Lorna the Librarian

Mates, I just watched a keynote given by @abrarian. I found out about her “Rock the Boat” presentation via an @ulotrichous tweet. I realize that I’m not alone managing my little ship, my sabre well hidden. The sea must be full of our little ships. Many days, I walk the plank blindfolded, fall into a sea of alligators with “tick tick” clocks; but I live to tell the tale. I have decided that it isn’t the alligators I worry about so much anymore, though I am aware of my limited time.

My mates and I can work the decks and make meaning. As the captain, I think we are steering into the right waters: I need sailors who can navigate, who can think for themselves, who can battle the deceivers, who can doubt but who can trust and say, “aye, aye, sir.” It’s a hard path. They need to know how to go up to the crow’s nest, to watch the horizon, to manage the sails and ropes as a unit. They need to make it to that next port, well versed, with the sailor’s certificate that allows them access to a wider world. There, they can duke it out with Bibliobouts and other things and then carry those tools with them as they navigate seas on their own little ships.

I am not too worried mates, not even with time!  We have each other. Not even Captain Hook or Cook had that. On these wide seas, we have the power of pigeons with far reaching “tweets.” Aye, I have just received a message that a new manual on sailing these waters has been scribed. “School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come, an ebook” has been published and set adrift by Captain Kristin Fontichiaro and crew. It’s just in time for the big pirate meeting up the Mississippi River in Minneapolis! I can hear me sailors up at the prow singing “Yo Ho, Blow the Man Down.” It’s time I go to my cabin, read and further dream.