Rough Edges, People, and Control
One of the reasons I wanted to start this newsletter was to get back into the habit and discipline of writing regularly. I don't want to say it isn't happening... but it's something I need to work on. That's what Summer is for!
The Spring has been a lot - the school year wrapping up, the frenzy of youth baseball, and getting ready for conferences - which has made collecting my thoughts to share out difficult. We've all been there. So in that spirit, here's some reflections on the friction of being in community.
Earlier this week I was in Albuquerque for the ASIS&T Information Science Summit and Special Libraries Conference, which was a pretty nice gathering of folks interested in collaborating on the "frontiers" of information science. This was the first conference with ASIS&T post SLA merger. I think the best way to bring people together is through work, and from this conference it was clear that the academics and practitioners in ASIS&T are eager to be in community together. That was one of the best parts of this conference for me. But it's going to take sustained work to continue building those bridges so that our collective work encompasses and reflects the whole information and research lifecycle. One of the obstacles - which is not unique to library and information workers - is the need to recognize shared struggles and opportunities, and the ability to not be so singularly focused on our individual circumstances.
This is a recurring circumstance that I think is worth ruminating on - it's one of the central themes of this newsletter - how do we find common ground with others, especially from different backgrounds?
The ASIS&T conference reminded me about the best parts of SLA in that regard with library and information workers from various circumstances eager to learn from one another and talk about our shared issues. This kind of exchange has been fundamental to my career. I am a better librarian because I have a broader understanding of the field from talking to colleagues working in different fields and sectors. It's given be a better understanding of how different groups rely on and generate information and data. (This has also been my experience with transportation.)
The conference was mostly folks looking to find common ground and solutions to our shared problems, but there were some moments that made me pause because they felt like I was in a different conference. Friction arose from different people having different expectations of how sessions or meetings should be happening, and it was amplified by the misunderstanding not really surfacing until the mood soured.
Conflict at conferences is a feature, though it usually can be isolated or contained (as it was last week) - but I remember several SLA conferences (or TRB Annual Meetings) that were contentious in nature. That's where I learned that Roberts Rules could be weaponized. In my old age I recognize that this antagonistic dynamic is in part people caring a lot about their communities, and trying to steer the group on the path they think is best. But the temperature can be cranked up when some folks expect to be in control of the situation and completely control the meeting, regardless if that's how the group wants it to go.
On the flight home last week (and then at a union meeting over the the weekend) I ruminated on the need for people to have as much control as they can in every situation. It's human nature to some extent but the problems arise when people are so focused on what they want and their issues that they forget there are other people have their own opinions and wants. This lack of awareness of others creates a communication breakdown because people stop listening to each other and start talking over one another. It takes real skill and humility to get folks to let the guard down and listen to other people, and it's also really important to wear down those rough edges so that groups can kind harmony. Taking time to slow down, talk things through, and be vulnerable with one another is an important step to building the communities we all need right now. But it also means surrendering our egos for the whole. This might be taking a step back when we normally want to lead. Or speaking up when we want to shrink away. But it's important.
But it's also important to let people who reflexively want to control everything that their behavior is not necessarily the best for the whole. They might be right! But they need to help others understand the reason and wherefore so there can be a process for consensus. Otherwise, it's going to rub people the wrong way (as authoritarians often do).
(The alien statue has nothing to do with anything, I just liked it in Albuquerque.)
