Library as Community Center

Maybe I am behind the times here. It seems like everyone is talking around it, but no one wants to say it out right. Is the library, at this point, a community center or at least on its way to being one?

I took a look at the Miriam Webster’s definition of a library and it states, “a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (such as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale”. Pretty outdated. Although, it gets the basic point across – we have resources that anyone can use for free. And then I looked up the definition of a community center, “a building or group of buildings for a community’s educational and recreational activities”. It seems that the library now does a mixture of both. A little less books a little more educational and recreational activities.  

One of these concepts is presented by Michael Stephens as the library representing the “People’s University” and describes it as “an open education resource or commons – or center for lifelong learning” (p. 3). I think the word library has become too limiting or at least needs a rebranding to further articulate what exactly the heart of librarianship is and what librarians strive to do for the community. As outlined in the Roskilde library strategy plan under lifelong learning, there is now a comprehensive outlook to learning. Not only are we providing resources to books, we are also providing the programming and scaffolding to explore to one’s desire.

In this ideal library community setting – let’s call it the Community Library Center, there is attached basketball courts, skate parks, computer labs, and multimedia rooms for guest speakers where patrons can come to participate in whatever way they see fit. Where librarians can assist in developing programming around doing a kickflip, how to shoot a ball into a hoop, email etiquette, and even how to do your own butchering (that was at Johnson County library). It is a true community of learning that is not limited by how much money you have, but instead on how much you are willing to learn.