Globetrotting Librarians on a Shanachie Tour

The two Dutch librarians who travel the world discussing library innovation and related topics, Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer, are the focus of a new book about their 2007 trip across America.

Boekesteijn and van de Geer were in New Zealand just last month on their current tour that's taken them to about 10 countries, including Jamaica, Canada, France and Australia. Perhaps we can invite them to visit Belmont on their next tour! They're well known to librarians across America where they traveled 4 years ago in the tradition of Irish shanachies or storytellers – sharing and collecting stories about best practices in libraries, particularly in technology, in return for food and lodging.

Both work for nine months of the year at the coolest library anywhere, the Library Concept Center (DOK) in Delft, Netherlands

Mr van de Geer says their library is a pioneer in adopting new tools and technology to bring historic information to life and create new stories.

A multi-touch application at DOK lets patrons place their library cards on a screen, which reads their zip code and shows them pictures of their street and area from the local photo archives, and patrons visiting exhibitions can create and contribute their own stories on the topic in text, audio and video.

Although digital content will proliferate, the pair say bricks and mortar libraries will remain invaluable as venues for meeting and sharing ideas.

Mr Boekesteijn says DOK could team up with Hyves, a hugely popular Dutch social networking site, to link its patrons' Hyves profiles to the library's profiles so DOK could connect patrons with common interests and encourage them to meet in the library. Mr van de Geer says libraries need to prepare themselves for the e-reading revolution.

Their book ShanachieTour: A Library Road Trip Across America and the accompanying DVD documents a tour of libraries around United States that Boekesteijn, van de Geer and Geert van den Boogaard took in 2007.

The book includes original blog entries from the trip, insights from library professionals, and vivid color photographs of libraries, their staffs, patrons, and environs. An entertaining one-hour “road movie” on DVD brings the trip to life, featuring conversations with innovative librarians and educators from east to west.

With its infectiously upbeat outsider’s view of American libraries and the many challenges they face, this book and video set is sure to galvanize librarians of all stripes. Shanachie Tour is a heartfelt love letter to American libraries: informative, inspirational—and a whole lot of fun!