MOOC for librarians: the importance of being a library advocate

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Wendy Newman, Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Faculty of Information of University of Toronto, has recently directed and organized an interesting MOOC: “Library Advocacy Unshushed: Values, evidence, action“. We’ve asked her a few questions to learn more about the course.

 

Could you briefly describe the course content as well as the objective pursued?

The objective is to enable participants to exercise effective advocacy for the mission, values and services of libraries and librarians in the advancement of learning and the future of our communities – all kinds of communities, such as neighbourhoods, communities of interest, universities, firms, and so on. Effective advocates are informed, taking positions and employing methods based on evidence. They are focused on relationship building and the dynamics of ethical influence. They have a strategic mind set – able to recognize and pursue agreed upon goals in systematic and disciplined ways over time. They are networked: they engage other advocates and create partnerships and alliances. They are also efficient – obtaining the greatest impact from available resources.

The MOOC is a six-week adaptation of my 12-week course at the iSchool, University of Toronto. There are three main components – perceptions of libraries held by decision-makers, influencers, and others; influence and relationship development; and systematic advocacy planning and implementation.

 

Advocacy is increasingly perceived as an important issue for libraries, do you think it is always properly applied?

It is critically important, but unfortunately, it is often ignored, poorly informed, or badly implemented. Many wait too long. Protest is almost never successful. Arguments based on the entitlement of the library and the librarians are self-serving and ineffective.

As library champions, we must be more intentional and evidence-based. I am concerned when I see a workshop on technology and a workshop on advocacy at the same library conference, and the participants swarm into the technology session! Perhaps librarians are more confident about technology. Many librarians believe that advocacy is not their responsibility – it is the job of the chief librarian only. Or they believe they must have dramatic personal charisma or the perfect turn of phrase. These beliefs are dangerous to the future of libraries and the communities they serve.  Advocacy is actually quite technical, and entirely learnable! It requires a disciplined approach over time.

The MOOC was designed not only for librarians, but for others, such as citizen activists, library board members, students, and interested supporters.  It was a really interesting combination of skills, insights, and experience!

 

What professional skills must the library advocate have? And what’s in his/her toolbox?

A library advocate must have a combination of skill, attitude, respect for evidence, and a strong commitment to, and ease with, relationship development. In question #1, I mentioned being informed, strategic, networked, and efficient. The evidence on advocacy and influence indicates that the ability and willingness to develop relationships of credibility and trust with decision-makers and influencers is the key. Of course, this takes place over an extended time, so advocates must be passionate, with a deep belief in their cause, and patient and persistent. They must also be able to identify and tell arresting stories that show the impact of libraries and librarians. The advocate’s toolbox includes the skills, knowledge, and evidence I mentioned above, applied carefully and respectfully. Some of the evidence can be surprising. For example, many library advocates believe that good relationships with library users are sufficient, but these relationships are not enough. Research tells us that our most ardent advocates are not users, but instead highly-connected people who believe in the transformative impacts of libraries. If we have been expecting users to speak up for libraries, we have been seriously mistaken.

 

Why a MOOC? And what kind of feedback did you have during and after this experience?

I have taught my online course on advocacy for many years, and also delivered advocacy workshops at conferences and libraries. The MOOC seemed a natural progression – I could share these ideas with a wider library community. I must say I had no idea how much work it would be! But I worked with wonderful people – course designer and consultant Gwen Harris, and student assistant Carolyn Dineen, in addition to the backup of my colleagues in Information Services and the University and the support of the staff of EdX, the nonprofit organization offering the MOOC. I also have the direct help of no fewer than fifteen professional colleagues who are accomplished advocates; some, like Ken Haycock and Cherly Stenstrom, have done excellent research on the subject. All of them volunteered to do video interviews with me to illustrate practical applications of advocacy principles.

The demand for the MOOC was really affirming. We received inquiries from all over the world. Over 4,400 people, mostly librarians in professional practice, enrolled in the course. We had exceptionally high engagement in our discussion groups. The final assignment consisted of a reflection in which participants recalled what they had learned, identified ideas and evidence that had been especially significant for them, and described what they intended to do with their new knowledge and insight.  Those essays were inspiring! Advocacy isn’t easy to learn. It requires a major shift, from what we love and value to what our decision-makers love and value. Huge numbers of the participants made that shift. We also administered exit surveys of participants, and the results were consistent with that observation.

 

There will be other editions of the course “Library Advocacy Unshushed: Values, evidence, action”?

These MOOCs take hundreds of hours to produce. I will update reading lists and other resources.  There won’t be a complete revision. We will run an updated version of the MOOC on EdX again in January and February 2015. Interested readers can watch for the announcement on www.edx.org.


newman wendyWendy Newman – University of Toronto

 

 

 


 

intervista di Lucia Antonelli – lantonelli(at)sspal.it – Redazione AIB notizie