I disagree about competition though. I think it can be a good way to get the word out about cool stuff that is going on. I really liked Lisa Hinchcliffe’s President’s Program Innovation Contest. I liked it enough to submit something that our team had done. We didn’t win, but I didn’t get upset about it. I got to learn about some really interesting stuff that people are doing, like using zombies in orientations!

And I don’t think these contests hinder any innovation or good work either. I would have been blogging regardless of this award. I didn’t even get nominated last year. Our team of librarians here at Champlain were doing innovative things before the President’s contest was announced. Innovative stuff or useful writing is happening regardless of these contests. The contests though are just one way, among many, to promote the good stuff that is happening.

What I was thinking (and I was planning on writing a blog post on this) is wouldn’t it be cool to have a librarian contest or competition at a conference. I’ve talked to my friend who’s an architect or have seen at media, gaming, and graphic design conferences different competitions. It could be teams of librarians given 48 hours to design a mobile library app or an innovative new service or something. The best team would then be given a grant to put it into production. It would be a really fun engaging way to spark creative thinking and new ideas. A little competition can be healthy and productive.