This document discusses escaping from professional silos in libraries. It defines silos as separate professional universes that limit perspectives. It argues that silos are problematic and can be dangerous, forming unconsciously through homogenous networks and confirmation bias. The document provides tips for escaping silos, including seeking out diverse contacts and ideas, learning continuously, and contributing more than criticizing. The overall message is that librarians should break out of isolated mindsets by interacting with others outside their normal circles in order to stay informed and bring new perspectives to their work.

1. Escape The Silo:
Why and How to Escape
Your Professional Silo
Keynote ILA/ACRL
Bobbi Newman

2. Parallel but separate
universes

3. Library Day in the Life
Looks Like Library
Science

4. Types of Silos

5. How silos are
formed

6. The dangers
of silos

7. It is hardly possible to overrate the
value, in the present low state of
human improvement, of placing
human beings in contact with
persons dissimilar to themselves,
and with modes of thought and
action unlike those with which they
are familiar.
-John Stewart Mill

8. Why escape?

9. How to escape?

10. The illiterate of the 21st
century will not be those who
cannot read and write, but
those who cannot learn,
unlearn, and relearn.
- Alvin Toffler

11. Change

12. Will power

13. A good idea isn’t
enough

14. Contribute more than
you criticize

15. Questions?
Bobbi Newman
bobbi.newman@gmail.com
www.librarianbyday.net

16. References
• Bundred, S. (2006). Solutions to silos: joining up knowledge. Public Money and Management, 26(2), 125-130.
• Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. New York: Random House.
• Gilbert, E.; Bergstrom, T.; Karahalios, K. (2009) Blogs are Echo Chambers: Blogs are Echo Chambers. System
Sciences, 2009. HICSS '09. 42nd Hawaii International Conference on 1-10. doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2009.91
• Gladwell, M. The Tipping point.
• Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2010). Switch: How to change things when change is hard. New York: Broadway
Books.
• Mill, J. S., & Ashley, W. J. (1965). Principles of political economy: With some of their applications to social
philosophy. New York: A. M. Kelley, bookseller.
• Newman, B. (2011, January 23). In the End I Want to be Able to Say I Contributed More Than I Criticized
Librarian by Day Retrieved from http://librarianbyday.net/2011/01/23/in-the-end-i-want-to-be-able-to-say-i-
contributed-more-than-i-criticized/
• Newman, B. (2012, June 28) Libraries are powerful partners. Librarian by Day.
http://librarianbyday.net/2012/06/28/libraries-are-powerful-partners/
• Pariser, E. (2012). The filter bubble: How the new personalizedWeb is changing what we read and
how we think. NewYork, N.Y: Penguin Books/Penguin Press.
• Patterson, K. (2011). Change anything: The new science of personal success. New York: Business Plus.
• Rogers, E. M. (1983). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press.
• Sims, P. (2011). Little bets: How breakthrough ideas emerge from small discoveries. New York: Free Press.
• Singer, N. (2011, March 28). Online Personalization Creates Echo Chamber to Affirm Biases - NYTimes.com.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/technology/29stream.html
• Uzzi, B., & Dunlap, S. (2005). How to build your network. harvard business review, 83(12), 53.
• Vanderkam, L. (2012). What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. New York, NY: Penguin Group

17. Photo Credits
1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nakrnsm/3898391760/
2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nakrnsm/3898391760/
3. http://lookslikelibraryscience.com/ and http://librarydayinthelife.pbwiki.com/
4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/twob/8741933/
5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalesbest/9661092099/
6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rutkowskic/5531392638/
7. quote - Mill, J. S., & Ashley, W. J. (1965). Principles of political economy: With some of their
applications to social philosophy. New York: A. M. Kelley, bookseller.
8. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathancharles/159246233/
9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/crsan/3454169748/
10. Quote
11. https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobjagendorf/3627254654/
12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lukeprice88/8437684441/
13. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholas_t/6799164313/
14. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpstjohn/5743599498/
15. http://www.flickr.com/photos/-bast-/349497988/