One Book, Five Landscapes, Six Partners, Endless Possibilities

“You may well be familiar with the community-reading concept pioneered in Seattle by Nancy Pearl. But have you ever thought of applying this engaging concept to Ohio's library community? What if staff in all kinds of libraries ¾ academic, public, school, and special ¾ read the same book? This year six Ohio library leadership partners encourage you to read the Environmental Scan and to join with professional colleagues in a statewide professional reading program of ongoing discussion and education. Beginning in May, continuing through the summer, and culminating at Ohio Library Council's annual conference in October, you have the opportunity to read a book that stretches the way you think and at the same time connect with colleagues around the state.” [OCLC, via It’s All Good]

This is a very intriguing concept, and I see lots of applications of the concept. It would be pretty cool to have librarians reading this type of literature simultaneously and then coming together to discuss, brainstorm, and implement. So many applications – at MLS, I think we could use this within our Zephyr Innovation Program (which I still need to write up here, I know), across the System in general, or even just in Illinois in general? Of course, it’s too late to add anything for this year’s Illinois Library Association conference, but….

I’m especially intrigued by the following excerpt from the OBFLSPEP description linked above:

“Attend the 2005 OLC Annual Conference in Columbus---especially on Thursday, October 6, 2005 when an entire conference track will be devoted to sessions, presenters, and discussion sponsored by the leadership partners and related to this reading project. Additionally, there'll be updated information on new trends that have emerged since the book's introduction in 2003 . Preliminary information about the conference is available on the OLC Web site. Complete details of the conference agenda will be available in August 2005.”