Here are two articles that seemed especially appropriate to me after recently listening to a room full of folks talk about where libraries need to go and how we need to present ourselves to the rest of the world.

Washington State Sees Results from 'Plain Talk' Initiative

"Washington state officials want to deploy changes to alleviate state personnel's employment of acronyms, jargon and legalese that routinely pervade interfaces with constituents. Or, in plain speak: Talk to the public as you would talk to any other person — simply, and in clear language.

In the 20 months since Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered all state agencies to adopt 'plain talk' principles, more than 2,000 state employees have attended classes on writing letters, announcements and documents in everyday language.

Words such as abeyance, cease and utilize are out, replaced by suspension, stop and use.

'If people are able to apply for an environmental permit and get it right the first time because they were able to understand it, that's success,' said Larisa Benson, director of the Government Management Accountability and Performance program....

'Simple changes can have profound results,' said Janet Shimabukuro, manager of the department's taxpayer services program. 'Plain talk isn't only rewriting, it's rethinking your approach and really personalizing your message to the audience and to the reader.' " [USA Today]

Definitely a lesson there for libraries, although it's not really a new one. Folks like John Kupersmith have been talking about this for quite a while (and much longer before that), which makes you wonder why we're still so bad at it.

Thinking Simple at Philips

"What does a fashion designer know about technology? Not much. But that's the point. To drive change following a radical restructuring, Philips reckoned it needed a fresh perspective from creative types with no ties to the company. To drive change following a radical restructuring, Philips reckoned it needed a fresh perspective from creative types with no ties to the company. So it formed the simplicity board, a group of specialists in health care, fashion, design, and architecture. 'Philips was too inward-looking," Ragnetti says. "To really embed simplicity into the company's dna, we needed an element of vision.'...

For Philips, the promise of simplicity isn't just about making products that are easier to use. The bigger challenge is rewiring the entire organization. The board's primary contribution, says Berman, is 'using creative chaos to affect lasting change.' That's trickier than it might sound. 'Simplicity,' says Maeda, 'is actually a very complex topic.' " [BusinessWeek]

I think we saw this principle in action this week in the comments from non-librarians at the National Library Agenda Summit. Does simplicity mean rewiring the entire library?