The World is a Stage:

Change Principle #2
Assume that everyone else has information that you don't know, and which you need.
Ask, ask ask, with good will and benign interest.

Which Roles Do You Play in Your "Change" Movie?
Which Script Are You Reading From?


Sometimes, library people who are experiencing change are like actors on a movie set. The problem?
They are playing out different scenes from different scripts, wondering why the other cast members are behaving irrationally.

Do some days in your library
flow about as smoothly as this montage?

Do you sometimes feel
you play almost this many roles?



The Players:

Outside the set (library) are political and economic decision-makers. They demand services, programs, collections and staffing that suit their needs, sometimes regardless of the needs of the rest of the folks in the community or the institution.

The library's leadership might be under pressure to fix old perceived problems or respond to new situations. They see potential for innovation. They wonder why many cast members are not on the same page.

The library's managers are asked to figure out what needs to be done. They are responding to the demands of the leaders versus the concerns of the library staff, which are often contradictory. Plus, they have their own problems to solve.

The staff (main players), from department heads to part time library workers, each show up with a different scene clutched in their hands, written in a different language. Some might align immediately with the bosses, but the majority are confused. Are they supposed to be setting the lights, singing arias or handing out sandwiches? And why has the script changed ten times in the last eleven minutes?

Have we forgotten the audience? The moviegoer (read library user) wonders why the film makes no sense. And why are the actors arguing with each other?