Hyperlinked Communities Reflection

(Iacoviello, 2023)

After seeing the many different ways libraries have integrated into the hearts of their respective communities through reading and watching the content for this module, I am reminded of just how important communities overall are to human beings. From an anthropological perspective, the ability of early humans to work together and help each other out was a key trait which better enabled them to band together and form groups, significantly complementing their ability to survive in the wild. I personally believe this ability continues to hold great importance here in the present and is one of humanity’s greatest strengths; even when it may seem like there are forces nowadays determined to separate us and make us feel alone, it is up to us to resist said forces and help build up and assist our fellow human beings. Despite being admittedly very shy and socially awkward myself, I still believe that we humans are stronger when we are working together.

Something else that came to mind after reading Jessamyn West’s article on the digital divide is just how easy it can be to assume that most people have access to the same services and opportunities you do. Growing up, my family always had our own washer and dryer in our house, so we never had to use a public laundromat. For this reason, I initially assumed that this was the case for most families out there and that laundromats were mostly a relic of a past time. But the truth is, there are many people even today who use laundromats for a variety of reasons. Maybe they live in a small apartment without much room for their own washer and dryer, or maybe it would be against the terms of their lease to have them. Maybe they have the space, but they want to save on their water and electricity bills. The point is, it was pretty misguided of me as a kid to assume that having an in-home washer and dryer is a universal experience, and it would likely be equally misguided to assume the same thing for a lot of other amenities these days which are easily taken for granted, like having your own computer or smartphone or even Wi-Fi. West’s article opened my eyes to the existence of a sizeable population in the U.S. who still live without reliable internet access, which seems unthinkable at first given how essential the internet has become to daily life in the 21^st century. In reality though, it just goes to show you that no experience is truly universal; this makes it even more important for communities to stick together and help provide access to services many of their members might otherwise be living without.

References:

Iacoviello, M. (2023, April 21). How a sense of community can make a difference in your business. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/04/21/how-a-sense-of-community-can-make-a-difference-in-your-business/

West, J. (2014). 21^st century digital divide. Librarian.net. https://www.librarian.net/talks/rlc14/