Its been more than a year since Ned Potter got me thinking about the echo chamber in libraryland and more importantly the need to escape it. I’ll admit that while I’ve thought about it and wrote about I haven’t made any extreme efforts. Oh sure I have had some successes (some through no effort on my part like the Library Day in the Life Project mention in the Guardian) the only real action I’ve taken is to make an effort to follow more non-library people on Twitter and read more non-library blogs. Shame on me. Luckily Ned and others working to break out and encouraging others to do so to.
Enter Patrick Sweeney’s Great Librarian Write-Out. The premise is simple, write (and get published) an article about libraries in a non-library publication and you could win $250 (full rules and regulations) Let me applaud Patrick for offering up cold-hard cash out of his out pocket as an incentive for this project.
We need to make a concerted effort to escape the echo chamber, to make our worth known. Not with the “save libraries” rally cry but with value demonstration and engagement and we need to stop talking to each other and start talking to others.
So this is my challenge – Escape the Echo Chamber. Stretch your boundaries, your comfort zone. It doesn’t have to be through Patrick’s contest, though I strongly encourage you to submit something. It can be big like submitting an article to a non-library publication or proposing a session at a non-library conference or it can just be to start engaging with non-librarians both on and off-line. However you do it, bring your A-game, represent.
Then come back here and leave a comment, share your idea with others, make suggestions to help others make their own escape.
Librarian by Day 
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