I was fortunate enough to experience “The Shanachies” live in Melbourne when they toured Australia late last year and what an experience it was! Their entrance was preceded by loud rock music and like a rock concert those in the audience became part of the energy and excitement that accompanies the Shanachies wherever they go.
For those of you wondering what a Shanachie is, the word comes from Ireland and refers to a storyteller who travels around gathering and telling stories. The Shanachies are three Dutch guys who work in a public library in Delft who were inspired to make a trip across the USA in search of best practice in libraries.
This delightful book is the story of their three week road trip. It begins in New York where the Shanachies collect their motorhome christened “The Mothership” and head west.
The book is a collection of stories about the various libraries they visited. What is unique about the book is that as well as the Shanachies sharing their thoughts and impressions of each library visited they give a voice to librarians working in these libraries, allowing them to tell their stories too.
Another entertaining element is the Shanachies obvious appreciation of the scenery they observe along the way. The reader is able to experience the diversity of the US landscape through the vivid descriptions that are provided.
The Shanachies tour visits seven public libraries and a couple of library schools. Whilst the libraries are all unique, they share many characteristics. Many of them have a real sense of community that is created through their innovative use of spaces. The New York Public Library regularly has over 1,000 people attend their evening programs with guest speakers. Another example is the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library, which has game labs, music and animation studios, theatres and story making rooms. Ann Arbor District Library is known for best practice in IT and gaming and their staff explain that gaming has proven to be the best way to bring all age groups into the library.
The “library without walls” is something that is dear to the Shanachies' hearts and they felt that the Salt Lake City Public Library came very close to that ideal with its amazing architecture that includes lots of glass everywhere, even the elevators are all glass!
The trip ends with the Shanachies arrival in Monterey where they presented at the Internet Librarian conference. They were given a standing ovation and those who attended were caught up in the excitement of the Shanachies.
Just some of the questions pondered by the Shanachies are “[…] how do we as librarians meet with the challenges of this century”? And “how can we remain that place where people come to for their stories and information”? (pp. 22‐3). Reading their book and the stories within is a great starting point for answering these and other questions around the library of the future.
