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Aspiration Pathfinder

THE ASPIRATION PATHFINDER IS …(SLIDE I)

Joseph Campbell in the Power of Myth talks about following your bliss – that stuff that makes you rapture. Campbell believes that “if you follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. You begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you."

We want every Singaporean to have an opportunity to find their bliss and follow it, much as Campbell did. It may not be something that every Singaporean can follow and be raptured as a consequence, but everyone should have that opportunity.

Andrew Carnegie believed that libraries added to the meritocratic nature of America. Anyone with the right inclination and desire could educate himself. Hence, libraries by virtue of this social equalizing function are the best places for every Singaporean to find opportunities to discover his bliss.

The Aspiration Pathfinder is a pair of hidden hands guiding every Singaporean towards realizing his or her potential by offering opportunities to expand his or her horizons. A little push is all the Pathfinder is since eventually this urge to discover wider horizons will be a spontaneous activity. When that happens, the library will retreat into the background and exist only to provide the services, content and facilities to meet the needs of these spontaneous seekers.

Hence, Aspiration Pathfinder is not about guaranteeing that you will become, say, a ballet dancer – you go to dance school for that. It is about using Aspirations as an engine to trigger a voyage of discovery – one that will give you a new sensibility to all things in life.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Marcel Proust

Libraries . Open Hearts . Open Minds . Open Eyes 1


WELCOME TO THE VIRGIL EXPERIENCE (SLIDE 2)

The Virgil Experience is the Service Front of Aspiration Pathfinder.

Virgil was the classical poet that guided Dante through the three levels of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso in Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia.

“In the middle of our life's walk I found myself in a dark wood for the straight road was lost”

Dante AlighieriLa Divina Commedia

Dante embarked on this journey by straying. Alice slid down as strange rabbit hole to get to Wonderland. Keanu Reeves took the red pill to see the Matrix with new eyes. The Virgil Experience will lead you through an expedition of experiences, education, knowledge and people they would otherwise not encounter in their working and studying lives. And this expedition will open your hearts and your minds. As Robert Frost would remark after Dante, “taking the less traveled road has made all the difference.”



SO YOU WANT TO BE A BALLERINA…(SLIDE 3)

Virgil is the librarian who will be the guide of the customer through The Virgil Experience.

Before joining The Virgil Experience for a full suite of opportunities in experiences, education, information and interaction, the customer goes through three stages to discover what lies at the heart of his aspirations. The objective is not to zoom in out on what you want but to funnel out into myriad possibilities. From Ministry of Manpower’s Careerlinks’ experience, customers who walk in wanting a career in something might walk out realizing they should explore something else.

The good news is that you don’t have to pay anything up to and including Stage III: Virgil Paths. This follows closely the model of MOM’s Careerlinks where coaching is free. To enter The Virtual Experience though, an annual membership fee will be payable. This is only a nominal sum to regulate usage and to ensure people will value the service. At this stage, you only pay for what courses, tours or personalized information packages you ask for. And these could come with a discount if The Virtual Experience manages to capture a substantial market.

Stage I: Before Virgil

This is a self discovery stage to prepare the customer before meeting Virgil.

Learning Styles Tests and Personality Tests with immediate production of learning and personality portfolio can be accessed from the Web. The Virgil Experience will provide links to such tests that are already on the Web. These tests would have been reviewed and customized by The Virgil Experience. The purpose is not to determine what the interests of the customer should be, but to provide him with a little more information about himself.

The customer can also access Topical Briefs of their area of interest eg. on ballet by accessing the homepage of the The Virgil Experience. The topical briefs provide an



overview of the area of interest with a chronological history of the area, latest developments in that area as well as weblinks, magazines articles, book titles and media titles related to all aspects of the area of interest. These topical briefs have been provided on a regular basis by the National Library Board for its customers. Providing topical briefs for areas of interest to the public will be the first for NLB.

Stage II: Meet Virgil

This is a discovery undertaken with Virgil who will provide counseling services to the customer on their aspirations. The technique will be akin to career counselling done by the career coaches at MOM’s careerlink. As with the method adopted by the career coaches, the approach is not invasive but facilitative. The difference is that this is not so much focused on careers but on personal development.

During the meeting, Virgil will share with the customer related reading and media. This second burst of exposure could help the customer widen his area of interest and also help him find interests that will excite him – in effect to find his “bliss”. Some other means of triggering the customer’s interests is to review the pathways* that other customers have gone through.

Finally, based on the customers’ avowed interest, Virgil will assign a team of Virgils to watch over him. A tag team approach akin to wresting with different Virgils with varied expertise and interests approaching the customer will be used. At this stage when the customer is still testing waters, it is not wise to just let him interact with one Virgil.

At the same meeting, Virgil could help to develop a MindMap of the customer’s interests. Alternatively, this could be done at the next meeting to allow the customer time to review the further reading and other customers’ pathways.

*A Pathway is a web of opportunities in education (eg. courses, adult learning), experiences (eg. tours and sabbaticals), information (eg. books, websites, videos) and interaction (eg. web communities, bookclubs) that has been woven by Virgils for their customers. These are developed as a multidimensional journey of discovery triggered by the customer’s avowed interest.



Stage III: Virgil Paths

In the next slide, I will say more about the Virgil MindMaps that are created in this stage.

Stage IV: The Virgil Experience

I will say a more about The Virgil Experience and what it offers in a later slide.

VIRGIL MINDMAPS (SLIDE 4)

“We do not receive wisdom. We must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness, which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to view the world. “

Marcel Proust

In pathing, Virgils will help the customer create a MindMap of his interest.

The conceit of the Virgil MindMaps is that no one can draw a map of your interests except yourself. This is a living map that will evolve as you proceed. Each new step that you take brings you into a whole new world.

Using the Performing Arts as an example, a choice of dance and ballet in the MindMap of Performing Arts leads you to a MindMap of Ballet. Choosing in this MindMap a critics website such as CritcalDAnce.Com might lead you to a MindMap of Web Publishing and choosing in the Ballet MindMap Stagecraft leads you to a world of stage management, sound and set design. Hence a person who starts off wanting to be ballerina could very well end up delving into costume design or even becoming a web journalist for Ballet.



The Library will attempt to develop with the Eindhoven Public Library and the MediaLab a software to develop not a search engine that provides just lists of opportunities but one that provides a new context to each choice the customer makes.

An example of this software is shown below. A search on Oprah Winfrey is the start of a series of 3 maps:

From interest in Oprah Winfrey, one could move into an interest in Science, Mathematics and Education.

Hence, instead of just pursuing one path as in formal education through a fixed curriculum, the Singaporean will be exposed to different genres of experiences and learning. This will come from a cross pollination of different disciplines and from the fusion of knowledge and insights that the libraries will serve up to the Singaporean. This is a move towards building a Renaissance Singaporean.

Ultimately though, the richness of the MindMaps that can be used as triggers for subsequent customers depends on what each customer brings. It cannot be something developed by the library on its own.

A MindMap is a web of interests related to a customer’s core interest. These interests might not be related by subject or even by common wisdom but some certain cognitive connections made by the customer. Selecting an interest that appears on one MindMap would generate a fresh MindMap with a fresh context of interests. Connecting these MindMaps will generate an interesting and personalized Pathway.

" When you're on a journey, and the end keeps getting further and further away, then you realize that the real end is the journey"

Karlfried Graf Durckheim



THE VIRGIL EXPERIENCE OFFERS (SLIDE 5)

Experience

“Experiences in Miniature”- Learning Theme Parks

The library has already made some headway with creation of such places as the Kids Discover! The library could leverage on such developments as the use of robotics, visualization tools and other experimental tools like those used by the Technology School of the Future in Australia to give Singaporeans a taste of the experiences they wish to have.

In effect, the libraries of the future could be learning “theme parks” that have experiences that appeal to the various senses and intelligences of the user. This is critical to The Virgil Experience’s contention to help people learn the best way they can. There are 3 ways of acquiring knowledge and 7 intelligences to process knowledge. Instead of just one way of learning, The Virgil Experience will package opportunities that afford multiple ways of learning. This will have an equalizing effect that will bridge the learning divide between those who learn best through traditional means and those who learn through other means.

Experiences Beyond

The formal education system emphasizes a book-clever way of learning. The process in The Virgil Experience is not only to get “know-what” through structured courses but also “know-how” through experiences. Singaporeans will not only “know” what is it like to be somebody but will have the experiences of that somebody they aspire to be.For an area in performing arts, customers could be offered practice sessions with noted personalities or theatre groups. Bit parts could also be arranged to offer them exposure. In addition, tours could be arranged to watch groups in action at the practice studios in the Esplanade or even a tour to New York City’s Lincoln Center to watch opera, ballet and musical performances and take one behind the scenes of the great companies such as the Metropolitan Opera.



Education

The library will also package programmes for the personal development of the Singapore. This is akin to the development of curriculum in schools except this is not focused on education but on exposure.

Customers could enroll in the Esplanade’s Technical Theatre Programme, the forthcoming Tyler Print Institute or even calligraphy classes at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

The uniqueness of this programme is the flexibility of the customer to pick from a buffet of courses that could be developed with the help of pedagogic experts from MOE’s curriculum development team. This will focus more on the sequential structured way of learning. Just in the Open House by MOM’s CareerLinks, The Virtual Experience could organize an open house of education institutions and programmes.

Interaction

Virgils

This new age librarian as guide reasserts the traditional role of the librarian since Carnegie times as one that offers access to education, cultural and social opportunities. This librarian will not just dish out information but ensure that opportunities that are related to the customer’s interests are made available to them.

The Virgil Community

Instead of attempting to provide all the experts for the service, the NLB will create a Virgil Community of learners, practitioners and teachers made up of not only the experts that NLB will connect the average Singaporean to but eventually of experts that will be developed through this service.

Within this community, there would be buddies to watch over each other’s development, mentors to guide the learners and experts who can continually provide resources for the benefit of the community. When community-building become spontaneous, the Aspiration Pathfinder project can take a backseat and just let them flourish.

The library will provide the place – both physical and virtual - for members of the facility to meet and interact and provide a means for the community to reach out to other communities through a matchmaking service.

In order to encourage the growth of this community, awards akin to the Young Innovators’ Awards or recognition programmes such as Amazon.Com’s Top 100 reviewers could be also be created.

The communities could also be given licence to set up their own library with the help of the librarians. This will also further enrich the collection of the library and truly make the library a place for the people.

Information

Just as a library is not a comprehensive collection of knowledge, so The Virgil Experience cannot be a comprehensive collection of information about opportunities.



Rather, it is a collection of selected opportunities constantly refined by both librarians and the communities they facilitate.

In addition to alert services on areas of interest and bibliographies of related information, there could be a database of the following packages of pathways:

Subject Pathways. Pathways by subjects with “launch” pathfinders such as Creative – Performing Arts with EsplanadeSocial – Successful Aging with MCDSResearch – Life Sciences with NSTB and EDBEmployment - IT with iDA and MOM

These pathfinders are searchable and can be checked out.

Customised Pathways. With the eventual goal of the segment of one, this is akin to the info-packaging that librarians do now as opposed to the more general lending services. Using the DDC collection of pathfinders, a personalised aspiration path can be developed with the customer. The new path will then be collected in the Aspiration Database.

Cross-Disciplinary Pathways or Mindways. The pathways in the Pathway Database should break away from the Subject Categorised cookie cutter pathways into pathways that are a fusion of multiple disciplines. This scenario of multiple pathways is possible with the hyperlinking and networked nature of the electronic medium eg. a search on performing arts could link one to elements of IT (for multimedia performances), business (for marketing and branding), etc. The role of the librarian in making and indexing these linkages will be critical.

THE 4 ENGINES TO POWER THE THE VIRGIL EXPERIENCE (SLIDE 6)



Market

The library could be the Starting Point for finding more about The Virgil Experience

The eventual reach of the NLB (about members in year 2004 and more than 120 libraries) will provide sufficient entry points for Singaporeans. The library is open to all members of the public whatever age whatever education level whatever walk of life. The success of the One Learning Place in reaching out to segments such as taxi-drivers, the elderly and housewives show how important the perception of a nurturing, non-judgmental, non-threatening environment is.

NLB will need to work with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Manpower and MOM to capture the student and adult market. Virgil Club could be developed for Students with possible pathways charted into adulthood. The Virtual Experience could be marketed to tertiary institutions like universities and polytechnics, as well other institutions like ITEs. This way, The Virtual Experience can follow the student through into adult life.

Content

To make available to the widest possible audience, a MindMaps Database could be created. This will be the virtual equivalent of the library’s collection. A physical centre holding books, prospectuses and related media could also be created.

To collect, process and disseminate the knowledge that flows through The Virgil Experience, a knowledge management system could be built.

Infrastructure

A physical place for the Virgil communities and simulated experiences (“Experiences in Miniature”). A Customer Relationship Management system akin to Amazon’s fulfillment-oriented website with facilities for personalized homepages, pathway building and a virtual community with member services such as homepages, emails, bulletin boards, etc.

Talent

For the Virgil Community, a pool of experts, icons and poster children are needed as a draw and as nurturing mentors.

For the development of pathways and mindmaps, cross-disciplinary librarians who can weave a pathway that traverses disciplines and curriculum developers and career planners who monitor the customer’s learning and personal development.



THE EXPERIMENT

The experiments seeks an area that will not intimidate the average Singaporean. Areas in research such as Life Sciences are best left to the academic and research institutions. Areas in learning for employability are best left to MOM, eg in the IT Literacy Programme spearheaded by MOM and iDA with participating agencies such as the National Library Board, NTUC, People’s Associations, etc.

Focus Areas would be those that are more Creative and Spiritual. For the experiment, we propose focusing on the Performing Arts. This is proposed to be done in conjunction with the public outreach and education programme of the Esplanade and the library that the National Library Board will be placing in the Singapore Arts Centre.

THE VIRGIL EXPERIMENT – PARTNERS (SLIDE 7)

The Ministry of Education sets a foundation of education for Singaporeans. The Ministry of Manpower’s Careerlink Centres coaches the Singaporean through their professional life. To complete the jigsaw of a whole person, The Virtual Experience will guide a person towards developing himself spiritually and creatively.

However, before The Virtual Experience can attain that level of expertise, it needs to leverage on the expertise that MOM and MOE have developed in coaching and programme development.

The variable factor in the network of partnerships would be the lynchpin of the sector that The Virtual Experience is targeting. For the experiment, it will be the Esplanade.



THE EXPERIMENT – SCHEDULE (SLIDE 8)

Please see Annex A for the Detailed Schedule with a full breakdown of tasks for each phase.

Phase I: Prototype

Focus on only two areas of performing arts and with a focus group of 20 people made up of different levels of expertise in the area of interest.

The objective of Stage I is to test with a small group the concept of The Virgil Experience. This is not a test of market readiness and take-up rate. The focus then is on the product and on the effort required for fulfillment.

There are two stages.

Stage I: Mass Customization focuses on the effectiveness of pre-packaged pathways and mindmaps as a means of personal development and exposure. If the appeal of The Virgil Experience becomes broad-based, this might eventually be the only way to serve more people than a heavily-personalised service can. The MOM Careerlink experience has shown that personalized guidance can be very people-intensive. Stage II: Personalisation focuses on personalising the pathways and mindmaps and is, in effect, a microcosm of the eventual “segment of one” personalization that the The Virgil Experience will attempt to provide.

Phase II: Pilot

The pilot will open the service to the general public but will still be for only one branch of knowledge – Performing Arts. As this will be launched at the Library@Orchard, the target group will be young adults from 18-35 years old- a group successfully captured by that library. This pilot will be developed in tandem with the public outreach effort of the Esplanade and NLB’s new Library@Esplanade.


mailto:Library@Orchard


This is the first test of market maturity for this service, also on the service delivery models for a large multifarious group represented by the public. Customer valuation and hence take-up rate will determine if this service should be scaled up further to include more than performing arts or if further refinement in the operations model should be tested.

THE EXPERIMENT – DELIVERABLES (SLIDE 9)


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