Give Librarians Room!

This NYT article, The Google Way: Give Engineers Room, is an example of why I love Google as a model for libraries. We’re like siblings; libraries need to get past the fear and jealously of Google and really appreciate the innovative things they’re doing. If we use Google as an organizational model there is a lot we can learn.

Bharat Mediratta, a software engineer at Google, talks about “bottom up” change and the effectiveness of pushing innovation through grassroots initiatives. It’s almost like guerrilla marketing within your own company. I’ve heard from many librarians frustrated with the obstacles and slow pace of change within the field. It’s easy to get worn out by these barriers, but librarians are passionate people with innovative ideas – they just need to be unleashed!