In watching the film Mindwalk, I took away two main points: 1) systems are living organisms, not machines (models of things), and 2) systems are interconnected.
On Mistaking the Model for the Real Thing
We certainly see mistaking the model for the real thing in the tax policies that affect our economy. The current proposed tax plan in Congress is a good example, with many proponents citing supply side economics as the justification for cutting corporate taxes at such a high and permanent rate. Yet, at a recent Wall Street Journal event for CEOs, few raised their hands when asked if they would reinvest the tax savings in their companies (enabling trickle down). Instead, most stated that they would simply pass it on in dividends. No trickle down there (unless the stockholders are the only ones that count). So, the theory behind supply-side economics is failing to predict the likely outcome of the proposed tax cuts either because the theory itself is false or because those who are citing it are misapplying it. Not only are our legislators mistaking the model for “the real thing,” they may not understand the model in the first place.
Applying the concept of mistaking the model for “the real thing” to library systems, experience shows that much like in Congress, the people who control the funding and make the decisions about libraries often do not seem to understand library systems at all. Thus, they make decisions that negatively impact all the other systems to which the library system is connected. For example, it is a commonly held belief among non-library users (who often happen to be the decision makers) that libraries are repositories of books. A good example of this is illustrated in a recent USA Today article about jobs that won’t exist in 2030. The number one job that the author listed was librarian. He states the following:
“More and more people are clearing out those paperbacks and downloading e-books on their Tablets and Kindles instead. The same goes for borrowing — as books fall out of favor, libraries are not as popular as they once were. That means you’ll have a tough time finding a job if you decide to become a librarian. Many schools and universities are already moving their libraries off the shelves and onto the Internet.”
Interconnectedness
Clearly, the author’s model of a library system is one of a book repository—a building full of books. He fails to understand the the broader purpose of the library as a public good. Dietmar Wolfram, president of the Association of Library and Information Science Educators (ALISE), responded with a letter to the editor of USA Today outlining the value and purpose of library systems and providing counter-evidence to the article’s bold declarations. For example, Dr. Wolfram states that libraries are places that connect people to information and to each other. In a public library this might be seen in library programming, such as book and hobby clubs. In school and academic libraries this might be seen in homework clubs, study groups, and/or maker spaces. Returning to Mindwalk, this illustrates the other main point of the film—interconnectedness. Library systems serve as an example of interconnectedness in the way that they connect to and serve both macro-systems (schools, business, communities) and micro-systems (people).
Designer Librarian 