Indeed

I attended Leslie Berger's presidentially-hosted blogger bash at ALA last Saturday evening, where she jointly hosted New Orleans Public Librarians and their stories about the impact of Katrina on their libraries, communities, and working lives. Direct quote from a NOPL in attendance:

My arms are getting tired from lifting box after box of old, outdated World Book Encyclopedia volumes into the dumpster out front. We have no place to store these books. Please, go back and tell your colleagues and communities: we don't need any more books.

I agree with George about the best and the worst of our profession coming out for New Orleans. Librarians, myself included, can fall into a trap of assuming that they already know what their patrons need, purchasing/collecting it for them, and even organizing it neatly on adjustable shelves. The piles of unwanted books in New Orleans are a lesson to us all for our everyday practice in libraries. We must question our own assumptions and avoid the temptation that we already know what's good and right for our customers (and, as in this case, colleagues). We must ask our communities what they need and want. We must listen to their answers, and then enter a dialog about how we can meet needs (and create impact or change) together with them.

Although my volunteer day on Friday (at the Children's Resource Center) was a bit more positive in that we were moving books that the library actually needed and retained (the library was completely renovated over the course of the weekend and they reopened on Monday - pics to be posted on Flickr soon...), I came away from the experience and these stories extremely humbled, and with a renewed commitment to seek information before I make assumptions, form opinions, or take action.

Many thanks to the NOPL's at Leslie's reception whose experiences served as a catalyst for many of us in NO this weekend. I am hopeful that we can - all of us - carry this humility, and these lessons, into our library practice - even (or perhaps especially) when we do not face nearly as challenging a workday as our colleagues rebuilding there.