The evolution of library spaces to something beyond just books, to one that is made to be a space of learning, of playing, of exploring, of creating is always something I find awe in. I felt that same awe watching this video from Anythink Libraries:
Can you believe that this video is 11 years old? One thing I noticed in the video was that there was a space for video games, and personally, I have only seen spaces made specially for videos games in libraries popping up in more recent years. Of course, each library, and their space, can be vastly different from each other (like the nature library that Anythink made in partnership with the city of Thornton). That doesn’t mean that one library is better than another. I think it goes beyond that, and many factors are involved. If we were to put funding, staffing levels, and geographic location aside, just to name a few, I would say that library spaces are simply different because it is the local community and the people around who use it, work with it, and interact with it, that truly shapes the library as a whole.
For one, knowing that a library out there has climbable shelves with cushions for kids to “play on and climb” (my local library does not) reflects how although libraries move differently and may appear different, they are all in their own ways working towards the same goal: creating a space of belonging, of learning. Libraries are creating a space that is meant to be used by those who step into that space.
When I was learning more about “hygge”, both from the lecture and from @michael‘s book, Wholehearted Librarianship, I found that I really like the concept and what it represents. It’s a word that represents a feeling, and knowing that there is no direct translation to the english language makes that it that much more impactful, and also serves as a reminder that it’s not always just words, but feelings that connect us to one another. In @michael‘s words, “[Hygge] can be defined as the art of building sanctuary and community, of paying attention to what makes us feel alive. A feeling of belonging to the moment and celebrating the everyday” (63). It is, at the core, the simplicity of it all that both complicates and simplify what libraries and their spaces represent, and what it means to those who enter. Something that Eric Klinenberg brings up in their interview response with Peet (2016) also really resonated with me, and it’s something that he points out that Andrew Carnegie had said that he loves: “libraries should be palaces for the people; places where people would go and make their lives a little more exalted for as long as they could be there“. And indeed, is that not what libraries are to us?
As I continue my journey with the class content and the overlaps of information that is starting to paint a picture of what accessibility and the future looks like for libraries and their spaces, especially in the more physical sense that is their structure and what that can do for those who visit, I am looking forward to seeing what we as a generation can do to continue opening the doors for all, no matter the challenge.
References
Anythink Libraries. (2012, October 21). A Day in the Life of an Anythink Library [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLUFz5aGFQc
Peet, L. (2016). The future of futures: Designing the future. Library Journal. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/181003-Eric-Klinenberg-QA
Stephens, M. (2019). “Hygge State of Mind” in Wholehearted Librarianship, 63-65.