Category: Discussion Posts

I didn’t grow up with my parents reading me books but I still grew up listening to stories. I know that some people may get tired of listening to their parents’ stories about “back in the old days…” because many times a lecture follows. But I was always interested in that first part and sometimes it didn’t even come with a lecture. Sometimes it was just a story to share. One of my sisters and I love listening to stories about our parents’ youth, especially because our parents moved almost 1,500 miles from their home.

We particularly loved listening to our dad’s stories because they all feel so dramatic and intense: having to work since he was eight years old, dreaming about his grandmother saying goodbye to him after her passing, sleeping in a trailer home that was haunted, and many more! And our mom’s stories always made us laugh with her shenanigans as a youth. Why wouldn’t I want to listen to their stories? Not only were these stories entertaining, it helped my sister and me understand them more as people and not just Mom and Dad. That is the power of stories: understanding others.

Which is why what StoryCorps has done is so important. I have actually used it myself for a class while in undergrad to interview my mom about how she identifies and it was a fun way to get to more about that aspect of her life. While I only shared this with the professor, I appreciate that StoryCorps has created an app with the option to share stories to social media or to add stories to their online archive. It is also moving to see that they have worked with public libraries (Eberhard, 2018). The Human Library goes a step further by having in-person interactions with people within their own community.

“The public library shares the community with itself.” (Wentz, 2013)

The implementing of StoryCorps or a Human Library is a wonderful way to bring a community together and provide more understanding of one another.

Stories do not always have to come from books – they are everywhere. We just have to be willing to listen.

References

Eberhart, G. M. (2018, February 10). Sharing people’s stories: StoryCorps partners with public libraries. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/sharing-peoples-stories/

Wentz, E. (2013, April 2016). The human library: Sharing the community with itself. Public Libraries Online. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/04/human_librar/

“The public library is a center of public happiness first, of public education next. The necessity of the library, its great value to the community, should be urged by the local press, from the platform, and in personal talk.” – John Cotton Dana (1920)

I enjoyed listening to Pam Sandlian’s TED Talk (2013) about the relevance of public libraries in the 21^stcentury. She provided many additional great examples of how far libraries have come in this century. My favorite example that she brought up (and that always amazes me) is how libraries can and have been early responders, such as the New York Public Library in Queens opening after Hurricane Sandy hit to distribute important resources (TEDx Talks, 2013). Truly astounding! Throughout this course, we have seen many more examples of what public libraries can do for their communities beyond providing media like books and movies, computer access, and the internet. These new models created by public libraries show us how truly indispensable libraries are to the public.

One of those amazing new models can be seen at the Salt Lake City Public Library (SLCPL) in Utah.

After noticing a gap in their ability to provide adequate help to all people that patronize the library, the SLCPL decided to hire a full-time licensed clinical social worker (Harkins, 2023). Nicole Campolucci was hired as the first Social Services Coordinator at SLCPL. This is something that is incredibly important considering that public libraries are one of few safe and welcoming spaces that any person can come to, especially those that do not have somewhere else to go. Although, not all patrons feel comfortable with this service that is creating a hub for those experiencing homelessness or those who have other psychosocial needs. The staff, however, is vocal that their mission includes “equal access for everybody” (Harkins, 2023). All public libraries should work towards that goal within their capacities.

The Salt Lake City Public Library has created something that truly exemplifies how public libraries have changed in the 21^st century and how new models can be used to (or at the very least attempt to) help everyone in the community. Shouldn’t that be what we all strive to do?

References

Dana, J.  C. (1920). A library primer. Library Bureau.

The City Library: The Salt Lake City Public Library System. (n.d.). [Photograph of the front of the Main Library]. https://about.slcpl.org/main-library

Harkins, P. (2023, June 20). Salt Lake City downtown library’s new social worker has already helped thousands. The Salt Lake City Tribune. https://www.sltrib.com/news/2023/06/20/salt-lake-city-downtown-librarys/

TEDx Talks. (2013, December 16). What to expect from libraries in the 21^st century: Pam Sandlian Smith at TEDxMileHig [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa6ERdxyYdo

The public library’s mission has changed from a simple repository to a community center, where learning experiences, cultural resources, creative making, and community interaction take place.

J. T. Theeuwes (2024)

Public libraries in Memphis, Tennessee could not be more perfect examples of how public libraries are more than simple repositories and are instead vibrant community centers. In his 2021 article “How Memphis Created the Nation’s Most Innovated Public Library”, Richard Grant writes about the changes that Memphis Public Library director Keenon McCloy made when she took on the position. One of the most impactful changes was the addition of their Cloud901 teenage learning facility that has a state-of-the-art recording studio, robotics lab, and video lab. These are things I never could have imagined a library having when I was growing up. Creating Cloud901 has provided a space for teenagers to brainstorm, create, or just hang out. They have helped cultivate a hyperlinked environment specifically for teenagers, who can be often forgotten or ignored in our communities.

First and second floor outlines of Cloud901 in Memphis, Tennesse

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I found most impactful, however, is that the city of Memphis chose to invest in their public libraries during a time when public library budgets all over the country were being slashed (Grant, 2021). It is absolutely heartwarming to see that cities are investing in public libraries and therefore their own communities. And these investments are not just happening in big cities. Take the public library I work for as an example, which is located in a small town in Colorado of less that 6,000 people: the town provided funding to buy two properties behind the library to expand it because they know that it is an investment for their community. With these new properties, they are hoping to expand the children’s and teen’s spaces and perhaps add a special tween space. I think that, even though the federal government has made a statement to museums and libraries that they are not a priority to them (as seen through the March 14^th Executive Order Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy), communities big and small are or have already been investing in public libraries because they know that it is a community hub and not just a repository of books and other digital media. I’m excited to continue seeing how different communities create or expand hyperlinked environments in their public libraries!

References

Exec. Order. No. 14,238, 90 F.R. 13043 (2025). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-03-20/pdf/2025-04868.pdf

Grant, R. (2021, November). How Memphis created the nation’s most innovative public library. Smithsonian magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/memphis-created-nations-innovative-public-library-180978844/?fbclid=IwAR1KhgGc_cXHfCduhqGtJ1Wi5Y2jRho1yW1Q62QjCNC5o2Qs9eLeGnzqqIM

Memphis Public Libraries. (n.d.). Cloud901 features. https://www.memphislibrary.org/cloud901/features/

Memphis Public Libraries. (n.d.). Cloud901 teen learning lab. https://www.memphislibrary.org/cloud901/

Theeuwes, J. T. (2024, May 22). How public libraries are building community. Gensler. https://www.gensler.com/blog/how-public-libraries-are-building-community

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P.S. What I have loved the last few weeks of this course is that I always leave at least one reading when a sense of renewed hope, which I very much need during these trying times.

I was immediately engaged with Danah Boyd’s “What World Are We Building?” article and how the Internet is both a platform for great social change but also a way “to manipulate people for capitalist gain”. It is interesting to see how much of that is still true today but expanded to a wider (worldwide) community. It’s disheartening to know that inequity, prejudice, and racism are still engrained into social media and search engines, just as Boyd pointed out almost ten years ago. And now it has also expanded through generative AI, something that feels has taken over much of our online and offline lives  (MIT Sloan Teaching & Learning Technologies). Part of Boyd’s last statement in the article says, “We need those who are thinking about social justice to understand technology”. The great thing about today is (though we still have a lot of issues) that people are understanding and using technology to work towards social justice. It reminded me, in particular, of an activist that has used technology (through social media) to make positive change:

I remember first following noname (@nonamehiding on Instagram) in 2021 and discovering that she collects and sends free, radical and revolutionary books to different prisons for their book club. What started as an online book club in 2019 has transformed into having “20 book club chapters across the United States and 4 international chapters” and sending books to “1500 incarcerated members of the club” (Noname Book Club, n.d.). All for free! Her online activism is loud and making such an amazing difference. This is what I imagine when I think of a hyperlinked community: how an online book club can expand in such a way to reach over a thousand incarcerated people and many more people in book clubs across different cities. Incarcerated people are part of our community too and should be included when we think about community. noname is doing that and reminding us of why it is important.  I also want to point out that they have a  physical library now too: Radical Hood Library in Los Angeles, California with different events for their community!

Radical Hood Library’s June 2025 Calendar.

So, when initially reading “What World Are We Building?” , it felt like a dismal reminder that a lot needs to change.  While that is still true today, I am happy that there has been a lot of change in the past nine years since she wrote the article. So much so, that  I was immediately able to come up with an example of how social activists are using technology for the furtherance of social justice. I think that is something that we have to remember: hyperlinked communities are great catalysts for change and a way to lead with humanism. noname is someone that I feel leads with understanding and that is something that we, as information professionals, also need to do. As Loida Garcia-Febo (2018) so aptly stated, “Service steeped in humanism, compassion, and understanding should be the cornerstone of what we do, and why we do it, for all members of our communities, including the underserved”.

References

Boyd, D. (2016, January 25). What world are we building? Medium. https://medium.com/datasociety-points/what-world-are-we-building-9978495dd9ad

Garcia-Febo, L. (2018, November 1). Serving with love: Embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion in all that we do. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/11/01/serving-with-love/

MIT Sloan Teaching & Learning Technologies. (n.d.). When AI gets it wrong: Addressing AI hallucinations and bias. https://mitsloanedtech.mit.edu/ai/basics/addressing-ai-hallucinations-and-bias/

nonane [@nonamehiding]. (2025, June 3). June Calendar 💜 [Image]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/DKcboXgIaam/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== 

Noname Book Club. (n.d.). Welcome to Noname Book Club. https://nonamebooks.com/