Elizabeth Gilbert on "showing up"

When thinking about librarians, as I know most of you do most of the time, the first word that comes to mind is probably not "creativity". However, despite our degrees in Library Science, library work is also an art that draws deeply on inspiration, intuition, and insight. The story times and crafts that the children's librarians put together are the most obvious example, but creativity in libraries is evident in other places as well. The thematic displays of books and movies take much creative tweaking. The physical placement of books and other items also presents creative challenges: where do we put the mysteries so that finding them won't be one? Do you need to fold space-time to find the science fiction collection? How can we best design our online catalog and website so you can find all the great resources we provide access to? With space constraints, budget constraints, and staff constraints, many day-to-day issues in the library are solved not merely by the rulebooks of our profession, but by our creativity.

Although I'm not in a profession that's counted in the creative class, it was a watershed moment when I saw the TED lecture by writer Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame. While the creative torture she describes is not as pronounced in librarians as in, say, Southern novelists and dramatists, we wrestle with our own creative conundrums just the same. And to let you in on a little secret, scratch the traditional veneer of a librarian, and you're more than likely to find a poet, a painter, a dancer, or an actor underneath. So no matter our day jobs, we can all be artists; according to Elizabeth Gilbert, we all have genius. Turn off your phone for the next twenty minutes, and enjoy.




Click here if the video doesn't show. It's worth it!