Open Source & Feelings

I recently became aware of the Open Source & Feelings event that took place on October 2 and 3, 2015, in Seattle. The videos of the presentations from this event are now available.

Even though this event comes from the open source software community and does not directly relate to technical services, or even libraries, I think it is a valuable interdisciplinary learning opportunity for technical services law librarians. A quote on their home page states, “Open Source & Feelings is about the intersection between software and the humanities, and how we engage with the communities we're a part of. It is about deliberative crafting of its culture into what we want it to be, about developing strategies, skills, and solutions in order work as a community.” These are worthy goals to keep in mind while working with library technology as well.

Presentations from the event include topics such as including empathy in user experience design, creating family-inclusive work communities, and creating a work environment where people are comfortable sharing their frustrations. In my opinion, these are all worthy topics for technical services librarians to consider.