Originally uploaded by tsheko
I’ve watched the film Working for Google before and it made me blink in disbelief. Was I watching a science fiction film? Had I ended up in Second Life? Something definitely surreal about this… The fact that a workplace would provide employees things like on-site doctors, dentists, massage and yoga, day care, SHORELINE RUNNING TRAILS!, snacks, stock options, maternity and paternity leave, free lunch!! What’s the catch? Do you have to sell your soul to Google? Actually, if you look at ‘Top 10 reasons to work at Google’ some of the descriptions of the Google workplace could easily be mistaken for that of the school library. I’ve selected and slightly modified 3 points to apply to school libraries and staff:
1. With hundreds of visitors every month, the school library has become an essential part of everyday life – like a good friend – connecting people with the information they need to live great lives.
6. Innovation is our bloodline. Even the best technology can be improved. We see endless opportunity to create even more relevant, more useful, and better products for our users. The school library is the information and communication technology leader in organizing the world’s information.
9. Boldly go where no one has gone before. There are hundreds of challenges yet to solve. Your creative ideas matter here and are worth exploring. You’ll have the opportunity to develop innovative new products that millions of people will find useful.
What I’d really like to be able to say is that, like Googlers, library staff ‘range from former neurosurgeons, CEOs, and puzzle champions to alligator wrestlers and former-Marines’. That would be something. Alligator wrestlers in particular would come in handy when our boys come into the library at lunchtimes.
