What could librarians innovate in 2 days?
I kinda do. I kinda think that putting the right librarians in an intellectual pressure cooker for two days really could yield something wicked innovative.
I just came off the most intense two days of thinking in my life, and I did it for *fun*. I joined Codex Bodley, a team that regularly competes in the annual MIT Mystery Hunt, and spent the better part of 48 hours between two MIT classrooms full of really smart, creative, geeky people (there were a few bathroom breaks, a nap on a classroom floor, and a few trips for food). I must say, it was the most amazing time. I had never met most of these people (except Jessamyn, who was an awesome team ringleader/phone operator/wiki wrangler, and my husband), and yet we were all having a good time working towards a single purpose: solve the puzzle, and hopefully win the game. And boy were we productive, we came in 3rd place out of 37 teams!
So imagine something like Startup Weekend, a sort of MIT Mystery Hunt with practical market applications, but for librarians (yes, it’s selective and creative quoting, but it really brings the idea home):
Have you ever wondered what a group of highly talented and motivated people could accomplish in a weekend?… A unique three-day experience… brings the best and brightest people together in a local office space to select the concept, break into teams, and develop… come together and incubate… from concept to completion in just 54 hours.
I *love* it. This is one of the many ways to apply a mod or fix to our somewhat broken conference model, where only the people who can afford the travel, expenses, and time off get to attend large conferences that end up being circuses that are hard to really learn from. It’s got a local feel, which makes it perfect for library networks, state associations, or regional associations, and a great way to realize *and* tap into local talent. It’s not about politics, because, well, 54 hours is way too short a time to complete a project and worry about politics. And, while it’s an innovative model in and of itself, it forces innovation by limiting time and focusing concentration. I’d say throw in some new media people, tech geeks, and marketing people to work with the librarians, and it’s a golden prospect.
Can’t you just imagine how hot it would be to come out of a weekend with a fully-formed program (or, for the skeptical readers, a draft of one)? Or a ready-to-box marketing campaign? Or a pitch for money, or a plan for relationship building with the community? I think it could be fun as well as productive. Heck, if you could get a sponsor and a prize on this, it’d be even more enticing, but even the concept by itself is awesome.
How would you do it?
Tags: brainstorming, innovate, libraries, Startup Weekend
Sounds a lot like the “unconferences” or like “librarycamp”. But incorporating other non-library local groups- that gets exciting… how to get others to attend?
WAY JEALOUS of your participation in the MIT Mystery Hunt!!!
See, the issue I have with “librarycamp” is that it doesn’t seem to really reflect the true BarCamp model. That assessment, granted, is based on anecdotal stories, not my own experiences, but I definitely feel like the same way librarians don’t get social networking, they don’t get BarCamp.
Besides, BarCamp isn’t entirely focused on coming away with a fully-formed, ready-to-execute Plan. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it leads to it, but most often that’s not whole and sole goal. This would be about taking it home and using it, no excuses.
Re: Mystery Hunt - it was a wicked good time, and I can’t wait until next year! We’re already doing a post-mortem on the Yahoo! Group listserv on what worked and what didn’t, and planning for next year. We want to be the team creating the 2010 puzzle.