Libraries are an organized collection of documents.  From the first libraries , collections of clay tablets, to todays institutions (which include multiple forms of media from, books and magazines to microfilm ) the key functions have been aquisition and organization.

While the functional activities of today’s libraries have expanded and the processes and methodology changed a lot over the years, the two main activities remain aquisition and organization.

And then came the internet

“I am the internet, I used to be the library.”  This whimsical quote, probably meant for amusement, is actually quite accurate.  The internet is largely a vast organized collection of media.

Albeit in digital format, the material on the internet is searchable more quickly and efficiently than even the most organized of libraries.

And What Becomes of the Library?

As a place to gather, read and draw on the expert knowledge of the librarian, libraries probably have a continued use – although in essence the modern version of this is probably the internet cafe.

So are libraries doomed.? Where will they go, what will become of them?   In the short term hard copy books will persist but as the digital generation takes over it is concievable the question; what is a book? may be asked by a population that is no longer familiar with that media.

And why do I ask?

This question arose for me  during one of my U of A campus walks on which I counted seven physical library buildings.  With the libraries on other campuses I believe the total is eleven buildings, full of paper.

I am puzzled as I have no need for a physical library myself , virtual digital collections of media -ebooks and such I get, but a library building with books, why?

Hence my rumination here.  Obviously the libraries are not vacant and as I walk by people are streaming in and out.  Haven’t these people heard of the internet.  Or maybe they are looking for the pokemon that are hiding there.

My own personal integrity value is “Say what you do and do what you say”. Of course this is not always possible but as a guiding framework it influences my behaviour.

Simply put, I arrive on time, show up if I accepted a meeting and complete a task I committed to.  In some cases I have to communicate a change in committment with an explanation but I never just let a thing slide, once committed to.

A diifferent approach

Personal values are just that, personal.  However,  we do judge others by their values and typically our own expectations for behavior are influenced by our own value set.

I have recently came to the conclusion that a group I am familiar with practices the integrity value with a twist.  They say what they do, but only do what they can.

In essence, the completion of whatever is commited to is limited by desire, ability and attitude.  If we can do it, without too much effort or inconvenience, we will.

What is puzzling to me is the fact this team is surprised when others don’t always accept or even approve of this approach.  It is after all the cultural norm for that team; so it must be okay – right?

Interpreting the values behaviours

The group I refer to has adopted integrity as a value.  But, the behaviour associated with this value is linked to individual motivation, as I have described above , so I question the value.

That is, regardless of what was agreed (the say what you do part), personal motivation and committment drive the result, and if it falls short, that’s okay.

Unfortunately, with my own personal filters, this seems to be an off kilter approach.  It does work for the team though and interestingly they seem very comfortable with this.

With the summer olympics just underway I pause to contemplate the factors that create winners.  A lot of study has been done in this area .

A review of some of the most popular research leads me to believe the number one factor is attitude.  Of course talent and ability must be present but studies show, repeatedly, believing you will win and wanting to win make a real difference.

Not Over Confidence

Being confident you can succeed is critical but that is not to say believing you are going to win means you will.  Conversley though without strong desire and confidence in yourself, you probably won’t ( or if you do it is a happy accident)

Of course the right attitude is not just needed to win olympic events or even to be recognized as a winner.

Be aware of all aspects of Attitude

Attitude is a very broad term that can be represented by a host of adjectives.  Those with winning attitudes excel at all of these:

• know what you want and focus on the desire to get it
• believe in yourself, understand your capabilities and limitations and then know you can exceed them
• leverage everything around you, believe there are lots of supporters that want you to succeed, embrace them.
• make sure you know why you want to win, what it means and why you value it (understanding and using your motivation is key to success).

Remember, only you can create a winning attitude.  Coaches, friends and mentors are tools you can leverage for assistance, but only you can create the ultimate winning edge yourself.

I wa in an interesting discussion with a colleague today.  He speaks fluent French and some German in addition to English.  While I am not fluent  I have an understanding of Japanese, German, Spanish and French.

At the risk of promoting stereotypes, our discussion focused around the apparent ties between language and cultural behavior.  That is to some extent the language ( a cornerstone of communication within a given culture) reflects the behavioural norms of the culture.

For Example

Although entirely subjective, we came to some of the following assessments:

• English – focused on meaning and clarity.  Misusing the language or using incorrect gramatical structures can be overlooked in pursuit of the meaning.  Interestingly this is the language of International areonautics where clear meaning is critical.  In general English speakers are more direct and get to the point.

• French –  Considered a romance language, the focus is on the art and beauty of the words.  Not just what you say but how you say it, conjugation really matters and errors are noticed.  One adjective for the language as a whole might be “flowery” a phrase that goes with romance.

• Japanese – A common sterotype of Japanese culture is polite, disciplined and structured.  Based on my own knowledge ofJapanese from a grammar and syntax perspective there is no question it supports these cultural norms.  Phrasing everything with a focus on respect of others is required within every conversation.

These are just three examples of this point but we can and did go on exploring a number of languages from German and Greek to Urdu.   In each case we could map the most prominant cultural stereotypes to structure and phrasing within the associated language.

Not a stunning, nor earth shaking conclusion, but hpefully interesting.

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