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.

The Practical Librarian's Guide to Collection Development: Weeding and Acquisition Made Easier

Tatarakis, Kelly

Kalan, A. P. (May 20, 2014). The practical librarian's guide to collection development: Weeding and acquisition made easier. American Libraries, 45(5), 42-44. Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/05/20/the-practical-librarians-guide-to-collection-development/

Summary

This article provides a quick summary of "shortcuts" for collection development in public libraries. Her shortcuts include having a weeding plan, determining priorities in the collection (as per a needs assessment), and making sure information is current or of historical value. Acquisition priorities, particularly for fiction, should lean towards bestsellers and bestselling authors that community members will have heard of from newspaper, television, and radio reviews. When part of a consortium (as my library is), collaborate with librarians at other libraries to see what is already available and what different titles are needed for different service areas. Due to the briefness of this article, using online acquisition and review resources and directing users to current digital information in lieu of purchases are touched on, but not expanded. They stand out for having made it in to the list of shortcuts, however. What is unstated but quickly understood is that weeding and acquisitions form a circular process for collection development.

Evaluation

I found this particularly poignant  as the author spent years "practicing adult collection development skills in a medium-sized suburban public library," which is exactly the career I am aiming for. These tips are helpful, and strike me as common sense solutions. They emphasize priorities I've seen in the library I work at and are an excellent summarization of advice from many articles and books about current collection development habits, which makes this very useful for such a condensed read.

Going Digital but Not Bookless

Nicole J. Hoback

Reference:

Polanka, S. (2012). Going Digital but Not Bookless. In No Shelf Required 2: Use and

            Management of Electronic Books. (pp. 1-16). Chicago, IL: ALA Editions

Summary:

Chapter One of Polanka’s book discusses the changes libraries are going through to ensure that they are staying relevant with the current times and for their patrons. The text discusses several libraries across the nation, both academic and public that are finding themselves at a crossroads of where to focus their attention and funding. The struggle for many libraries is not just budgets, but space, and the lack of it. Libraries are now turning to electronic material rather than filling up their shelves. Many libraries across the nation are finding that the square footage they have is just not enough for all the print material. Both academic and public libraries are storing print collections in storage facilities and instead of refilling the shelves; they are rethinking their space. In California a public library branch announced that they would be turning one of their branches into a technology resource space, which enraged branch users. As Polanka explains, the difficulty with eResources is getting the public on board, which can be difficult, because when one thinks of a library they imagine a large space filled with books. Transforming libraries spaces and reinventing them will be a difficult task not only for libraries, but for users to grasp as well.

Evaluation:

Overall I really enjoyed this book chapter, because the author not only discussed the positives of eBooks, but also the negatives. There was a balance to the arguments made and the struggles that libraries are facing. No matter the downside to eResources, for libraries to remain relevant in a digital age it is important that libraries explore all of their options when selecting new material. I am personally very prone to using print material, but I also understand that digital is the future. As the author stated it is hard for users to go away completely from print and print may always remain, but there has to be a variety for users and allowing patrons to have a selection in reading format.

Building Library Community Through Social Media

Zatko, Ruzena

Young, S. H., & Rossmann, D. (2015). Building library community through social media.

 

          Information Technology & Libraries, 34(1), 20-37 18p.

 

 

Summary:

 

          This article demonstrates how building a social media following and engagement with patrons is good for the library. Young and Rossman used Montana State University Library for this study to see the impact and benefit of a Twitter account for the library. For a library to have a social media presence, its able to reach a vast audience and build a community. Twitter keeps everyone in the loop and the patrons who are subscribed can be up to date with current happens at the library, surveys, book reviews, etc. The results concluded that the more the library posted, the more followers and interactions that were promoted. However, most of the engagement was kept on a local scale.

 

 

Evaluation:

 

          This article made some great points for a library to be trendy and create social media accounts for the library in order to reach even more people. Aside from businesses and other, libraries come in third with twitter activity followed by student accounts. Another observation from the article is the more tweets that were posted the more followers it generated. So keeping an active Twitter account it a vital component in order to gain a larger following.

          It would have been nice to see how Twitter is doing when compared to the other social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Another element that could be helpful is knowing the age demographics of the followers that they are generating. This in turn would allow them to know how to reach the demographics that are lower Twitter users. and this way create an approach for them for outreach and to keep them informed.