Working on a panel presentation for the Texas Library Association Convention (Creating Alliances with the Overlapping Fields of IT and Librarianship) has given me a chance to contemplate the jurisdiction battle between these two perspectives. For decades, I have listened to people argue about the “L” word and the “I” word. (Library and Information– am I a librarian or an information specialist? Do I work in a library or in the realm of information whether physical, digital, electronic, or augmented?) Librarians have found it imperative to embrace information technology, but we can’t all be experts in IT.
This week, my son told me about an encounter with an IT guy that really hit home. As a computer program implementer, Ken has to install and teach individuals about an entirely new application on a regular basis. Sometimes, the program installs and runs perfectly. But, other times networking issues and numerous other problems arise. Well, on this particular day, he installed the program and it didn’t work. He tried the common troubleshooting methods, checking the networks for the particular client. Suddenly, a guy who he hadn’t noticed came over and offered to help. This IT guy just happened to be nearby at the moment. Instead of having to place a work order and wait for help, the IT guy saved hours of wait time. My son ended the anecdote by saying, “the guy was really cool.”
As I thought about how we all have our skills sets and areas of expertise– and yet we all rely heavily on the IT department, I asked Ken what made the guy cool. He explained that the guy simply had a helpful attitude. It was his disposition.
That word comes up in the 21st Century Learning Standards put out by the ALA American Association of School Librarians. Learners today must have a disposition toward adaptation, critically evaluating content, and persistence in seeking ethical interaction in information communication. The bullet point (1.2) is called Dispositions in Action.
The word disposition is a good choice. In other words, our attitude still matters and always will! Having knowledge and skills is essential, but equally essential is being willing to share and collaborate. So, I came up with an equation for building rapport with IT- or with anyone for that matter. Two perspectives plus a collaborative disposition equals rapport.
2P + CD = Rapport