Presentation for the 2018 Leading Edge Libraries Conference, hosted by the Florida-Caribbean Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. It introduces the Art of Hosting community of practice and shares a few examples of how libraries can host conversations.

1. The Art of Hosting
for Libraries

2. “Hosting” Conversations?
◎ “From Hero to Host” tells how
PeerSpirit’s circle practices in
Columbus, Ohio developed
into The Art of Hosting
community of practice.
◎ Shift in thinking: Leadership
through hosting, not through
heroism.
◎ Create an environment where
everyone has a voice at the
table and host in a way that
leads to fruitful conversation,
collaboration, and mutual
inspiration.

3. “The Art of Hosting is like Linux, freely offering
its source code for leaders to achieve order
without control. Its code is a set of principles
and practices for how to host conversations
that matter: setting intention, creating
hospitable space, asking powerful questions,
surfacing collective intelligence, trusting
emergence, finding mates, harvesting
learning, and moving into wise action.
--Deborah Frieze, Walk Out Walk On

4. www.artofhosting.org
◎ “Harnessing the collective wisdom
and self-organizing capacity of
groups”
◎ Building relationships is a
significant part of positive
organizational change
◎ Powerful conversational processes
build relationships and promote
exchange of ideas, learning, and
innovation.

5. Art of Hosting Methods
◎ Circle
◎ World Café
◎ Appreciative Inquiry
◎ Open Space Technology
◎ And others; All have a powerful
question at the core

6. The Circle Way
◎ Talking piece
◎ Check-in
◎ Agreements
◎ Rounds: answer question,
respond to others
◎ Check-out
6

7. Appreciative Inquiry: The 4-D Cycle
Discovery
“What gives life?”
(The best of what is)
Appreciating
Dream
“What could be?”
(Opportunities for
the future)
Imagining
Design
“What should be?”
(Our ideal
organization)
Innovating
Destiny
“What will we do?”
(Ongoing empowerment,
performance and
learning)
Delivering
Positive
Core
Change Agenda
& Topic Choice
“The Appreciative Inquiry 4-D Cycle,” from
The Power of Appreciative Inquiry, 2nd ed.
by Diana Kaplin Whitney and Amanda
Trosten-Bloom, page 6.

8. Creating Space
Hospitality and Hosting

12. Hosting and Planning
Inviting Patrons to the Process

13. What We Hoped to Achieve
◎ To build relationships with as many
stakeholder groups as possible: students,
faculty, staff, alumni/ae, patrons from
outside
◎ To understand their needs and expectations
of the library: space, collections, and services
◎ To invite library users into our evaluation and
planning process, fostering a sense of
investment in the library’s future
◎ To replace negativity with a more positive
approach that would drive change

14. Appreciative Inquiry, Fall 2014
◎ Generated a powerful question: What Can
Schaff Library Give?
◎ Four conversation events with one-hour
format
◉ Discover: share a positive library
experience
◉ Review common themes that surface
◉ Dream: how can the strengths of the
library help us to improve?
◎ A lot of good ideas and suggestions surfaced
◉ Communication about library services and
events
◉ Space lends itself to community activities

15. Circle + Appreciative Inquiry, Fall 2016
◎ Weekend students raised concern about library
hours, asking for an increase
◎ Powerful question: What mosaic of services can
Schaff Library provide to our evolving community?
◎ Combined Circle practice with Appreciative Inquiry
◉ Opening Circle: share why you are here
◉ Discover: share a helpful experience with a library
service
◉ Review common themes that surface
◉ Dream: finish the sentence, “Library services that
help Weekend MDiv students be successful are …”
◉ Closing Circle: share your takeaway from the
conversation

16. Hosting Expression
Offering Space to
Share, Understand, and Heal

17. Window Art Conversation, Spring 2015
◎ Asynchronous yet wanting to engage
people in the library’s physical space:
writing on the windows
◎ Powerful question, this time not
specifically about the library: What do
you hope to see?
◎ Forum for response to the intense
issues students and the Seminary
community were facing at the end of
the Spring semester: final papers,
graduation, Baltimore, Supreme Court
deliberations

24. Post-Election Circle, Fall 2016
◎ Library co-hosted with seminary’s
Diversity & Educational Life
Committee
◎ Opportunity for faculty, staff, and
students to come together after a
charged election season and dramatic
election day
◎ Offered opportunity for all voices to
be heard in a safe and non-
threatening space

25. Librarian as Facilitator
25

26. My Professional Evolution
◎ Started as faculty representative on
Committee on Diversity; authored report
on adopting conflict resolution practices
for student-on-student concerns
◎ Trained as a restorative justice facilitator
◎ Chair of Standards Committee, led
revisions to policies to integrate
restorative justice practices in Standards
Committee work; facilitate restorative
welcome circles for students returning
from suspension
◎ Ongoing research and practice to
implement hosting conversations as part
of Integrated Library Planning

27. Further Thoughts
◎ Many conversational practices to choose from
◎ Basic principles:
◉ Asking a powerful question
◉ Making invitation
◉ Preparing the space
◉ Listening and speaking
◉ Acknowledging
◎ Social media and other asynchronous
technologies can help expand conversation
beyond physical space
◎ Make connections with positive practices
already familiar to your community
◎ Listen attentively and respectfully

28. Thanks!
Any questions?
Myka Kennedy Stephens
mkstephens@lancasterseminary.edu
Facebook: mykakennedystephens
http://mission-information.org