Director’s Desk – September 2021
“Change is hard.” – Everyone, everywhere, all the time.
Fall has always felt like a season of change – from the falling leaves and crisp temperatures to the sun setting far too early. It’s also a great time to reflect on how our year is going, revisit goals set earlier, and start to plan for the next season.
If you’ve been poking around the OhioNet website, you’ll see we’ve made some changes. If you’ve tried it out on a mobile device, you may have noticed a vastly improved experience. These changes (a new OhioNet brand, a new OhioNet website, a new way of spelling OhioNet) have been months – nay, years – in the making. And even with all that planning, the new website is not perfect. Every day, with more use, we encounter items that may need a tweak here or an edit there. That is the nature of change. Perfection is not our goal. An improved user experience, a better website, easier navigation – these were some of our goals. And for the most part, I think we nailed it.
Speaking of change, Ohio libraries have been working through some changes with the new statewide courier system. Without getting into all the gory details about how challenging it is to find and hire drivers who have their own vehicles, insurance, etc. in the middle of an “employee shortage” season that is having significant impacts on all areas of the workforce (not just delivery drivers), I have to ask – how are you handling this change? With outrage and public condemnation? Or with grace, dignity and understanding for all the challenges inherent in this complicated situation?
Imagine if the passion and energy being directed at this change in service was directed at larger issues within our field? If librarians were as fired up about inclusion as they are about a delay in the latest James Patterson novel, what couldn’t we accomplish?
Be thoughtful,
Nancy
Nancy
View the rest of OhioNet’s September 2021 newsletter here.
