tala remarks by joan ruelle

The gift of change, or “ugly sweaters and newspaper sticks.” Comments by Joan Ruelle

1

[newspaper stick]

How many of us know what this is?

And how does it work?

This clever piece of library technology figured prominently in my first library job. I

was an undergraduate workstudy, and I worked in the Periodicals and

Government Documents department of the Chester Fritz Library at the University

of North Dakota. Everyone else called it the basement, but we had aspirations;

we called it “the garden level.”

One of my jobs was to put out the four daily newspapers on their sticks: the New

York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Grand Forks Herald, and the Christian

Science Monitor. (that last title being my favorite – and those of you who did this

work know why). The task involved sticks and rubber bands like this, a lot of

scotch tape to secure the loose pages, and trying to remember not to touch my

clothes or face before washing the ink off of my hands.

It’s a clever technology. If there was no operator error, the newspapers were

kept in their proper order. Sections from today’s paper were not mixed in with

yesterday’s paper. And they were displayed in a series of descending hooks on a

rack in the reading room.


2

I don’t know exactly when or why that library or my current library stopped using

these sticks for the daily papers, but I rarely see this technology in libraries

anymore.

Did we stop getting daily papers? Probably not. Many of us get fewer papers, but

we still get some.

Did daily papers become less complicated? I don’t think so – they still have

multiple sections that the publishers want us to read in a certain order.

Did readers suddenly develop a greater ability to keep papers in order? I think we

all doubt that.

Some of us can probably remember a particular conversation which resulted in

the decision to stop using paper sticks.

But for the rest of us?

It’s something we used to do, and it was important enough to do it every day, and

do it in a particular way. But somewhere along the line, many libraries stopped

doing it.

And when we stopped putting our newspapers on sticks, what happened?


3

Was our commitment to quality service to our patrons diminished by the removal

of the paper sticks?

Were our daily newspapers reduced to incomprehensible chaos?

Did scotch tape go out of business?

I think we can agree that not much happened.

Newspapers are folded and put in stacks, or on shelves, or in vertical racks, and

we and our patrons have adjusted and adapted.

Now and then a section is left out of order or leaves the building with a patron,

but it’s just not a big deal.

So somehow this clever technology that was once a part of our daily lives in

libraries went away, and it was okay.

I would argue that it was okay, because we – the people who work in libraries –

made it okay. We made the change because it made sense. We didn’t freak out.

We didn’t run around screaming that the sky was falling. We considered our

options and made an informed decision to stop putting newspapers on sticks.


4

In the unlikely instance that anybody asked, we explained the reason – whether it

was because we needed the space, or the staff time, or the scotch tape. Or

maybe we observed or someone told us that people don’t like reading papers on

sticks. Whatever the reason, everybody adapted and moved on. Nothing to see

here.

We sometimes talk about change in libraries like it’s something new. While the

pace of change may be faster, the fact is that libraries have always changed.

We’re actually very, very good at it.

And I think the reason that libraries are good at change is because we don’t

change merely for the sake of change. We change because we’ve outgrown an

old process, or our patrons are bringing us new needs and requests, or we see the

opportunities presented by new innovations.

Ask library people what we’re good at, and they’ll often say “service” in a

heartbeat. And that’s true. That deep desire to serve our community – to help

our students, faculty and staff find the information they need to answer a

question or solve a problem – that service can and should drive our change. And,

I would argue, it usually does. I can’t always see it at first, but if I can make the

shift from reaction to reflection, I can see where the change comes from and how

it fits.


5

If someone asks me to change something and I don’t want to do it, I challenge

myself to ask why. Why are they asking for this change? And what is it about me

and my values that makes them think that I’m the person to implement this

change?

If you are feeling uncomfortable about a request (or mandate) to change

something, I encourage you shift the frame. Instead of seeing the change as

something happening to you, which automatically puts you in a defensive

position, instead reflect on where the impulse to change is coming from, and try

to see that request for change as a gift. I’m not saying it’s all sunshine and roses,

and we’ve all received gifts that we weren’t crazy about. But if someone is asking

you to change, they are also saying that they see you in the future of that library.

It’s not something happening to you, it’s an invitation to have something happen

with you.

A lot of times change is presented as problem-solving, and viewed that way,

problem-solving change does imply that something was wrong, or broken, or

otherwise needed to go. But change can also be a continuation of the positive,

doing more of what we already do well.


6

I came to Elon University 2 years ago, and one of my challenges as a new director

was that Belk Library at Elon wasn’t broken – it was a good library, with a strong

and deservedly well-respected staff. A fixer-upper comes with an easy to do list.

An already nice place raises different, more challenging questions about the way

forward.

How can we do more of what we already do well?

How can we leverage our strengths to not only meet, but to exceed expectations?

To me, these are very interesting and invigorating questions and they lead to

action that comes from the core of your library’s strengths and values.

They lead to change.

I leave you with this challenge.

When someone brings you the gift of change, open that gift. Don’t give it to

somebody else. Don’t throw it away without looking at it. Open that gift.

And ask “why?”

It might be the ugliest sweater you’ve ever seen, but ask “why?”

“Why me?”

“Why this?”


7

“Why now?”

Someone selected this gift of change for you. Why you? Why this change? Why

now?

My hope is that after that reflection, that you’ll eventually work your way around

to “why not?”

And that is a great starting point for making positive change together.

tala remarks by joan ruelle

Education