Citizen Librarian project
The idea of a ‘Citizen Librarian’ has been percolating in my brain for at least a year but I refrained from acting on it because I’m trying not to let my ADHD brain jump on every shiny, creative project idea that comes along, meanwhile the writing project I’m actually meant to be working on languishes so I can work overtime trying to complete a side quest which always gets done but will result in burnout for a week.
When the summer holidays cycled around, the Citizen Librarian project still wouldn’t leave my brain, and I had six glorious weeks off from work, time I carved out for my family, catching up with friends, lounging around and reading on my back deck… and dabbling in the occasional, unconnected, creative project. I purchased pretty filament for my 3D printer, brushed up on my 3D design and modelling skills in Shapr3D software, and spent a week prototyping these miniature bookcases + book reading counter for my Citizen Librarian project.
I planned to send these miniature book cases as Christmas presents to my four most bookish friends. Hidden inside the bottom drawer of each bookcase are the numbers to track their reading progress for the year. I also sneaked into the drawer a Citizen Librarian Manifesto.
I planned to send these miniature book cases as Christmas presents to my four most bookish friends. Hidden inside the bottom drawer of each bookcase are the numbers to track their reading progress for the year. I also sneaked into the drawer a Citizen Librarian Manifesto.
Unsurprisingly, my friends were thrilled to take up the mantle of Citizen Librarians for the year. I wish I had time to make more 3d printed bookcases and bestow Citizen Librarian positions on more passionate readers. However, my goal for 2026 is to not let myself be distracted by creative side quests (this is a real problem for ADHDers!). I’ve recently started listening to the ADHD-ish podcast by Diann Wingert. She’s a brilliant ADHD business coach. The podcast is aimed at ADHD entrepreneurs, indie professionals and ambitious outliers. I fall in the ‘ambitious outlier’ category. She talks about how to stay on track and not to ‘chase butterflies’ just because you come up with a hundred creative ideas a day.
I love my #Citizen Librarian idea. It’s just not the right time for me to pursue this further. If you would like a Citizen Librarian bookcase to call your own (along with the responsibility that comes with being a Citizen Librarian), drop me a message through the ‘Contact me’ form. I’ll add your name on the email list, and let you know when I have energy and time to create more of these bookcases.
