last week our university president gave his annual academic convocation, this year focusing his theme on the library. specifically, he focused on the new library on our campus, “the william h. hannon library: what is it saying to us?” he talked about libraries being a “house of chance,” a place in which a prepared mind can be surprised by new ideas. he quoted a really beautiful passage from elaine scarry’s book, on beauty and being just:
One submits oneself to other minds in order to increase the chance that one will be looking in the right direction when a comet makes its sweep through a certain patch of sky.
he went on to say in his speech that universities and libraries in general strive to create the sort of environment that prepares its users well enough that they will be alert and ready to recognize and absorb new ideas as they come along.
i like the spirit of scarry’s quote, especially in the setting of an academic convocation, because it intends for us to be awed by and embrace surprises. it gets at what i appreciate most about working in an educational environment; we satisfy the expected goal of the student via instruction but we also provide a setting to explore and appreciate new ideas.
