June 2, 2021
Dave Lankes & Mike Eisenberg

Are we going back to offices and city living or will a new normal emerge? Judging from the articles and posts, it’s not clear at all. That means it’s likely to be a combination of both depending on contexts of nature of activity (e.g., business), geography, and the economics (jobs, commerce, supply chain). With uncertainty prevailing, what should libraries be thinking about and planning for? As an added bonus, our production manager, Yoni Yemini, from ACE Chicago Events joins us to share his thoughts on how things are changing for his business. 

In Wazzup, Dave talks about the challenges to libraries, communities, and library & info science education due to the continually changing Covid situation. Mike points out the information aspects of vaccination verification with examples from the EU and New York State.  Dave’s Awesome Library Thingy was the Next Library Festival that was held on June 3rd, 2021, and Mike highlighted a NY Times article about museums post-covid, particularly the opportunities for new forms of programming and partnering.

References & Resources 

Wazzup

Stevis-Gridneff, Matina. (June 1, 2021). "Seven European countries begin issuing a digital Covid certificate for travel." New York Times. online. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/world/europe-covid-certificate-travel.html 

Otterman, Sharon (June 1, 2021). "Will the Excelsior Pass, New York’s Vaccine Passport, Catch On?" New York Times online: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/nyregion/new-york-vaccine-passport.html. 

Main Topic: Back to the Future

Mahtani, Melissa (May 30, 2021). “Don't just go back to 'normal.' Post-pandemic life can be much better than that.” CNN Health. https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/30/health/better-than-normal-wellness/index.html.

Tracy Moore, Tracy. (May 21, 2021) “I don’t want to go back to the office and I’m not alone.” Washington Post online. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/21/i-dont-want-go-back-office-im-not-alone/.

Dubner, Stephen J. (May 12, 2021). “The Future of New York City Is in Question. Could Andrew Yang Be the Answer?” Freakonomics podcast (Ep. 462). https://freakonomics.com/podcast/yang-mayor/  

 Awesome Library Thingy

‘Next’ Library Festival (June 3, 2021) http://www.nextlibrary.net/page/next-library-festival-2021 

Farago, Jason (May 21, 2021). "10 Ways for Museums to Survive and Thrive in a Post-Covid World." New York Times, updated online May 24, 2021
 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/21/arts/pandemic-museums-ideas.html.  

Credits
Audio, Production, and Streaming Services:
Yoni Yemini, ACE Chicago Events