Summary and Evaluation of "Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting"

 Chiriboga, Claudia

Article Title: Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting

Dempsey, L., Malpas, C., & Lavoie, B. (2014). Collection Directions: The Evolution of Library Collections and Collecting. portal: Libraries and the Academy 14(3), 393-423. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2014.0013.

Summary: 

This article offers a comprehensive examination of how collecting behaviors have evolved within network environments, outlining potential future directions through diverse model analyses. Dempsey, Malpas, and Lavoie delve into the shifting dynamics of print collections, heightened interactions with research and learning behaviors, and trends in scholarly communication. Their aim is to furnish a framework for libraries to deliberate on evolving investment patterns across collection categories. The authors introduce the idea of network context, collection grids, and managing shared print, while explaining transaction costs, the importance of infrastructure, and explore the changing patterns of research and learning.

Evaluation: 

As stated in the article, “Libraries are not ends in themselves but serve the needs of the institutions of which they are a part. As those needs change, so do the requirements placed on the library.5 Changes in the way research and learning are done are more important drivers of change than internal library developments” (5). I concur with the statement that libraries exist to meet the needs of the institutions they belong to, and as these needs evolve, the demands on the library also shift. The assertion that alterations in research and learning methodologies have a greater impact on driving change than internal library developments aligns with my perspective. Additionally, the article states, “As access and collections are decoupled in this way, it moves the library toward a set of services around creation, curation, and consumption of resources that are less anchored in a locally managed collection and more driven by engagement with research and learning behaviors” (7). I agree with the idea that separating access from collections leads the library towards a focus on services related to creating, curating, and consuming resources. This shift diminishes the emphasis on locally managed collections and emphasizes engagement with research and learning behaviors.

"Library as Infrastructure"--Mattern, S.

  Christine Ryu

INFO266

Mattern, S. (2014). Library as Infrastructure. Places-a Forum of Environmental Design.   https://doi.org/10.22269/140609

 

This article focuses on the different capacities the library has served and continues to serve the community. It begins by describing the contribution of Melvil Dewey and how he created the first library school at Columbia College. Mattern compares the library to a platform-a term used by developers to mean a base where new applications, technologies, and processes are created. While this is a great metaphor for the library as a place of innovation and collaboration, Mattern points out the problems with the platform model. One such problem is the two-dimensional stage where, "resources are laid out for users to do stuff with" (2014). The library is also looked at as infrastructure, especially for its function in times of disasters and more recently, the COVID pandemic. Libraries, as reported by Mattern, are "ever evolving" infrastructures beyond architectural (but that is included) and our thinking of libraries in that way can assist us in better identifying "what roles we want our libraries to serve, and what we can reasonably expect of them" (2014).  The different social and symbolic function of libraries is explored and how libraries have historically been the place where social  and informational structures intersect. 

This article is great because it breaks down the different transformations the library has fluidly passed through in order to meet the ever-changing needs of the community. Libraries are no longer just a building that houses books, even the physical structure of libraries are changing to reflect the needs of the community, namely spaces for information communities to meet and exchange ideas. Mattern uses an apt, if not flawed metaphor of the library as a platform, especially as it ties in with today’s technology dependence.

Libraries as Infrastructure

Brandes-Miesner, Marta

Mattern, S. (2014). Libraries as Infrastructure. Places Journal. Retrieved from https://placesjournal.org/article/library-as-infrastructure/

Summary:

The subtitle of this article really says it all: Reading room, social service center, innovation lab. How far can we stretch the public library? The author of this article proposes that in our quest to continue to redefine the role of libraries now and in the future, that we must view the library as a network of evolving infrastructures-that is specifically, of an architectural, technological, social, epistemological and ethical foundation. This will help guide us in identifying how we want our libraries to serve and what can reasonably be expected of them. She goes on to state that the library has always evolved to be a host for informative and social needs. She doesn’t like the libraries as platforms metaphor because it is too, 2 dimensional.  It implies that the library only   lays out resources for people to consume. Rather, libraries are everywhere and persistent because they act as mediators in defining the cultural values of our communities. However, libraries are also “opportunity institutions” and “cultural refuges”, keepers of the homeless, sitters of latch-key children, election sites, etc., which begs the question, how can we do it all? The article goes on to explore all of the different challenges that libraries venture to take on and in turn offer up to the public as opportunities-from maker-spaces, science labs, career centers, technology petting zoos, game-labs to hacker-labs and even robots retrieving books! So now we are becoming consumed with the combination of knowledge consumption and production. The authors point is that libraries need to stay focused on their long-term goals for communities and on the ways in which it symbolizes our cultural priorities beyond consumerism and the fiscal aspects of society. Yes, libraries still need to offer opportunities, but we also need to retain our intellectual and ethical goals. Libraries need to incorporate these other aspirations   by allowing other institutions to partner with us in more mutual, more reciprocal circumstances.  Finally, we need to keep our intellectual and ethical goals at the forefront of our mission.

Evaluation:

This was a very interesting article, but the author took some time to make her point. I think we do need to keep sight of our goals and reassess the ways in which we fulfill them. Libraries should also depend more upon outside resources if they are going to fully incorporate some of these new visions for the library’s purpose, lest we just become promoters for the latest technology. We need be careful to retain and uphold the library’s role as mediators of knowledge, culture and ethical societies.