“If the future is not your destination, now might be a good time to disembark.”
(from Generosity by Richard Powers)
What do you think of when you hear the term “21st century skills”? That question kicks off our Project Compass workshops, as we work with staff from public libraries around the country to augment the support they provide to a workforce struggling to recover in the current economic climate. We take a big picture look at what is different about job seeking in the 21st century and what skills people need to succeed in the modern work world. This is inspired by the IMLS vision for the pivotal role played by libraries and museums in helping to build 21st century skills.
Most people answer the question with technology skill responses: “it’s all about mobile devices;” “new office software;” “changes in library automation systems;” “embedded technologies;” etc. The reality is much more complex. Consider the skills shown at right, a list applicable to the workplace condensed from the IMLS publication.
What predominates is adaptability, flexibility, social and collaborative skills, and above all, the ability to learn and keep learning—knowing how to learn as shift continues to happen. While specific technical skills are certainly necessary, the key to thriving in this decade is more about attitude and the active embrace of lifelong learning.
The innovation problem
In the workshops, we hear the frequent lament that too many people coming to the library for help are stuck at a 20th century skill level. This is true of both urban and rural communities. However, for rural libraries, the situation is compounded by the small size and isolation of their communities, especially when people stuck in antiquated attitudes are in positions of influence (board members, city managers, even library staff).
The reality is that everyone needs to embark on this journey to the future. It is no longer an option. We are in the thick of the 21st century, a globally connected knowledge economy, and it does not indulge complacence. It is heart-wrenching to hear about a small town factory worker who performed a narrow skill set on one machine for 30 years and now is thrust abruptly into the electronic information age. We don’t want to see anyone disembark from the future. But what can we do to boost those who are sinking to the bottom of the digital skills divide?
Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From, would explain the problem as not enough density for incubating ideas, which lead to growth and progress. Small or isolated communities lack “liquid networks,” the fluid environments in which enough ideas bump into each other to spark great discoveries and innovations. Tracking the incidence of significant innovation through human history, Johnson concludes that the more diverse, populated and connected the environment, the more it works as an “engine of creativity.” As people migrated to cities, lived in close proximity and mingled their subcultures, the rate of innovation soared. The Internet and the Web have expanded this open information commons exponentially.
Incubating ideas is akin to nurturing the acquisition of crucial 21st century skills. Increasing those 21st century skill sets should not be a solo endeavor, as if one were studying for a math or a typing test. It is a networked effort in which community members stimulate each other to strive and achieve. The richer the idea/skill environment, the faster all members of the community will rise to the challenges.
Library as 21st century skills incubator
If your library community needs a boost to become a more successful incubator for 21st century skills, here are some ideas to try;
1. Get all library staff on board first. If all staff members understand why the 21st century skill sets are so critical to patrons’ success, they will be more deliberate about embedding the skills in programs and classes and helping patrons improve on many fronts. Even a basic computer skills class can advance awareness of the online and digitized nature of our modern world and promote teamwork, accountability and flexibility.
2. Be the catalyst for creating networks in your community to approximate the “liquid networks” of cities. Bring people together at the library with the deliberate intention of mixing it up as much as possible to spark interactions between subcultures. Start an all-ages discussion group (teens to Boomers) to talk about the pros and cons of starting a small business.
3. Try to find the “edges” where the current state of things is not so satisfying. A major innovation blocker is a state of affairs in which things are so satisfying that nobody has any incentive to change. This is the “we’ve always done it this way” syndrome. Protracted high unemployment rates and economic difficulties offer an uncomfortable edge that may push people to face some 21st century realities and open up to possibilities.
4. Focus on your community members who are most receptive to growth and change. I have lived in small villages where too many of the residents had “checked out” through alcoholism, drug addiction, or just lack of ambition. How disheartening for the community librarian who wants to have an impact. Working with the handful who are most likely to succeed starts a positive feedback loop which just may be contagious. Do what you can to expose your “champions” to outside resources and networks to add heat to a small town incubator.
Is your library succeeding in incubating new skills and awareness? Tell us what you’re doing right.
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