Director’s Desk – July 2021

“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Oprah Winfrey

We are (still, perhaps) at a crossroads – as individuals, as a library community, and as a country. This begs many questions, including:

• What do we want to be?
• What do we need to be?
• What are we willing to do to get there?
• What is stopping us from making progress?

One thing that may be slowing or preventing growth and change is fear. When facing any challenge, much less those involving sensitive topics like race or identity, the fear of doing it wrong and causing more harm is real. The fear of doing it right and making people uncomfortable is also real. However, we need to weigh that against the harm of inaction. We must face our fear of making mistakes or failing. Growth inevitably means there will be change. Progress, not perfection, is the goal.

I’ve been with OhioNet for just over two years, and I can tell you we’ve made some changes, and we’ve made some mistakes as we’ve grown. That hasn’t stopped us from moving forward. When we make mistakes, we acknowledge them, learn from them, and then do our best to do better moving forward. Is change uncomfortable? Yes. Is it worth the effort? Absolutely.

Speaking of change, you may have noticed a new look to our newsletter. OhioNet went through a rebranding process in 2020 and we’re finally ready to share it with the world. There are more changes to come, including a new website which will launch later this summer. Based on feedback from our membership, we hope to make our site easier to navigate and more useful for you. Let us know what you think! And if you notice any mistakes? Share those with me too; correcting mistakes is part of growth and change.

Be well, 
Nancy 

View the rest of OhioNet’s July 2021 newsletter here.