Meredith Schwartz, Library Journal; Movers & Shakers 2022: The People Shaping the Future of Libraries
"I’d really like to be able to stop kicking off Movers & Shakers introductions by referring to the COVID pandemic. This is our third class to be honored amid coronavirus restrictions.
But as higher vaccination rates and available antivirals allow more things to open up—including the return of in-person library conferences—we also see the evolution of the field’s response to the pandemic in the nominations. The 2020 Movers were largely nominated for pre-pandemic work, with profiles explaining how they adapted. The 2021 Movers featured those working through the height of pandemic limitations. The class of 2022 is largely looking forward—not ignoring the ongoing toll and risks of the pandemic, but learning its lessons in self-care and care for others, and applying them to their future work, culture, and goals.
Among this year’s 41 impressive examples, we see an increased focus on holding space for Indigenous ways of learning in libraries; an emphasis on service to patrons who are currently incarcerated or returning from incarceration; a deeper attention to accessibility; and a continuation of the crucial work of putting equity, diversity, and inclusion at the center of libraries’ internal culture as well as their outreach. We also see one-of-a-kind projects like the librarian in the football huddle, helping athletes learn; supporting small business through a value calculator and promoting curbside delivery; the transformation of a whole city’s approach to manga in schools; and even how to make something sweet out of a surprise nest of bees at the library. I hope you’ll be inspired as you read the following pages; I know I was.
I would like to again thank our external judges (and members of previous Movers classes): Anna Avalos, Elizabeth Joseph, and JJ Pionke, for their expertise, thoughtful consideration, and patience as we fine-tune the process, as well as Veronda Pitchford for additional consultation and assistance. I thank our sponsors Baker & Taylor and D-Tech International USA for making this ambitious undertaking possible. And of course, I thank our project coordinator, Amy Rea, and in-house Movers judges, Matt Enis and Lisa Peet, as well as the many writers who craft these profiles, and our design team, Kevin Henegan and Irving umberbatch, who make them beautiful.
One small change you may notice this year: After many years of holding the categories constant, this year we decided to eliminate the “Digital Developers” and have only five groupings. This hearkens back to the early days of Movers & Shakers, when the categories changed frequently. It’s not because we think technology is any less important to libraries than it has been—on the contrary. Technology is now so omnipresent, so baked in to so many initiatives, that it becomes increasingly arbitrary and difficult to decide whom to honor for their tools rather than their goals. You will see technology being used in innovative and thoughtful ways throughout all five Movers categories, as well as low-tech advances that are every bit as important to moving the field forward—and shaking it up! —Meredith Schwartz, editor-in-chief"
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