By: J.D. Ross
(315) 443-3094
School of Information Studies (iSchool) professor R. David Lankes has signed an agreement with MIT Press to publish The Radical’s Guide to New Librarianship, a follow up to his 2011 text, The Atlas of New Librarianship.
Lankes’ goals for the new book are to expand the ideas from his Atlas book into libraries as institutions and take a deeper look at communities; provide a curricular view of New Librarianship for easy incorporation into classes and continuing education; and provide hands-on tools for implementing New Librarianship in communities.
“This is not simply another edition of the Atlas for New Librarianship,” says Lankes. “Rather, it focuses on making things happen by building upon the Atlas’ concentration on deep theory and concepts.”
For this book effort, Lankes is teaming up with three other information professionals in a group he calls the ‘New Librarianship Collaborative.’
“I’m proud to announce that this book will be developed with the assistance of Lauren Britton, Wendy Newman, and Kimberly Silk,” said Lankes. “Together as a collaborative force, we’ll be reaching out to look for stories, ideas, and contributions from librarians and information professionals.
Britton is a Ph.D. student at the iSchool, and previously worked as a public librarian where she developed and built library makerspaces. Britton’s current research explores informal, participatory learning environments, with a specific focus on issues of inclusion/exclusion.
Newman is a senior fellow & lecturer at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. She has an extensive background in public, university, and educational librarianship as well as public policy advocacy. Newman is the former president of the Canadian Library Association and the Canadian Association of Public Libraries.
Silk serves at the data librarian at the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, where she supports the institute’s research process by managing research and data collection. She also serves as Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect for the Special Libraries Association.
In addition to his team of contributors, Lankes is also hoping that the library community will help lend their voices to this project. He has established a web page with information on the new effort, and New Librarianship in general. The new page will include calls for feedback and polls on topics in the new book.
“I hope that other library professionals will join Lauren, Wendy, Kim, and myself in creating a tool for radical positive change agents seeking to unleash the potential and knowledge of their communities,” said Lankes.