfheartedly, check the box that the project is complete, and more or less be done with it.

Yes. I think this article is such a basic reminder that my excitement about libraries and technology is best understood in the broader context of meeting user needs. At least for me, there is a tensions between measuring quantifiable outputs (numbers of followers, number of circulations, etc.) and measuring qualitative outcomes (how patrons engage with the library online, how patrons use library resources, etc.) but that in the best possible world the assessment practices should be tied to both objective standards and to the broader goals.