tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061870849031468581.post1041356487469105107..comments2024-03-27T05:00:00.090-04:00Comments on Letters to a Young Librarian: Library R&D, by Daniel MesserJessica Olinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00282500023825318766noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061870849031468581.post-33016583771776433882012-02-27T14:21:23.710-05:002012-02-27T14:21:23.710-05:00I totally agree with you Emily! And what you descr...I totally agree with you Emily! And what you describe is something that such an endeavour would have to be on the look-out for. The thing is, what you describe also happens to be the exact opposite of what an R&D department does.<br /><br />By their very nature, R&D has to be flexible, open, fast paced, and completely free to run around trying things. No idea is too crazy and nothing is left unexamined. Sure, an R&D department will have a goal or a product they're pursuing. I'm sure when Apple went to their R&D folks they said "GIVE US A PHONE!" and R&D went to work on a phone and not a better method of filling an iPod.<br /><br />The concern I'd have is that, when R&D presents their findings, will the people in administration be brave enough to implement it? R&D's task, by default, is to do something that hasn't been done before and that's scary to many people, and many of those people happen to be in charge.Dan Messerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08853768717953439685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061870849031468581.post-14838417187648494082012-02-27T13:24:13.958-05:002012-02-27T13:24:13.958-05:00Hmmm. While there is so much truth in this post, I...Hmmm. While there is so much truth in this post, I don't know if creating R&D departments is the right way to solve the problem. <br /><br />Yes, we need our people and organizations to innovate and be proactive, rather than sit around waiting for a solution to our problems to come to us. Yes, we need to use the untapped talent we may already have in our institutions. Yes, libraries and library staff should feel empowered to create their own solutions... and share their solutions in order to strengthen the overall library industry. <br /><br />However, I feel like we often fall into a trap of adding to our own tendencies to become stagnant with levels of bureaucracy. I would hate to create a whole dedicated department or designate a set number of staff hours for R&D just purely our of fear that this would eventually develop into another ineffective and immobile silo within the already compartmentalized world of libraries. <br /><br />Doing R&D, or hiring in R&D services might be just what we need. But strapping ourselves with more dead weight in the form of long-term dedicated staff we can't afford to sustain could be the wrong approach, especially when we are increasingly competing in a business landscape where agility and flexibility are so key.Emily Clasperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14838259985221983746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4061870849031468581.post-15498610817964053132012-02-23T08:30:15.105-05:002012-02-23T08:30:15.105-05:00Libraries with R&D departments would be awesom...Libraries with R&D departments would be awesome. I think this post ties in with a couple of others I've seen this week about libraries bringing more of their operations back under their own steam and supervision. If vendors are going to charge out the ear or take months to provide a service or not provide it at all, it would be nice to be a bit more free of that and be able to develop and streamline services, apps, and programs on our own.Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09634766750596400436noreply@blogger.com