I consider myself to be forward-thinking. Yet, my foundations remain centered and grounded. My librarianship journey has been an interesting one. I have worked in small, rural libraries in Alabama and large, urban library systems in Colorado. As I reviewed the New Models portion of this model, I was taken back to my experiences in the Denver Metro. I would always ask one question: “Yes, but why?”.
Before any position was reclassified, building name was change, or program name was altered to centered cultural care, I would always make sure to ask “Yes, but why?”
Before I go any further, I would like to state that my comments are not a criticism. Rather, they are an outside perspective. I will always cherish my experiences working for modern library systems, but I urge everyone to consider this: Are we changing too much and too fast?
What sparks this conversation is an interaction I was once having with a patron after a remodel of the library. The patron was looking for the desk to check out a book. They specifically asked for the circulation desk. I told them it was located in the [redacted] department. What followed was a blank stare and a question: “What is that?”
So, yes, maybe the name change, “Department of Intralibrary Material Lending” (which I just made up, by the way) better articulates what the department does, but does this reflect how the patron speaks about the library? Maybe they prefer the antiquated “Circulation Department”.
But we should also ask ourselves, does this new space remodel reflect how the patron interacts with the library? The most important question to ask: Are patrons leading the charge for how libraries change?
In closing, this post is not to push back against change. Change is wonderful. Rather, I would like to reinforce community-driven change. Let’s allow patrons to be the main drivers of how we talk about the library. How we interact with the library. Even what the libraries look like. In an effort to make sure our libraries are more than “book warehouses”, let’s make sure they are still recognizable.