“To be Sharp, Yet Open”

I like the woods in any season which leads me to read a lot of nature writing.  I am re-reading Bernd Heinrich’s A Year in the Maine Woods  at the moment.  In the prose of the best nature writers there are many passages such as the one below that resonate with a broader application beyond the purposes of the book.

“Very few people know the birds exist here at all, so I feel like I am delving into a deep secret.  If I can find out how they do it, then I’ll know something that nobody in the world knows, and that prospect excites me.  I do not yet want to form a hypothesis to test, because as soon as you make a hypothesis, you become prejudiced.  Your mind slides into a groove, and once it is in that groove, has difficulty noticing anything outside of it.  During this time, my senses must be sharp; that is the main thing – to be sharp, yet open.”

Portland Public Library, like all public libraries, is undergoing tremendous and complicated change and the need to stay sharp, engage, observe, see clearly and yet be wide open (stay out of the organizational and personal ruts) to the possibilities and potential within the current environment is our critical and essential bundle of qualities.  The assertion that the role of libraries is in fact changing may or my not be accurate depending on your perspective. One thing that is abundantly clear to even fairly casual observers is that the HOW part has already, and is now daily, changing hugely and I would argue for the better.

Portland Public Library, at this moment in its history, has never been better equipped to respond to the needs of the community.  We have the information tools – digital and print - and the needed infrastructure that, thanks partnerships and networks of funders, present a potential to be an even greater force in the daily lives of our users.  I would not suggest that we have enough staff but that is the ever present ‘complaint” of all organizations now.  But, I do believe that the imperative that we become true experts in the knowledge and effective use of all tools at our disposal is a critical competency that we need to acquire.  It is easy to get bleary eyed at the enormous number of electronic journals in a data base and to not delve deeply into the value of the content and then deliver it to meet user needs.  The recently completed community survey strongly stated the public expectation that PPL have great collections, safe, comfortable and productive environments and a staff that is helpful, skilled and committed.