Reorienting Library Technology Through Slowness and Care

Nearly all operations and services in contemporary libraries are mediated by technology. This makes systems and technology work an important place in the organization from which to address issues of time, power and culture. In this essay, published as a chapter in a collection of essays about Slow Librarianship, I describe the origins of the associations between time, speed and technology in Western society. I articulate an alternative understanding of technology as relational, grounded in the needs and lived experience of those who work in and use libraries. I draw from several emerging concepts, including Slow Librarianship, feminist ethics of care, and repair studies. I suggest that a relational orientation to technology work in libraries supports emphasis on long-term collaborations, user research and people-centered approaches to management and organizational change involving technology.