Libraries Full Circle: The Cross Section of Community, the Public Sphere and Third Place

 Danielle Meininger

Wood, E. (2021). Libraries full circle; The cross section of community, the public sphere and third place. Public Library Quarterly, 40(2), 144-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/01616846.2020.1737491

Summary

Emma Wood, associate librarian at UMass Law Library draws on her experience as both an academic and public librarian as well as foundational work on the public sphere and concept of third place to make the argument that today's libraries are better poised than ever to imbue their communities with the gift of space, conversation and community. Although recently many libraries have focused on the growth of their digital resources and virtual interactions Wood feels that the history of libraries is rooted in the salons and coffeehouses of 17th century Europe where diverse groups of citizens gathered to discuss ideas. Libraries being open to all people and curators of knowledge for the public good are natural gathering places that enhance the livability and function of the communities they are placed in and are not simply "warehouses for books"

Further on the discussion moves on to a hot issue to date of library neutrality in which Wood convincingly argues that neutrality is in the co-existence of many freely competing ideas and information. The social responsibility of the library consists of a sphere "of shared space, shared ideas and physical collections each encouraging the other (p.151)." This argument supports her final thesis of the library as third place, ie. not home and not work but another valuable space people feel comfortable in precisely because everyone is accepted and all ideas can mingle freely. This doesn't guarantee any particular success for libraries in general but serves as a guide to focus efforts to connect in real time and place with library visitors and those who may not realize the library can be a vibrant and accepting place in world of divisiveness and isolation. 

Evaluation

This article really helped to clarify a few thoughts for me on my own personal philosophy of the library. Working in public libraries I have seen the vast variety of reasons people visit the library and marveled at my co-workers abilities to serve them all with patience and fortitude. This past year as my library was shut down I saw the pain it caused potential patrons and witnessed their actual tears as we re-opened our doors. I think Emma Wood develops her thesis with interesting background on gathering places and information dissemination of the past, but she truly hits her stride as she ropes in the concept of the interconnectedness of collections, service and programming and providing a physical space to hear and see people without expectation. That is the libraries true value and one that cannot simply be replaced by the internet or any other type of service.

Connection, Not Collection

Connection, Not Collection By Sydney Eng (Article from American Libraries Magazine)

This was a fascinating article that, in a way, appeared to stray away from what our class has been discussing. But on second thought, it's right on the money. The beginning of the article discussed everything we have said in class so far; libraries exist for the user, library expectations have changed, libraries have to prove themselves worthy, they have to "facilitate the relationship between patrons and resources."

This article was mainly about a new product called the iBeacon. This item is a tool that connects via Bluetooth on a mobile device. When someone entered the library, they would connect to the iBeacon and the beacon would send signals to the patron's smartphone. The signal would send a standard message about where they were in the library and what services they were in proximity to. At the particular library where this product was installed, students were not aware of what the library had to offer. By connecting to patrons using technology, the faculty developed more of a bond than if they were to wait for a student to drop by with a question.

The article concluded with this quote: “Successful libraries look for opportunities to add value for their users by responding to how the patrons find and use information. The beacon system represents a new way for the library to provide and market its resources and services in a way that is consistent with the communications methods being employed by today’s device-enabled users.” What the author of the article is saying is what we have been saying in class all along. Librarians must stay at the edge o new technology and they must know how to use it before the patron comes in with questions. They must learn by observation and come up with solutions to the ever-evolving technology ages. By recognizing the needs of their patrons, they developed a product that speaks in a "language" that this current generation understands.

Building a Collection from the Ground Up

Leininger, Isis
INFO 266
4/28/2016

Flater, E. (2016). Building a collection from the ground up: Notes from a first attempt at developing a collection for a new master’s degree. Strategic Library. Retrieved from http://www.libraryspot.net/SL/Collections.pdf

Flater, E. (2015, November). From the ground up: Notes from a first attempt at new collection building [PDF poster]. Retrieved from http://schd.ws/hosted_files/2015charlestonconference/1e/poster2dark.pdf

In the midst of all my subscriptions to listservs and newsletters, I found something that is related to this class and that could actually help us with our projects both in school and in our careers. The article was linked through the newsletter and I was able to find the author's online poster so you can look through both the article and the poster. I highly recommend that you read them if you plan on becoming an academic librarian when you graduate.

The article and poster are accounts of how an academic librarian developed a collection to support a new graduate program. The author talks about the funding she had access to, the deadlines she had to meet, and tools she used for collection development. She also talks about the challenges they met through the process, where they are, and where they want to be in the future.
She talks about how they divided their budget to buy new, older, and eBooks. She discusses that her library had to reevaluate expenditures and invest more money on eBook databases for Architecture. E-book collections subscriptions, as she came to realize, became a great way of improving the collection quickly and effectively.
The author also discusses using LOC classification for finding materials in other disciplines that related to the field. She also followed the guidance of other libraries, professional organizations, bibliographies, book reviews, and other resources. In addition, she points out the importance of improving the communication with campus faculty in order to better meet the needs of the campus.

This article and corresponding poster can certainly serve as good guides for us as we develop collections in academic libraries. It is a good overview of what kind of resources we should look into, and what kinds of challenges we might face in collection development. It also serves as a good example of how academic librarians can do collection development under a limited budget. In fact, I have saved the article and poster so that I can use it as a quick guide if I ever have to do this kind of collection development in my career.