{"id":11,"date":"2026-06-21T19:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T19:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/?p=11"},"modified":"2026-06-21T19:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T19:31:12","slug":"assignment-x-libraries-the-answer-to-life-the-universe-and-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/2026\/06\/21\/assignment-x-libraries-the-answer-to-life-the-universe-and-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"Assignment X: Libraries – The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whenever I tell most people I work in a library, the most common response I get is, \u201cOh, so you just read all day? That must be the easiest job ever.\u201d Gosh, I sure wish that was the case. I\u2019m a bookwyrm surrounded by books, and unfortunately, I cannot just read every second I am at work. (Though I do sneak in some chapters whenever I have some downtime.) I cannot blame them for thinking this way though. I used to think similarly. If someone had asked me when I was younger how I felt about working in a library, I, struck with the fantasy of the splendor of books and of the places that hold vast collections of them, probably would have said something along the lines of, \u201cIt must be the most magical job in the world.\u201d If you ask me now, I\u2019d still say working in a library is magical, but not just because of the books.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I have come to realize since actually working in a library, libraries are about a whole lot more than the books, DVDs, CDs, and magazines displayed on the shelves. The library is centered around the people. Sure, plenty of people come in to check out these items, as even in this digital age where attention spans appear to be shorter, everyone could use a good story. But there are also plenty of people who come, not for books, but for the space and\/or the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Poet-Tree<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
“What do you love about your library?”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I think one of my favorite things about libraries is the various communities they can build. Whether families come in for storytimes, or groups come in to play Mahjong or Bridge, or teens come in for activities like video games, crafts, or purely hanging out with their friends, the library creates opportunities for people to explore, learn, and connect. Some of my personal favorite activities my library has offered allowed the community to contribute to the library itself, including writing poems on paper leaves to add to our \u201cPoet-Tree,\u201d painting small canvases which now adorn the children\u2019s section, and writing what they love about the library on post-it notes which were added to our large paper heart during the month of February. It\u2019s always incredible seeing everyone\u2019s creativity and their appreciation for what the library gives to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

But lately, especially after reading the assigned readings, I started to consider what exactly a library should be providing its customers. At the very least, libraries should continue to provide books, as they are still something people want, if not to check out, at least for the atmosphere (Leferink, 2018), and they should have tables and chairs of some sort for a welcoming environment. But what else should libraries offer? What services or spaces? We can turn to other libraries as a model. For instance, the San Francisco Public Library offers a teen space known as \u201cThe Mix,\u201d where teens can hang out and take advantage of the available music studio, makerspace, and other activities and tools (O\u2019Brien, 2019). The San Francisco Public Library system also provides access to resources for family and genealogy research and for jobs and careers. The main library also contains a history center (Ferrell, 2022). The Chicago Public Library created a teen area similar to \u201cThe Mix\u201d called \u201cYouMedia\u201d where teens can hang out and create their own music, art, podcasts, and more (Chicago Public Library, 2018). And the Oodi in Helsinki, Finland acts like a community center as well as a library as it offers the space and tools for several hobbies which people can choose to pursue and even comes with a fully equipped kitchen (TheRuudy, 2022).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is much that libraries can and do provide for their communities, but as Shannon Mattern (2014) points out, libraries have also turned into \u201copportunity centers,\u201d where the focus has been less on fostering intellectual development and more on providing social services for the disenfranchised. And while of course it\u2019s important for people to get access to these services, this can create stress on library workers who have been forced to take on more and more responsibilities. The key, then, is to find balance. As Mattern suggests, one solution is to form partnerships with those whose main responsibilities address bodily needs so libraries can focus more on the needs of the mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The library is for everyone, but what does everyone need from their library? That\u2019s what I aim to find out this semester.<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chicago Public Library. (2018, April 11). <\/span>YOUmedia at CPL<\/span><\/i> [Video]. <\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=v8G4nnlgKmk<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferrell, J. (2022, September 15). 13 awesome free things you can do with an SF public library card. <\/span>Secret San Francisco<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/secretsanfrancisco.com\/sf-public-library-card\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leferink, S. (2018, January 24). To keep people happy\u2026keep some books. <\/span>OCLC<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/to-keep-people-happy-keep-some-books\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mattern, S. (2014, June). Library as infrastructure. <\/span>Places Journal<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/placesjournal.org\/article\/library-as-infrastructure\/?cn-reloaded=1<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

O\u2019Brian, C. (2019, June 24). How San Francisco libraries are embracing their changing role. <\/span>Shareable<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>https:\/\/www.shareable.net\/how-san-francisco-public-libraries-are-embracing-their-changing-role\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TheRuudy. (2022, December 13). Is this the world\u2019s best library? [YouTube]. <\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wvyXjAI5_VI<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whenever I tell most people I work in a library, the most common response I get is, \u201cOh, so you just read all day? That must be the easiest job ever.\u201d Gosh, I sure wish that was the case. I\u2019m a bookwyrm surrounded by books, and unfortunately, I cannot just read every second I am at work. (Though I do sneak in some chapters whenever I have some downtime.) I cannot blame them for thinking this way though. I used to think similarly. If someone had asked me when I was younger how I felt about working in a library, I, struck with the fantasy of the splendor of books and of the places that hold vast collections of them, probably would have said something along the lines of, \u201cIt must be the most magical job in the world.\u201d If you ask me now, I\u2019d still say working in a library is magical, but not just because of the books. As I have come to realize since actually working in a library, libraries are about a whole lot more than the books, DVDs, CDs, and magazines displayed on the shelves. The library is centered around the people. Sure, plenty of people come in to check out these items, as even in this digital age where attention spans appear to be shorter, everyone could use a good story. But there are also plenty of people who come, not for books, but for the space and\/or the community.\u00a0 I think one of my favorite things about libraries is the various communities they can build. Whether families come in for storytimes, or groups come in to play Mahjong or Bridge, or teens come in for activities like video games, crafts, or purely hanging out with their friends, the library creates opportunities for people to explore, learn, and connect. Some of my personal favorite activities my library has offered allowed the community to contribute to the library itself, including writing poems on paper leaves to add to our \u201cPoet-Tree,\u201d painting small canvases which now adorn the children\u2019s section, and writing what they love about the library on post-it notes which were added to our large paper heart during the month of February. It\u2019s always incredible seeing everyone\u2019s creativity and their appreciation for what the library gives to them. But lately, especially after reading the assigned readings, I started to consider what exactly a library should be providing its customers. At the very least, libraries should continue to provide books, as they are still something people want, if not to check out, at least for the atmosphere (Leferink, 2018), and they should have tables and chairs of some sort for a welcoming environment. But what else should libraries offer? What services or spaces? We can turn to other libraries as a model. For instance, the San Francisco Public Library offers a teen space known as \u201cThe Mix,\u201d where teens can hang out and take advantage of the available music studio, makerspace, and other activities and tools (O\u2019Brien, 2019). The San Francisco Public Library system also provides access to resources for family and genealogy research and for jobs and careers. The main library also contains a history center (Ferrell, 2022). The Chicago Public Library created a teen area similar to \u201cThe Mix\u201d called \u201cYouMedia\u201d where teens can hang out and create their own music, art, podcasts, and more (Chicago Public Library, 2018). And the Oodi in Helsinki, Finland acts like a community center as well as a library as it offers the space and tools for several hobbies which people can choose to pursue and even comes with a fully equipped kitchen (TheRuudy, 2022).\u00a0 There is much that libraries can and do provide for their communities, but as Shannon Mattern (2014) points out, libraries have also turned into \u201copportunity centers,\u201d where the focus has been less on fostering intellectual development and more on providing social services for the disenfranchised. And while of course it\u2019s important for people to get access to these services, this can create stress on library workers who have been forced to take on more and more responsibilities. The key, then, is to find balance. As Mattern suggests, one solution is to form partnerships with those whose main responsibilities address bodily needs so libraries can focus more on the needs of the mind.\u00a0 The library is for everyone, but what does everyone need from their library? That\u2019s what I aim to find out this semester. References Chicago Public Library. (2018, April 11). YOUmedia at CPL [Video]. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=v8G4nnlgKmk\u00a0 Ferrell, J. (2022, September 15). 13 awesome free things you can do with an SF public library card. Secret San Francisco. https:\/\/secretsanfrancisco.com\/sf-public-library-card\/\u00a0 Leferink, S. (2018, January 24). To keep people happy\u2026keep some books. OCLC. https:\/\/blog.oclc.org\/next\/to-keep-people-happy-keep-some-books\/\u00a0 Mattern, S. (2014, June). Library as infrastructure. Places Journal. https:\/\/placesjournal.org\/article\/library-as-infrastructure\/?cn-reloaded=1\u00a0 O\u2019Brian, C. (2019, June 24). How San Francisco libraries are embracing their changing role. Shareable. https:\/\/www.shareable.net\/how-san-francisco-public-libraries-are-embracing-their-changing-role\/\u00a0 TheRuudy. (2022, December 13). Is this the world\u2019s best library? [YouTube]. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wvyXjAI5_VI\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":843,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/843"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions\/14"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/bookwyrmsguidetothehyperlinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}