Month: April 2025

 

I found Brian Kenny’s article about “Where Reference Fits in the Modern Library” humorous and pertinent for these times. As a parent of a 5^th grader and an 11^th grader, I have witnessed the changing landscape of reference. While I discuss authoritative sources with my 5^th grader, it can be challenging to champion curiosity in the search itself, the joy of discovering adjacent topics, or going down an entirely new path just because. For him, reference happens on a computer or a phone. Occasionally, I have him look up a word in the dictionary, mostly to practice finding it and then to see what other words are around it. He usually groans. The book is heavy, the font is small, and none of his friends are doing it.

In contrast, I recently found a paper I wrote in a college history class on America in the 1890s (scarily relevant to our current cultural moment) and the arguments for and against American expansion into the Philippines. I remember going to the Massachusetts Historical Society over spring break when I was home visiting my parents and looking up the papers of Edward Atkinson, an anti-expansionist with eugenicist leanings. The gathering of primary sources, the quiet, the green reading lamps, the dark wood. Will my kids ever know and love these environments?

“They want help doing things, rather than finding things,” (Kenny, 2015) writes Kenny about the modern-day library patron, and this is evidenced by my local library branch’s pithy sandwich board highlighting access to free books, events, and services. While books still comprise 4/9 categories on the sandwich board, events and services are in the majority. Perhaps this is the richest part of the great library rebrand…these things are FREE.

“Think beyond the library as ‘book warehouse’. Think instead about the engaged, evolving professionals and staff inside who are eager to help you find your voice, find your passion, and find your way” (Stephens, 2014). The Mix at SFPL is a great example of the concept of “library as classroom” as it functions as a sanctuary for young folx in the Main Library in the Civic Center/Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. The Mix has sewing machines and 3D printers, hosts clothing swaps and clothing rebuilds, offers SAT prep and other tutoring services, video games, 3D printing, podcasting, and so much more.

The infrastructure of the past built libraries in many places and promoted access to branches, big and small. While reference needs have shifted, the fact that we have open-access public spaces that offer programming, literature, and services at the center of small towns and big cities alike inspires a little hope in me that we have been organizing the resistance all along.

References

• Kenney, B. (2015). Where Reference Fits in the Modern Library.

• Stephens, M. (2014). Making The Case for the Library as a Space for Infinite learning

“Recounting our experiences gives us mastery over them.”

Anna Lembke Dopamine Nation

I am a lover of memoirs. The first-person narrative is a straight shot into someone’s world, what they see, smell, and taste – all of the memories that inform the architecture of their perspective. Testimonials, witnessing, and recounting all gather together under the umbrella of the power of storytelling.

On road trips, my family and I listen to episodes of The Moth Story Hour. We see ourselves and our experiences in some of these narratives. We laugh out loud. Some of these stories make their way into our hearts, we re-tell, share the episode and, in doing so, say to another person, “we saw you in this story”. Stories connect people and because of this, they are powerful hyperlinks.

Storytelling and Place

The National Parks Service is host to several oral history projects such as The Oral History collections of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area which includes former military sites such as Fort Mason and the Presidio as well as Alcatraz, home of the famous federal prison and the site of the American Indian occupation that began in 1969. San Francisco has changed so much in the last 100 years. Having footholds on place through these diverse voices gives it form and texture.

The Institute of Oral History in El Paso, Texas contains over 1,600 stories about the Mexico border that spans several generations. It exists as a counternarrative to the current politicization and maligning of the southern border. These stories give voice to the border: “Oral history is about memory and lived experiences. It is about listening and being heard. It is about the past and how people give meaning to the past.” Without oral histories, the border is at risk of becoming a symbol – dehumanized, objectified, and distant rather than a complex and vibrant ecosystem and an evolving culture that has existed for centuries. “Crossing the border represents layers of meaning, sometimes contradictory. The act of crossing represents hope, freedom,adventure, fear, and anxiety. The memories and meaning are embedded in the bridge itself.”

Storytelling and Healing

Voices of Witness (VOW) is an oral history project that partners with community organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. VOW uplifts voices that often go unheard, acknowledging the relationship between storytelling and healing, saying: “Narrators are the experts of their lived experiences, and those who are most deeply impacted are at the heart of solutions to address injustice. Oral history storytelling can make space for stories that otherwise might not be heard and create a platform for narrators impacted by—and fighting against—inequity to share their expertise. Approach projects with humility and an expectation of ongoing learning. This creates an opening for the narrator to teach and the interviewer to listen deeply.” This approach, which emphasizes conversation, listening, and exchange outside of hierarchical models, feels deeply connected to the work of The Hyperlinked Library.

Storytelling is a large umbrella and there is room for everyone underneath. Let the archives fill with testimonials! I saw this. I walked these streets. I was here. My voice matters.

May it shine into the heart of another who needs to hear it.

References

Institute of Oral History. (n.d.). Retrieved on April 13, 2025, from https://www.utep.edu/liberalarts/oral-history/about/vision-mission.html

Lembke, A. (2021). Dopamine nation: Finding balance in the age of indulgence.  Penguin Random House.

Voices of Witness. (n.d.) Why is oral history a valuable tool? [infographic]. Voices of Witness. Retrieved on April 12, 2025, from https://voiceofwitness.org/about/benefits-of-oral-history/