andi beckendorf, electronic resources librarian

Topic: Doing Good Work Well

Assistant Professor Andi Beckendorf states that her reading and research interests have included creativity in the workplace, the workplace as an information ecology, instruction through web design, and access to the best information through technology (print or electronic) facilitated by the library. She is attempting to examine her values as a librarian and an attempt to answer the question: Why do I do what I do?

She says, "I am a librarian at Luther College because I want to teach others about the inherent value of equal access to information and the values that are necessary for the information to be used for 'good' work. The way in which libraries are organized to provide services and access to information is essential to the growth of members of the community both academically and personally. Librarians are uniquely situated at the confluence of technology, culture, and values and can help to shape a community of faith and learning. The way I try to shape my own role as a teaching librarian at Luther goes a step beyond this, incorporating creativity into the fabric of faith and learning and finding a spiritual element in service. The intellectual environment of Luther College is an ideal point of reference from which to consider how my values as a librarian and teacher can be put to use in the information environment of the library in order to foster good work from myself and others. If I am able to do my work well, in conversation with my discipline, my colleagues, and my community, my work will be a reflection of my values and commitment to the good of the community."

The way she approaches her role in the larger picture of library services is modeled on a concept in which people, technology, values, and practices come together in a specific location to form an information ecology ( Information Ecologies: Using Technology With Heart , Nardi & O’Day, 1999). She thinks that creativity, spirituality, and time to reflect are also needed in order to survive in the ecology. Librarians constantly use value judgments and evaluation to shape the scholarly environment by promoting a healthy balance between the creation and use of information by all members of the community. Time for renewal and reflection would allow thoughtful participation in the conversation of the community.

A literature review for ethics in professional librarianship reveals that the most significant examinations of this issue were written in the late 1990s. Many of those works raised questions about technology and its effects on the library but did not offer answers. The most recent treatments of this issue can be found in Information Ethics for Librarians (Alfino & Pierce, 1997) and Ethics, Information and Technology Readings (Stichler & Hauptman, 1998), both of which followed the (updated) 1995 Code of Ethics issued by the American Library Association. At a point nearly ten years out from the Alfino and Pierce book, librarians need a new look at how professional values can be reflected through the people, technology, values, and practice of an information ecology, and she believes that the community of faith and learning that supports the liberal arts at Luther College is an ideal point of view from which to consider these issues.

She will attend a retreat, absent of all electronic technology, to the Retreat Center at St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota during the summer of 2005. The idea for the retreat, sans technology, came from an invitation-only conference that David Levy held at the University of Washington last spring entitled “Information, Silence and Sanctuary”. In addition to professor Levy’s advocacy of a technology-free space from which to contemplate our work, there have been other writings focused on slowing down, honoring sanctuary, avoiding information overload, and cultivating spirituality in the work world.

Reading List

Baab, Lynne M. Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest . InterVarsity, 2005.

Booth, Eric. Everyday Work of Art . Sourcebooks, 1999.

Chittister, Joan. Becoming Fully Human: The Greatest Glory of God . Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.

Cobb, Jennifer. Cybergrace: The Search for God In The Digital World . Crown, 1998.

Fox, Matthew. Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet . Penguin, 2004.

Gardner, Howard and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi. Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet . Basic Books, 2001.

Horan, Thomas A. Digital Places: Building Our City of Bits . Urban Land Institute, 2000.

Levy, David. Scrolling Forward: Making Sense of Documents in the Digital Age . Arcade, 2003.

Lichtmann, Maria R. Teacher’s Way: Teaching and the Contemplative Life . Paulist Press, 2005.

Mason, John Hope. Value Of Creativity: The Origins and Emergence of a Modern Belief . Ashgate, 2003.

McQuiston, John. Finding Time For the Timeless: Spirituality In the Workweek . Skylight Paths, 2004.

Mitchell, William J. Beyond Productivity: Information Technology, Innovation, and Creativity . National Academies Press, 2003.

Mitchell, William J. City Of Bits: Space, Place and the Infobahn . MIT Press, 1995.

Nagel, Stuart S. Creativity: Being Usefully Innovative In Solving Diverse Problems . Nova Science Publishers, 2000.

Nouwen, Henri. The Way of the Heart . Ballantine, 2003.

Tharp, Twyla. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life . Simon & Schuster, 2003.

Weiner, Robert. Creativity & Beyond: Cultures, Values, and Change . State University of New York, 2000.

Wuthnow, Robert. Creative Spirituality: The Way of the Artist . University of California, 2003.

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