Libraries are places of learning. They are places of exploration, curiosity, and discovery. Like the sensory space at the Marsden Library in Australia. Tactile exploration is a such a crucial part of development and seeing a library provide a space that safe and free for young ones to explore reminds me how libraries are evolving to encapsulate learning of all kinds. In the essay Ylibrary? Stephens makes the case for how libraries are spaces for infinite learning – how libraries have and will continue to evolve to meet the curiosity needs and desires for library users and will continue to do so into perpetuity. He puts into words exactly what…

This week – we dove into the Power of Stories. How stories play a role in our lives and in libraries. How they connect us to each other and the world we live in. I truly loved exploring the topic this week. I think like most people who are drawn to books and libraries – I love stories. I love learning people’s stories, whether it’s through reading them, listening to them, or watching them – stories present windows into a moment in time. And by looking through these windows, we are able to breed connections. And that brings me to what I love most about stories. Stories foster empathy. Stories…

Part of why I love being in this program, is learning about and exploring ways in which library and information science is evolving. One of my favorite things I’ve learned about is the organization UXLibs – which I found when I did a topic exploration for INFO 202. UXLibs is an organization that focuses on exploring what UX looks like in libraries, how it can be incorporated, and resources to educate current and future information professionals. They hold a conference every year – where they spend a weekend exploring a particular topic of UX and how it can be incorporated into libraries. This week’s topic brought this conference to the…

As the weeks progress and we continue our exploration of the Hyperlinked library, I am continually reminded about the components that create what would be a library. That it goes beyond the building and the collections inside – it’s the community that it serves and the space that is curated to cultivated the culture and environment of the library itself. This week we explored Hyperlinked Environments and I took the time to explore what a hyperlinked environment could be. On the surface and within the name – one may assume that a hyperlinked environment is a space that contains that latest technology and the most sophisticated programming. But as I…

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…