New! Academic Librarianship by Design

In the Preface of Academic Librarianship by Design, co-author Steven Bell describes the transformation of Philadelphia University toward curricula rooted in design. In 2004 banners hung around campus proclaiming “Design Matters.” They got into Steven’s head. During the past few years, he and coauthor John Shank have been discussing and developing their concept of “blended librarianship.” The blend is an integration the resources and services of the library into the higher education’s teaching and learning process. Design is the best tool for achieving this blend. Bell and Shank recommend the book The Art of Innovation, coauthored by Tom Kelley, who was general manager of the Silicon Valley design firm IDEO. I’ll have to add it to my list of books that I’d like to read someday. Along the same lines, I need to someday get to Donald Norman’s Design of Everyday Things.

Bell and Shank host the The Blended Librarian Portal for an ongoing, community exploration of the concept.