Tag Archives: public libraries

INF506 OLJ Task 18: Thoughts for the future

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Choose a resource and write a 400 word analysis that addresses the following issues:

Mersand, S., Gasco-Hernandez, M., Udoh, E., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2019). Public libraries as anchor institutions in smart communities: Current practices and future development. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 

Using a diversified research approach, Mersand et al. identified five dimensions of innovative strategies, programs, services, and tools that illustrate the potential of the public library as an anchor institution in smart communities.

These five dimensions include: infrastructure, technology, programs and services, partnerships, and citizen engagement which in combination, allow public libraries to offer multi-disciplinary services and spaces to suit the needs of their patrons.

What is the potential for the future of an organization you are familiar with?

Future-proofing public libraries means adapting to the ever-changing needs of the community (Julian et al.2017).  By rethinking existing services and spaces, looking at ways to expand their user base, maximising community engagement, collaboration and co-creation, and developing a culture of lifelong learning (Boyle et al. 2016), public libraries, no matter their size, can become an anchor institution in the community or leverage their existing role to a higher level as shown below (Ross, 2018).

Figure 1: Model for an integrated communications infostructure (Ross, 2018 p. 137)

 

Small public libraries with limited funding, resources and space face many challenges in developing and implementing  multi-disciplinary programs, services, and tools and are looking for ways to incorporate flexible, fluid learning spaces, performative spaces, makerspaces and community spaces that can be easily converted  when needed. Delimiting spaces according to content and communication, distributing the different types of makers spaces across library branches such as the Yarra Valley Regional Library Science & Technology Maker Space at Mill Park Library, or the Textile & Craft Maker Space at the Thomastown Library, mean libraries do not need to compromise on the level of service available to patrons within the broader community.  Open Leaning Spaces or a mobile or pop-up makerspace modeled on San José Public Library’s (SJPL) STEAMstacks maker programs may be the answer to space and access/distance constraints.

What impact might the future have on us as information professionals?

Libraries enjoy a high degree of public confidence as a trusted source of information and have consolidated their place in the community as a third space (Horrigan, 2016) as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. “Libraries 2016” survey conducted by Pew Research Center.

 

Technology has changed the way we learn, think and communicate and the modern public library must reflect this change. The role of the information professional in public libraries has also evolved, encompassing ‘third space’ activities ranging from access and outreach, equity, community engagement, careers advice and public relations not previously on the job description. For information professionals, finding the balance between public service policy, market agendas and practice (Whitechurch, 2015) remains a challenge as does resolving the identity disconnect between custodian and enablers of learning (Elmborg, 2011).

References

Boyle, E., Collins, M., Kinsey, R., Noonan, C. & Pocock, A. (2016). Making the case for creative spaces in Australian libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 65(1), 30-40, DOI: 10.1080/00049670.2016.1125756

Elmborg, J. K. (2011). Libraries as the spaces between us: Recognising and valuing the Third Space. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(4), 338–350. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.5860/rusq.50n4.338

Horrigan, J.B. (September, 2016). Libraries 2016. Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/09/09/2016/Libraries-2016/

Julian, K.D. & Parrott, D.J. (2017). Makerspaces in the library: Science in a Student’s Hands. Journal of Learning Spaces, 6(2). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1152687.pdf

Mersand, S., Gasco-Hernandez, M., Udoh, E., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2019). Public libraries as anchor institutions in smart communities: Current practices and future development. [Conference paper]. Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Retrieved from https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/59766

Ross, J. M. (2018). Role of public libraries in rural communication Infostructure. [Dissertation]. University of Alabama. https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/doc/2118097779.html?FMT=AI

Whitechurch, C. (2015). The rise of third space professionals: Paradoxes and dilemmas. In U. Teichler & W. C. Cummings (Eds.), Recruiting and managing the academic profession. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-16080-1_5

OLJ Task 14: Can the public library hold its own in a digital world?

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The way we access and consume information has been fundamentally changed by the advent of web-based technology and this change has resulted in significant challenges and opportunities for public library systems across the world. Discussions extolling the virtues of Web 2.0 in enabling a ‘borderless library’, accessible to users wherever and whenever they wish, should not ignore the fact that the public library remains a “democratic equalizer….often providing services that people cannot get elsewhere” (Scott, 2011 p.191) and does not eliminate our “need for shared, community-centred spaces to find information and connect with others” (Doherty, 2014).

When I think of all the things we were not supposed to do in the local public library: talk, move around, disturb the other patrons in any way, listen to music, watch AV material, eat, drink coffee, sleep in an armchair till it stops raining, use the WiFi for free ….. the list was endless.  Much has changed since then, and libraries are now competing with the ubiquitous coffee providers, bookshop/cafés and digital libraries for their place in the information landscape. Just offering free wireless and the option to consume food and drink (in-store cafés), which worked so well for booksellers, universities and IKEA in luring customers, are not sufficient to shore up the library’s role as a community place deserving of their share of public funding.

In order to embrace both the physical and virtual needs of their patrons, public libraries have to rethink their services and their spaces.

Denmark’s Model Programme for Public Libraries run by the aptly named Agency for Culture and Palaces aims to “inspire more life at the library through more differentiated offers in an optimal environment”. The sheer range of their take on reimagining the public library is inspiring:

The 2019 Public Library of the Year award was presented by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to the Helsinki Central Library Oodi as a shining example of service design thinking. The use of design thinking methods results in solutions developed in response to a specific environment and user-group rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution (Luca & Ulyannikova, 2020). Oodi puts its success down to the fact that the city’s citizens were engaged in the planning phase, the result being a public library that very much reflects the needs of the community.

 

Resource for further reading:

Klinenberg, E. (2018). Palaces for the people: How social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life. Penguin Random House.

References:

Badderley, A. (2015, January 4). Coffee is only the start of the future of our libraries. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/04/future-libraries-closure-government-report

Doherty, T. (2014, September 19). Why do we still need public libraries in the digital age? The British Council. Retrieved January 6, 2020 from https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/why-still-need-public-libraries-digital-age

Klinenberg, E. (2019, October 24). Libraries are even more important to contemporary community than we thought: And they should be funded accordingly. Literary Hub. Retrieved January 6, 2020 from https://lithub.com/libraries-are-even-more-important-to-contemporary-community-than-we-thought/

Luca, E.J. & Ulyannikova, Y. (2020) Towards a user-centred systematic review service: The transformative power of service design thinking. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 69:3, 357-374, DOI: 10.1080/24750158.2020.1760506

Scott, R. (2011) The role of public libraries in community building. Public Library Quarterly, 30:3, 191-227, DOI: 10.1080/01616846.2011.599283