Vol. 5 No. 1 (2020)
Columns

A space for innovation: Proposing a maintenance schema for library work

Joel Burkholder
Penn State York
Jeremy McGinniss
Liberty University

Published 2020-12-19

How to Cite

Burkholder, J., & McGinniss, J. (2020). A space for innovation: Proposing a maintenance schema for library work. Journal of New Librarianship, 5(1), 142–149. https://doi.org/10.33011/newlibs/9/15

Abstract

This column proposes a schema to help librarians identify and communicate the importance and function of maintenance in library practice in order to challenge uncritical views of innovation. Understanding maintenance as an interdependent and multi-faceted concept, essential to library work and practice, challenges the narrative that innovation alone can solve problems caused by limited budgets and insufficient staff. The proposed schema can be engaged at both microscopic and macroscopic levels, benefiting individuals, specific departments, and entire libraries.