Reflection Blog – Hyperlinked Communities

Through my exploration of this week’s topic, I think the part of this concept that resonated with me the most was how hyperlinks can be PEOPLE. Connected people create connected communities and connected communities create foundations for stronger and more resilient communities.

I would first like to consider what is a Hyperlinked Community. What would a hyperlinked community be from a library perspective. From my understanding, hyperlinked communities are an integral part of understanding what a hyperlinked library is. This is because part of creating a hyperlinked library is through hyperlinked communities. This means that there is effort by the library to not only serve patrons but connect with them and create spaces and programming for patrons to connect with each other as well. The physical spaces of the library act as a foundation for these connections to build upon. This can be through interactive displays, hobby groups, special events etc. This ideology once again highlights how libraries, especially public libraries, are not just spaces for resources, items, and learning but are also spaces for community and connection.

Above are some examples from the library I have privilege of working in. We can see from these examples, real-world instances in which libraries can create and curate hyperlinked communities and opportunities for connections to form in digital and physical spaces. And this is only a small sample of what libraries can do to curate hyperlinked communities. In addition to these social events, libraries can create opportunities for community to contribute to library spaces. For example, my library just recently created a stand display called an Empathy Wall – community members can leave sticky notes with words of encouragement and read messages left by other community members. Another example of creating hyperlinked community opportunities is the Teen Advisory Group (or TAG) at my library. The TAG volunteers help staff curate and develop displays for the teen area of the library and create recommendation lists for other teens. Libraries need not be self-contained monoliths – libraries are for everyone and should be curated to and created by the communities that they serve. Libraries have something for everyone – we should be willing to share it.