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6/04/2008

Libraries are about Stories

I totally love this thought from Matt Gullet on libraries, individuals and their relationship to stories.
"Traditionally, people have come to the library to find things that fit into the stories of their lives," says Matt Gullett, the Charlotte library's director of emerging technologies. "When toddlers come in to learn how to read, it fits the story of how they are growing in life. When adults come in, and they love checking out mysteries or romance novels, it fits the story of those individuals. What we are trying to do now is to give people the ability to tell their own stories. We're equipping people to use digital cameras, sound equipment and software. It appears to be entertainment in some ways, but at the same time, they're learning how to interact with this world we're creating with digital media and the culture that results from that media. That's a big thing."

Libraries has always been about stories. Only now not only are the stories within our stacks matched to meet an individual's needs... stories can be cultivated, explored and shared within the community and each individual has the power to be both a creator and participant. That's huge!

How is your library encouraging, cultivating, and collaborating to allow individuals to create and share their stories?

From Revolution on the Stacks, Governing Libraries June 08

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