Most of us now watch multiple videos everyday. Many of these just pass and go, we sometimes forget them after a few days. One that I watched about six weeks ago and that stuck with me since then was the one presenting the Oodi library in Helsinki, Finland: “Is this the best library?”. That is what I clearly wondered as I watched it and I have not found a match yet. 

In Finnish, “oodi” is an ode. And maybe just as interestingly, in Norwegian, “odde” is a headland. A tribute and a pioneer vision. This is all really quite fitting for this extraordinary library.

Figure 1.Oodi Library. From “Is this the world’s most successful human-centered building?,” by T. Uusheimo, Well-Placed with Emily Wright. Retrieved July 24, 2026, from https://emilywrights.substack.com/p/is-this-the-worlds-most-successful. Copyright 2026 by Substack. 

Figure 2. Sydney Heads, New South Wales, Australia. From “Headland,” by D. Smith, September 30, 2010, Wikipedia. Retrieved July 24, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headland. 

The Oodi library is an absolutely amazing and wonderful example to show to someone who is a bit stuck in their vision of what a library is (aka who thinks that a library is not much more than a pretty book warehouse). To be honest, even I, when I started this program, had no clue of what everything libraries now offered. That video grabbed that thought and just ran away with it … all the way to Helsinki! The video shows us the vast array of activities and services that are available to its users: chessboards at the entrance to play with a stranger and thus encourage human interaction, the most vintage and also modern video games available on simple reservation, instruments and recording studio rental, a very large kitchen, sewing machines and various crafts instruments, 3D printers, a variety of reading areas with views, etc.

It is evident that this library really thinks about its whole community, about the personal situations that people may be in that may make some aspects of their lives difficult (especially aspects that allow them to learn or flourish). They help with that. They support them in their economical situation. They support them in their social well-being. The example of the kitchen can seem so simple and yet so thoughtful. In a big city, many people live with roommates or have a small apartment, there can be no sufficient kitchen space to be able to cook a big meal or to cook with friends. Nonetheless, cooking and food can be such an exchange of cultures and knowledge, it brings people together. By having a large accommodating kitchen, the library shows how they try to bring people together around things they enjoy and can grow from. Another subtle but powerful example of how Oodi was thinking of its patrons are the reading areas. There are many comfortable seats near windows to enjoy the views. Again, this can look simple but is such a nice touch for people living in small spaces with views of a parking lot or sometimes even a wall. They literally broaden their horizons. 

Stephens asserts that “the era of participatory culture demands that cultural and information professionals play an active, visible role in our communities” (2016, p.80). I agree and I would claim that the Oodi library really gives the participatory tenet of Casey’s (2007) Library 2.0  its true meaning: people are not just meant to read or look at materials, but really to use them and create and experiment with them. In this, they participate in the growing knowledge, culture and creativity of their community. 

References 

Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2007). Library 2.0 : a guide to participatory library service. Information Today. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10502034

Headland. (2026, April 21). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headland

Stephens, M. (2016). The Heart of Librarianship. American Library Association.

TheRuudy. (2022, December 13). Is This The World’s Best Library? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvyXjAI5_VI 

Wright, E. (2024, August 8). Is this the world’s most successful human-centred building? Well-Placed with Emily Wright. https://emilywrights.substack.com/

I wanted to talk about hygge in a previous blog as it had come up in a reading, but at the time, other topics had caught my attention. As Hygge came back, and several times in this module, I did want to sit down (well, I was already seated), take a warm cup of tea, place a blanket over my legs, and put on some ambiance sounds…

I learned about it a few years ago while browsing The Little Book of Hygge in a store. I was drawn to it. The coziness, and mainly the slowness. Many of us live hectic lives: schedules, deadlines, places to go to, endless list of things to do, etc. The more time goes, the more I feel like practicing hygge becomes difficult to do, and feels like a luxury when we are eventually able to do it. While it should not. It is a necessity to regularly slow down and appreciate a good book, a coloring artwork, or sip a warm beverage by a fireplace. Stephens says that “promoting comfort, a sense of belonging, quiet, and coziness for our users, will serve as an equalizer of sorts, balancing our “living out loud” times with a bit of warm and fuzzy” (2019). In this sentence, the word “equalizer” resonates louder than any other for me. As I am sitting here in a quiet and comfortable spot in my apartment, I know that everyone does not have that luxury. And I believe our libraries should provide this for their patrons: a space in which they can rest, recharge, and reset before sometimes being thrown back in the tumult of their lives. People deserve a time during which they can connect to a story, to an idea that they’re reading more about, or just connecting to themselves. Libraries are a pathway to knowledge , the one you find out in the world, but they should also help with the knowledge and comfort you can find within yourself. And I think that is what hygge can mean.

Furthermore, because I am an Inspiring teacher librarian, I always try to think of ways to get teens to engage with literacy. Teenagers are very attracted to moods/vibes. I play different kinds of ambiance music in my classroom during individual work (witchy vibes in October, blizzard storm or a crackling fire in the winter, …). They love it.  Similarly to the revival of dark academia, I think that this type of space would be very appealing and inspiring to some of them. 

PS: And to just display how à propos this topic came about: I bought a hygge coloring book at the beginning of summer break! 

References 

Olive Raquel TV. (2024, April 14). Cafe for Bookworms in Baguio City – Hygge Library Cafe [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vumlMsRoRfY

Sound of Winter. (2025, January 7). Tranquil Snowstorm Nights: Cozy Fireplace Ambience for Rest and Relaxation [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RbH5sc6v2Y

Stephens, M. T. (2019). Wholehearted librarianship : finding hope, inspiration, and balance. ALA Editions.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-Dbx14vMTMm0RSc0pHgsnbZVo5ph3JaHVXDxxBoKSOU/edit?usp=sharing

“One of the biggest business battles of our time is between Microsoft and Google” (Loertscher, 2008). Well, today in 2026, I would say that battle rages between the different AI platforms. “Microsoft believes that if they build it, we will come -and buy their product. Google’s approach is different: if they built it, we will integrate it into our lives”. Now, we can say that Google has remained consistent because that is indeed exactly what has happened with its AI approach. When we search for anything in Google nowadays, we are first presented with an AI overview of the response, and invited to ask follow-up questions. Only if we scroll down, we can get actual sources that would answer our question. And that is the thing: more and more often, many people will not scroll down any further. AI Gemini has been integrated into the Google Suite. A debate has been sparked at my school about Gemini and Notebook LM being added to Google Classroom students’ accounts. We stop mid-task in the kitchen to ask Alexa a quick question. We call our health insurance and are kept on an AI bot until we impatiently repeat “Human agent! Human agent!” into our phone. 

These are all examples of how AI has infiltrated and integrated into our environments and thus our lives. AI has sometimes made itself almost indispensable for some people, or at least a go-to without a second thought. It has become instinctive, and very rapidly so (in just a couple of years). It is very interesting (but I could really think of several other adjectives) how fast this habit has taken. Some people find it fascinating and amazing, some others find it worrying.

I would personally argue that while AI has hyperlinked us to information (and even here, we need to be very careful because of the numerous AI issues such as hallucination, incomplete or irrelevant information, etc), it has not hyperlinked us with each other. On the contrary, in many ways, I reckon it can easily make us less linked to each other. We read and hear about people using AI engines as their therapist (and it has now become a new market: Therapeak, TalkSpace,…), their friend or even their lover (remember the visionary movie “Her”?). The Russian series “Better Than Us” and many BlackMirror episodes are really too close for comfort when displaying how intertwined AI has become with our environments and actually made us more isolated. According to a recent Pew research (2026), 10% of Americans use AI for emotional support. 

Regardless of our opinions about it, AI is here to stay so we need to ensure that, just like with any other emerging technology, we use it as a tool to navigate our new modern complex environment, and that it remains only a part of it. Information ultimately comes from humans and any new tool, whatever it is, should enhance our human bonds and what we learn from each other. 

References 

Gottfried, J., Bishop, W., Anderson, M., Faverio, M., Park, E., & McClain, C. (2026, June 17). Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, smart devices and views on impact. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/06/17/americans-and-ai-2026-chatbots-smart-devices-and-views-on-impact/ 

Loertscher, D. (2008). Flip this library: School libraries need a revolution, not evolution. School Library Journal (New York, N.Y.), 54(11), 46. https://link-gale-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/apps/doc/A189870491/AONE?u=csusj&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=c9cf8a02

Thrill de Novo – Shorts. (2025, October 4). Black Mirror: Can AI Bring Back Loved Ones? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iUAML4ufD4E

As with most modules so far, several articles or videos of this Hyperlinked Communities week struck me. 

Jensen’s BookTok article (2022) really resonated with me because it was the other side of the coin of the promotion assignment I did in Info 237 last semester (side note: Info237 is a really great class -especially for K12 librarians- and you get to create really fabulous assignments like curriculum textsets or look at ditching Dewey, canon & #Disrupttexts and much more). I did a digital book display for my last 237 assignment, but you could also do a social media campaign. I knew what that looked like but I had not seen many of them as I do not have a TikTok or Instagram account. Reading the BookTok article made me check TikTok and even without an account, I was able to watch all kinds of BookTok videos and read the comments.  I can see why school librarian Christine Lively says teens who never came to the library are now coming: it is really a community built around a common interest. 

@bumblebeezus

It’s either I show you every book I’m interested in or we both disappear for an hour #reader #bookstore #fantasy #bookworm #booktok

♬ original sound – Lizzy

The above video about “bookstore etiquette” was particularly fun to watch and reiterated the social aspect through the prism of etiquette, which does not only mean rules, but often unwritten rules amongst a community of people. The TikToker says it herself: “This is a group activity”. The comments of the video show the multitude of people who relate to her feelings when visiting a bookstore.

Public and school librarians are said to have a hard time putting together a physical “As seen on #BookTok” display as the books fly off the shelves, and I can see why with that kind of publicity! Students want to read what their friends read, what they heard about on the social media they hang out onto daily. It makes them feel included and participating in their community. Jensen’s article mentions school librarians creating reading guides online and also providing readalikes. I do feel like it would be fun for the students (and productive!) that the school librarian does a BookTok maybe once a month. It would be an opportunity to promote diverse books, which is really important. In addition, I believe that getting different students to regularly do one, and share the link on the school library website could undoubtedly help promote books and reading. Yes, at the end of the day, it is a book talk, but on a platform students go to daily. You go get them where they are … and bring them to a place they may not usually come to. Bringing new users in is an essential principle of Library 2.0 and the HyperLinked Library. 

References 

Bogan, K. (2021, January 27). Ditching Dewey #1: Dear Dewey, it’s not me, it’s you. Don’t Shush Me! Adventures of a High School Librarian. https://dontyoushushme.com/2020/12/04/ditching-dewey-1-dear-dewey-its-not-me-its-you/

DisruptTexts. (n.d.). What is #DisruptTexts? https://disrupttexts.org/lets-get-to-work/ 

Jensen, K. (2022, February 10). As seen on #BookTok: Inspiring young readers, TikTok is a boon for books. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/as-seen-on-booktok-inspiring-young-readers-tiktok-is-a-boon-for-books-libraries

Lizzy [@bumblebeezus]. (n.d.). Bookstore etiquette. [Video]. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@bumblebeezus/video/7613461389142691102 

Reading “Library 2.0” (Casey & Savastinuk, 2007) felt inspiring, like when someone brings fresh ideas to you that tickles your mind and gets you to connect that perspective with your personal experience in order to push an idea further. It also felt right, like it made sense, almost common sense. I particularly clicked with the tenet of “reaching out to potential library users” (p.5). As a prospective teacher librarian who just did fieldwork, I noticed that I often saw the same students though we have a huge school and I was there only two afternoons a week. I would be curious to know the percentage of students who never come to our school library outside of a class. Just like Casey & Savastinuk ask “Why aren’t we reaching those not using our services, and what do we have to do to reach them?” (2007, p.16) , I’m wondering how to get these students in the school library. 

The 2013 Pew Report reports about what people want to find in libraries, but it did not really address too precisely what teens would like to find there. After a bit of a search, I dug out a more recent Pew report (2024) about teens and video games: 85% of US teens play video games and as much as 40% of them identify as gamers. The picture displaying the Portland Public Library in Maine, I visited their website. 

Teens compete in a video game tournament at the Portland Public Library in Maine in 2018. (Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images) 

It offers so many cool ideas of resources, programs and services directly targeted at teens such as the EBSCO Learning website to prepare for life after high school, driving tests, video game Thursdays & Fridays, the teen art table with professional-grade supplies., a nature photography program, and many more!  

It is obvious that as public libraries are changing, schools are changing, and therefore school libraries need to change as well. If they don’t, they will not meet their students’ needs and interests. As a teacher librarian, having a diverse and relevant collection and providing media literacy as well as instruction that allows our students to be successful in their classes is a top priority. Another top priority is reading engagement. And I do not see how you will get reading engagement if they don’t even come to the library. I believe that if students start seeing the library as a space they enjoy going to (and that can be for ANY reason), they may start to also engage more with reading literacy. And here I do not mean to sound like I’m trying to lure teens into the library to set them up with a book asap! I genuinely want them to feel welcome and comfortable here. Regardless of the end goal. If they end up picking up an interest in reading, I’m not going to complain ! But if they come and end up honing their video edit skills or simply socializing with friends over shared interests, I will take that too. A bit like the HOMAGO concept (Hanging Out Messing Around Geeking Out) described in O’Brien article, “the youth will engage on a higher level eventually, but they have to get comfortable. And for some of them, their lives are really high pressure, so they appreciate that this is a chill space“ (2019).

Now comes one of the challenges. We talk about teens as a single entity but they are as different as any group. Some will devour four graphic novels in a single weekend, some will spend hours playing video games, some will knit, some make videos and post them on YouTube. The more heterogeneous the group, the more challenging it is to find out about their interests and try to meet them. But that is the job! And that is also the fun part. Kids love to tell you about what they love. And when you start to bring them in with something that interests them, they will start talking to you about other things they like, it is like unravelling a sweater. 

Leferink’s article (2018) talks about the library as a third space. While they talk about the public library, I think the school library can and should be a third space too: not home and not quite work/school, or at least not all the time. As I can see at play in the HOMAGO view, the human side of the Hyperlinked Library is the aspect that really resonates with me. It is about people and our connections with people. This is how I envision my school library. 

References

Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2007). Library 2.0 : a guide to participatory library service. Information Today. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10502034

Gottfried J. & Sidoti O. (2024, May 9). Teens and video games today. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/05/09/teens-and-video-games-today/ 

Leferink S. (2018, January 24). To keep people happy… keep some books. Next. https://blog.oclc.org/next/to-keep-people-happy-keep-some-books/

O’Brien C. (2019, June 24). How San Francisco’s public libraries are embracing their changing role. Shareable. https://www.shareable.net/how-san-francisco-public-libraries-are-embracing-their-changing-role/

Portland Public Library. (n.d.). Teens.. Retrieved June 20, 2026, from https://www.portlandlibrary.org/teens/

The Mix at SFPL. (2024, August 1). Mix Tour Video 2024 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQk0pHp3lUw&t=10s

Zickuhr K., Rainie L. & Purcell K. (2013, January 22). Library services in the digital age. Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/01/22/part-4-what-people-want-from-their-libraries/

Hello ! My name is Jennifer and I live in the Bay Area. 

I usually spend my summers in France visiting my family, meeting with old time friends, hanging around in castles and old villages, eating cheese and pastries to my heart’s content! 

But this summer and the last have been dedicated to accelerating my TL/MLIS journey. I started this program in the Spring of 2025. I’m taking my last TL credential course this summer along with my first 2 electives (how fun!): this class and Info 210. I plan to finish the MLIS next Spring. 

Like many of us, I “met” Dr Stephens through our Info200 video lectures and as I was taking more courses, I started hearing about Info 287 Hyperlinked Libraries. Everyone said it was a super interesting and inspiring class, and that you had a lot of flexibility to adjust it to your interests. Furthermore, on the business-end of things, you have the ability to create artifacts to satisfy competencies that go beyond the ones in the syllabus. It might be just me, but I felt like the title of the course sounded a bit mysterious, so I really dug into the syllabus description, and, while the idea of studying different branches that libraries are evolving into does sound very interesting and inspiring, the word “human” stood out to me. I really believe that libraries are a way to connect people to information, but they are also a way to connect people to people. Through information, common interests, and maybe sometimes just the will to bond. I see it everyday at my HS library: at least half of the students come with a buddy. As I am planning to be a TL and know that school libraries are a third space for students, I wanted to take a course that would further my knowledge but also push my imagination on what my school library could evolve into.