Yin and Yang

We've heard from two libraries today!

Both are located in the same state, and both received the same letter, yet their responses are like yin and yang (that is, they are opposites that spin together in harmony).

The first library -- we'll call it the Uptown Library -- wrote back to express interest in, and potential support for, the project, but first a few things needed to be clarified ... (1) they wanted to know the identities of each of the participating libraries, (2) they wanted assurance that each library would receive information from each other library as well as a copy of my final report, (3) they wanted an outline of the specific steps of the process, and (4) they wanted our broad topics of interest to be narrowed down to a more specific and appropriate level.

The second library -- we'll call it the Downtown Library -- sent us a detailed e-mail, including several attachments, that covered just about every aspect of the digitization process that we'd hoped to have answered -- including some questions that my Supervisor and I had discussed together, but not expressed in our letter. It was as if the Downtown archivist had read our minds! The Downtown archivist also assured us that she would be happy to answer any follow-up questions, should they arise.

This illustrates an important point: choosing the recipient for the initial contact letter is very important. Your choice of contact will set the tone, and that person will approach the project from their point of view within the library structure -- which may be very different from another library worker's point of view, even in the same structure. 

I did not personally know any of the staff at either library, and neither did my Supervisor, so we studied the staff lists and based our recipient choices mostly on hunch and instinct as well as on what was available (most libraries do not put their entire staff roster on their websites).

Our recipient from the Uptown Library was an administrator -- so it's natural that he would approach the project from a broad and formal point of view and want specifics and clarifications before proceeding. Our recipient from the Downtown Library was an archivist, so it's natural that she would approach the project from a practical, informal, and collegial point of view.

I've sent a thank you note to the Downtown archivist, and a note of  explanation/clarification to the Uptown administrator. Hopefully we'll hear back from him again soon.