{"id":46,"date":"2026-06-25T16:02:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/?p=46"},"modified":"2026-06-25T16:43:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:43:02","slug":"reflection-blog-hyperlinked-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/2026\/06\/25\/reflection-blog-hyperlinked-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection Blog: Hyperlinked Communities\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the introduction for this module, Professor Stephens\u00a0states\u00a0that part of\u00a0engaging hyperlinked\u00a0communities\u00a0is\u00a0\u201cweaving the\u00a0library into the fabric of the community, ensuring that our services resonate with and reflect the diverse voices we aim to support\u201d (Stephens, 2025).\u00a0Reaching out and encouraging community members to\u00a0share their ideas and opinions is one-way\u00a0libraries\u00a0can\u00a0support\u00a0the needs and interests of\u00a0various user groups.\u00a0A great example\u00a0of this is highlighted in Smith\u2019s (2017) article about Madison Public Library\u2019s\u00a0(MPL)\u00a0takeover.\u00a0To reorient MPL towards community-led initiatives, the library\u00a0undertook the Library Takeover project. Through this project, community members were given full control of creating and\u00a0leading three library programs, resulting in unique programming that was never done before at the library.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Smith\u2019s (2017) article,\u00a0one of MPL\u2019s librarians\u00a0mentions that not knowing what was going on and giving up\u00a0some control of the program planning was scary, but the results were great and they were able to learn from community members and reach different users.\u00a0I think this\u00a0is\u00a0a great example\u00a0of how\u00a0community input can lead to diverse programs\u00a0that appeal to the interests of\u00a0different\u00a0community members. In my own experience, I have worked\u00a0at a library where\u00a0programming was repetitive and appealed to only\u00a0a set type of community member.\u00a0My goal when I joined their library was to introduce programs that would appeal to different user groups. When proposing my ideas, there was\u00a0some pushback from the branch manager\u00a0who thought the programs would not appeal to our patrons.\u00a0I think there\u00a0was a fear that doing something different would be a waste of our resources and result in low attendance numbers.\u00a0However, the results were\u00a0great,\u00a0and we found there was an interest in our community for\u00a0diverse programs that\u00a0appealed to different interests.\u00a0<\/span> Pictured below is one example of a program that was different from what we usually offered, but that was well received by community members.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Partial

Partial image of Japanese wagashi program flyer.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Image

Image of a patron participating in wagashi making program.<\/p><\/div>\n

From my experience, I saw how a library can fall into a\u00a0routine that, while comfortable for staff, can exclude\u00a0community members. Trying something different may be scary, but as\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0through MPL\u2019s Library Takeover, the results can be\u00a0surprising\u00a0and lead to new\u00a0connections. For smaller libraries, a similar project may not be possible, but community input can be gathered through surveys, outreach, or even\u00a0an advisory group that includes community members.\u00a0To\u00a0ensure that\u00a0we are\u00a0reflecting\u00a0the\u00a0various\u00a0interests and needs of\u00a0our community\u00a0members,\u00a0it is important to\u00a0gather their input and be brave enough to step out of our comfort zones.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith, C. (2017, June 25).\u00a0<\/span>Madison\u2019s library\u00a0takeover<\/span><\/i>. American Libraries Magazine.\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/americanlibrariesmagazine.org\/blogs\/the-scoop\/madisons-library-takeover\/?utm_content=buffer8a08c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephens, M. (2026).\u00a0<\/span>Module 5: Hyperlinked communities<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/module-5-hyperlinked-communities\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the introduction for this module, Professor Stephens\u00a0states\u00a0that part of\u00a0engaging hyperlinked\u00a0communities\u00a0is\u00a0\u201cweaving the\u00a0library into the fabric of the community, ensuring that our services resonate with and reflect the diverse voices we aim to support\u201d (Stephens, 2025).\u00a0Reaching out and encouraging community members to\u00a0share their ideas and opinions is one-way\u00a0libraries\u00a0can\u00a0support\u00a0the needs and interests of\u00a0various user groups.\u00a0A great example\u00a0of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":826,"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-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/frominktohyperlinked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}