Chicago, part 3

Below is a draft of what I submitted to Anythink's staff magazine, hence the tone and spin I have to it - less bloggy and more Go-Anythink-Go!! Also, this post is a super geeked-out (and overly lengthy-so much to say though!) post on the public library tradition and its future so no hard feelings if it is simply a "TL;DR" type of thing for you:) All the same, I keep thinking about all I experienced on this trip and there have been several times where I am fighting not to constantly talk about all that I am processing after-the-fact. So if you previously asked me how my Chicago trip was and I had a hard time articulating it then here is the explanation....

When Anythink became one of 6 libraries in the country to receive the IMLS YouMedia grant there seemed to be a mix of excitement, along with shock and anticipation. All kinds of questions arose. What equipment should we purchase? How will we facillitate our existing space to accomodate the lab? Who can we partner with to make this opportunity grow into more opportunities? The IMLS Digital Learning Lab Chicago meeting was organized to help all 12 grantees come together and discuss their plans and concerns in implementing their learning labs. Holding this meeting in Chicago gave us the opportunity to see how Chicago Public Library implemented their grant funding and how they have grown since opening the lab in 2008. 

On our first night of the convening, we were given 20 minutes and a table full of supplies to create a poster that best represented our library. The table was covered with an array ranging from magazines for collages to puffy stickers and pipe cleaners. We quickly came up with the idea to depict a modern Volkswagen Bug (in orange of course) with an Anythink symbol, our "Anything is Possible" mantra and the tagline "Reinventing a Classic". As Mo sketched out the basic form of the car, with help from a picture on his iPhone, Matt and Mindy frantically colored in the finished areas while I made use of myself by staying out of the way and documenting the event with pictures. I couldn't help but look around while the other tables worked and see what they were putting together. Such elaborate forms were taking shape around the room! Some even turning their poster boards into 3D sculptures while others putting together complex collages and so on. For a moment, I second guessed what we were doing. Perhaps we should make more use of these puffy stickers! Shouldn't we throw in some magazine cut-outs into this somehow? How hard would it be to fold the Anythink symbol out of a pipe cleaner? Then I realized that although the wild creativity that comes in a room filled with public librarians and museum educators is inspiring, our simple, sleek and inventive look suited the Anythink sensibility perfectly. And so we introduced ourselves as Anythink: the place where we believed that anything is possible. A library that strives to reinvent and rediscover the public library tradition.

Though we knew before we went to Chicago, who else had received the IMLS Digital Media Lab grant, there was something particularly inspiring about getting to know the remarkable organizations that were also on this journey with us. In way of review, we are 1 of 12 recipients. About half of these institutions are public libraries: San Francisco Public Library, Philadelphia Free Library, Nashville Public Library, Howard County Public Library (Columbia, MD), Kansas City Public Library, Ohio's Columbia Metropolitan Library, St Paul Public Library, The other half are museums: The DaVinci Discovery Science Center, Oregon Museum of Science, Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the New York Hall of Science. If the high profile locations of these institutions aren't impressive enough, it is worth noting that they are each engaged in some incredibly impressive initiatives to support and inspire their communities. The New York Hall of Science, for example, is hosting Bjork as an artist in residence for several weeks as a vehicle to teach science of sound. Needless to say, Anythink is aligned with a hip and innovative bunch of educators. This seemed intimidating to me at first. However, as I got to know more about the grant goals and the research behind its success, I realized that Anythink very much belonged in this group of organizations. It seemed that we have been on track for an opportunity like, whether or not we entirely realized it. YouMedia is simply the next step.

The next two days were a whirlwind of information. Speakers included community developers, librarians, museum directors and Urban Library Council members. We also heard from Mimi Ito, a cultural anthropologist who conducted the groundbreaking research that became the "Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out" (HoMaGo) methodology to teen 21st century learning. Though this IMLS grant is focused on building a Digital Media Lab, it is centered on the HoMaGo format for reaching teens. The idea is that if we create an appealing and stimulating environment, teens will have the opportunity to take ownership of their learning in a way that they cannot have in other learning institutions. Ito's presentation and research was incredibly compelling but I don't think anything was more profound than actually getting the opportunity to see this research at work in the Chicago Public Library space. 

Chicago Public Library is essentially the grandfather to facilitating a digital media lab space for teens based on Ito's HoMaGo research. Though all those involved in making it happen will be the first to tell you of the many pitfalls and shortcomings their space had during the three years it has been in operation, what they now have happening in their teen space is incredible. There was such a natural and not overly organized flow to things. If I hadn't been aware of all the thought that had gone into the space, I would never have guessed that things had been planned. Yet, it was as if you could literally point out in the room space full of more than 30 teens, those that were hanging out and those that were messing around, etc. 

What was more remarkable was the opportunity to meet the teens and mentors of the library space during a panel discussion after exploring the space. 

I went through a professional transformation during these 45 minutes at the Chicago Public Library. It was if my nebulous notion I have had about my role as a teen librarian finally came into view like a magic eye that I had been working on since my work at Austin Public Library's teen centers. I had intuitions that Anythink's friendly "hanging out" and "messing around" philosophy towards teen services was right but I didn't quite understand where it all led until I saw the remarkable developments that come from simply providing a welcoming and safe place for teens. I would guess that the four of us Anythinkers in attendance went through a transformation on some level. Perhaps what best describes the energy that was in that library is articulated from Mindy's notes, "This is the first time, in a long time, that I have felt that libraries will have a future!" I felt that too! It was if all the time before my YouMedia visit, I had been looking at the public library's future through a pinhole camera. My mentality had been "if we stay on this narrow path and get very very lucky we just may earn our keep in communities." But during that hour in the YouMedia space I saw all of the walls, where those pinholes had once been, break open and the future of libraries not only looked certain and expansive but utterly thrilling.

Shortly after returning from Chicago, Pam emailed all four of us asking if we would be able to share some of our experiences at the board meeting to “hear more about how this project is going to change our world.” At the risk of sounding dramatic, I couldn’t help but think, “It isn’t just going to change our world. It is going to change the world. And so we begin this adventure! Whether our role is in teen and tech services or something different entirely, we are all a part of providing this marvelous wave of new learning. What an amazing opportunity it will be to go on this journey together and see what incredible places it takes our library, our community, our world.