Most librarians have an admirable dedication to their profession and are not focused on issues of power and control, particularly outside the realm of their job descriptions. In addition, we may have a blind spot about forward-thinking strategy and analysis for developing new programming and seeking new audiences. These factors combine to create the biggest library problem: political power and control in their institutions. Symptoms of this problem include the much-delayed website redesign, lagging program redesign, testing, and promotion, and adoption of open-source technology.
This problem is an artificial one, since librarians already have a key product and service. The real issue is losing control of library operations, beginning with institutional support. Avoiding this means going beyond the traditional realm of librarianship and into the role of activist. Libraries need to innovate, be creative, promote their services, and make the case for controlling their space within the larger institutional framewor