I strongly believe in the idea that libraries are for everyone. Putting that concept into practice feels overwhelming, however, I learned fantastic ideas to help move the idea into reality. It is an everchanging landscape given the constant technological innovations but one concept from Lorcan Dempsey remains the same, “it is important to think of the library in the life of the user and not the user in the life of the library” (Connaway, 2015). Community outreach is critical to make libraries accessible for everyone. When a patron walks into my local library they are greeted by a large and intimidating circulation desk. I would love to see a redesign where they open the space to foster more collaboration and innovation and have the library staff utilize roving carts rather than sit behind an unapproachable desk. I am happy that they put on community building events including a recent clothing swap, a new seed library which will have a community planting activity next week, and Dia de los Niños where they hosted a Bilingual Spanish Storytime, book giveaway and craft. They are actively working to attract more people to the library through interactive and fun events. I like what the Victorian public libraries are doing to combat loneliness and support health and well-being. I bookmarked both the strategic framework and the partnership toolkit in hopes to adapt them to programs locally. I think partnerships are a key ingredient to creating community hubs and are another way to bring people together.
I was in a library yesterday where they still had the big desk, but everyone was seated below eye level, which seemed to change the power dynamic. I thought it was interesting.
I just had the realization myself while kneeling to reshelve some books that, while I can see clearly across the whole library where I work just fine, my students (who are much shorter than I am) are not seeing the library the same way I am. I’ve made efforts to reconfigure so that a three-foot-tall mini-human has better sightlines of everything in the room, because it sure feels much more claustrophobic and overwhelming. It seems like such a simple concept, but much more difficult in execution, especially with a giant, sturdy circulation desk dominating a corner of the room.
That’s how it is at my local library. When they are seated they are below eye level. Often they’re standing though. It also used to be right next to the entrance, where it felt very much like a security checkpoint when you were leaving. Now it is against the far wall when you enter and it feels more like a concierge. I never really thought about it before because I am not particularly intimidated by approaching but now I wonder how other people see it.
I had a similar simple realization that I never put out the two kick-stools that I have in the library where I work because I have worried too much about how my middle school students might just kick the stool around the library instead of using it for its intended purpose. But the reality is that they are shorter than I am (and I’m only 5’3”). Perhaps they really need it as a stool! Guess what? That’s how they use it. 🙂
Thanks @amyb and @gilbertmaryjoy for reminding us about how to see our libraries in a fresh way!