Interview with @coffeemiss: creative leadership @slqld

Library as Incubator features my interview with Vicki McDonald – aka @coffeemiss on social media – State Librarian and CEO of the State Library of Queensland, Australia.

Vicki spoke with me about libraries as creative spaces supporting business and community projects as well as the arts and education. She also shared her own journey from a small-town library to executive leadership and strategic development roles in universities and local government.

Vicki says:

“The power of libraries is in their responsiveness.  Our community can ask to see anything in the collection; and we strive to encourage serendipity. If you think of a local public library and the way a community feels comfortable to walk through the doors and ask for our help, our services, it’s very different to how the public treat a museum or a gallery. At the State Library level, that means responding to the curiosity in people – and even encouraging them to be more curious!”

Read her full interview at Library as Incubator.

The Gentle Art of World Domination: Occupational Therapy, Art, and Information Science

During my time in Brisbane, I’ve been working with the School of Allied Health at Griffith University to push the boundaries of what’s possible when training occupational therapists.

We’ve used play, storytelling, and even delicious cake to explore the skills and values of therapists in both real and imagined community settings.

You can read about these collaborations over at Library as Incubator, in my piece “The Gentle Art of World Domination“.

Sing Me A Library

My latest column for Library as Incubator explores the links between libraries and musicians, from Glenn Gould’s radio documentaries to English community choirs and digital experiments in today’s Australia.

Read “Sing Me A Library” at Library as Incubator.

State Library of Queensland: Something Wicked This Way Comes

How can we support regional communities without stifling their creativity?

What is the role of major cultural institutions in helping people across remote, rural, and suburban areas?

Just how many carny folk are there working at the State Library of Queensland?

This week’s edition of my column at Library as Incubator explores the work of the RAPL team at the State Library of Queensland, who work with regional and public libraries across an area three times the size of France.