For Best Results, Go Low-Tech

As technology increases our ability to communicate, so too does it distance us from our fundamental need for human contact. It’s a bit paradoxical; through applications like Facebook, we can communicate easier than before, but the more time we spend communicating online, the less time we spend enhancing our physical relationships with others.  I admit, I am a huge fan of Facebook and Twitter and things like that. Through Facebook, I’ve spent more time talking to all my cousins than I ever have before, simply due to the ease of it.

As librarians, we are on the cusp on technological change. When something new comes down the pipes from the computer world, it doesn’t take long for techy librarians to engineer a use for it in the libraries. And that’s great! I firmly believe that tags, and tag clouds, and patron reviews, and things like LibraryThing are huge steps forward for the library community as a whole. It’s about time librarianship became more user-friendly and user-centered. They are, after all, our raison d’etre.

So why did I title this post “For best results, go low-tech?” It’s a caveat. It’s a signpost that says, “Careful, slippery slope ahead.” You see, it’s easy for we computer-savvy people to get excited about the direction of technology. The web 2.0 was a treasure chest of innovation. And now that we’re practically past Web 2.0, we have tech gurus predicting even more social apps and virtual reality interfaces and some really cool things. But, and here’s the kicker, honestly, most people don’t really care.

Oh sure, they’ll appreciate the apps and reviews and maybe use the tag clouds or blogs, but they don’t normally see technologies as shiny new toys.  It just another thing to confuse and frustrate them. Honestly. So, in this age of new technology, how can we, as librarians and professionals, remind the general public that we still have their best interests at heart (no matter how cool the newest technology is)?

What about going low-tech for a special event? Holding a retro-night at the library with records and turntables and 8-tracks, and gramophones (if you have access to one). Or hold a calligraphy class, or (my personal favorite) start a fountain pen club, or sponsor pen-pals (the old fashioned letter writing kind – no email allowed), or hold a class on sealing wax and how to make your own paper. These low-tech things today were the high-technologies of other ages, so why shouldn’t we pay them tribute?

Another way to remind patrons that we have their interests at heart is a hand-written note, or Christmas card, or something small, cheap, but intensely personal. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I received a hand-written letter in the mail. Even my family and I communicate online, and while I still receive Christmas cards, the rise of online cards like Blue Mountain and Smilebox, show that handwritten Christmas cards are on the decline as well. So instead of automated letters or thank you cards or reminders from the Library, what about (just once in a while) taking the time to send out some handwritten ones. I don’t need to explain the effect of a surprising personal gesture from the corporate sector. I’ll let Seth Godin and Alan Levine share some of their personal stories about these surprising little acts of kindness.

And can you imagine something like that coming from your local librarian? Wouldn’t that make you want to come check out this library? It certainly would for me! So: I reiterate my purpose for this blog. Celebrate technology. Revel in the new and shiny. Get your whole family on Facebook or Tweet to your heart’s content. Just remember that there are still people out there who are not digital. And sometimes, the best technology is low-tech or even no-tech at all.

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