Redesigning Our Role While Redesigning Our Libraries

This article describes a process one librarian discovered and implemented as she observed the changing role of the librarian and the library. Frustration was growing due to the gradual erosion of school libraries as they struggled to remain, with electronic books, video streaming, and databases supplanting many of the physical resources in the school library. Additionally, library colleagues were fighting to retain their professional identities. How could they re-imagine their roles and their school libraries in this new learning environment? A resource identified was the "IDEO's Design Thinking for Educators Toolkit," 2nd ed., a walk through of the Design Thinking process complete with examples and a downloadable workbook. In the "IDEO's Design Thinking for Educators Toolkit," it was suggested that the librarians organize their data by categories that allow for reflection and planning such as: (1) What motivates students and teachers to come to the library?; (2) What are their frustrations?; and, (3) Who interacts with whom in the library? The design process required first asking questions that get to the heart of the librarian's role in the instructional process; to reflect on what was being done to elicit feedback from stakeholders; and to collaboratively re-imagine the school library space. This design process helped to ensure that there would be a remake of libraries as learning spaces that clearly supported the librarian and patrons, rather than just the latest trends.