“So what will you do when libraries become obsolete in the next few years?”
Last year, I was minding my business in the corner of a Christmas party when a family friend I’d just met posed this question. For a moment, I was too stunned to answer, and when I came to my senses, the only counterpoint I could manage was, “Have you been to a library recently?”
So much of the way we value libraries depends on our mutual agreement upon what libraries are for. As Dr. Stephens mentioned in a previous lecture, public conceptions about libraries are frequently reduced to “book warehouses,” which would make us, as information professionals, wardens of these warehouses. I think we’ve likely all laughed at pop culture portrayals of librarians at some point or another, and it’s fun to poke fun! But librarianship is about so much more than guarding books, gatekeeping information and, as Dr. Stephens describes, worrying about what might go wrong in the library instead of thinking about what could go right.
@lcplibrary …and what a GOOD job you do at “Book!” #barbie #barbiemovie #library #fyplibrary #librariesoftiktok
So, what could go right, exactly? Alongside this question are other complementary ones posed by Steve Dennings– “How can we delight our users and customers?”– and Dr. Stephens – “What can you do to encourage the heart of your library users?” (Dennings, 2015; Stephens, 2016).
The answer to all of these questions may very well be connection, not just to resources but to each other.
To explore these questions outside of our class, I watched a 2024 webinar hosted by Brooke Doyle and Jennifer Peterson of OCLC, titled “Libraries Foster Social Connection: Responding to the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.” This webinar focused on the Surgeon General and World Health Organization’s recent cautionary statements about the adverse health effects of social isolation and loneliness. Doyle and Peterson posit that libraries have a unique opportunity to become community centers supporting health and wellbeing, aligning with the Surgeon General’s Advisory, “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection.”
“Why libraries?” Doyle asks, mid-presentation. Her answer: “Because libraries foster social cohesion” by attracting and serving people from all walks of life. The webinar explores several examples of “socially cohesive” library programming beyond just book clubs, including yoga, new parent groups, coffee & conversation, grief cafe, whole family literacy, intergenerational technology assistance programs, animal-based interventions, and more. The key, Doyle says, is to try different strategies for connection to learn what best serves your community.
When libraries are embedded in their community, they meet needs that transcend the “book warehouse” trope. Centers for social cohesion, for wellness, for connection will never become obsolete.
References
Denning, S. (2015, May 1). Do we need libraries? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/04/28/do-we-need-libraries/?utm_campaign=ForbesTech&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=Technology&linkId=13831539
Doyle, B., & Peterson, J. (2024, January). Libraries foster social connection: responding to the epidemic of loneliness and isolation [Video]. WebJunction. https://learn.webjunction.org/mod/page/view.php?id=7928
Stephens, M. (2016). The heart of librarianship: attentive, positive, and purposeful change. ALA Editions.
I’ve had several people ask me the same question when they learn I’m working towards my MLIS- and I wonder what they are thinking. I need a snappy comeback, but I usually just say they aren’t going anywhere.
I really appreciate your focus on how programming is changing and becoming more community focused. I see examples of this in some of my local libraries daily as they plan jigsaw puzzle competitions and teach teens to design and apply henna. Libraries need to reach out and see what their community members want or are interested in, and try to focus more programming on those areas.
Hi Bethany,
When you mentioned examples of animal-based interventions in your post, what were you referring to?
Our library has been hosting kitten adoption events. Held in our meeting room, a local non profit brings in kittens and the public can come in and adopt a kitty. One attendee mentioned they came because the quiet environment is much more suitable to their child’s needs, as the shelters are so loud with all the animals.
We also have a organization that brings in therapy dogs and young readers can read to dogs (who often are sleeping) thereby working on their reading skills with the comfort and ease of an animal who isn’t making eye contact with them.
Hi @saraschwan! I believe the library the speaker was discussing did have a “read to service dogs” program, but she also mentioned equine- therapy through the library. It was only briefly mentioned, but I believe the library was collaborating with a local practitioner.
I love what your library is doing with kitten adoption events! Very cool.
@bklint It’s kind of funny, because I feel that libraries have been associated with “bookworms”, or people who just want to read and be left alone. It is literally quite the opposite, as it has become a place to meet others and connect. Books themselves allow one to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and get a small experience of another walk of life – and libraries are a place to come together to talk about these experiences they’ve read about or their own experiences. Libraries are so important and can quite literally save lives at times.