Libraries are what make up the integral information centers of our communities today – as Dr. Stephens states in his Participatory Service & Transparency lecture, “libraries create and facilitate connections.” This doesn’t mean that libraries are hubs for books, though surely it is a place to go for such resources. In the sense of what they were created for, however, it goes far beyond books. Libraries are created for people, by people, with human users at the center of the library model as a whole. As also stated in the Participatory Service & Transparency lecture by Dr. Stephens, there are different dimensions to the library experience and overall meaning of “space.” To expand, this means that the focal goals of creating a participatory environment are Experience, Empowerment, Involvement, and Innovation and the various critical spaces they encapsulate (lecture slide 30, Stephens).
The Los Angeles library in their article, which puts their patrons at the middle of answering some vital questions about the library moving forward, tries to extend beyond this assumption that libraries are made solely for books and exchange of physical resources. As the writers point out, “the library is nothing without its community” and so, therefore, the L.A. public library decided that they would undergo the task of “surveying the public and asking them to tell us how we can best continue to fulfill our mission and help us create a collaborative vision” (Mack, 2013). This shows a recognition of people at the center of the library environment, an execution of an adequate plan, and also an output that benefits the future of the library’s mission and value statements. Directives such as this one go beyond the already important services such as “provid[ing] job hunting resources, resume workshops, and teach[ing] computer skills.” In the end, the most important part of any community change is to make sure that the community’s patrons are participating as much in the setup of the library as its administrative officials.
Image provided by: Chelsey E Stewart 2015
https://ideas.demco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/The-Mix_Doorway_1.jpg
The public libraries of San Francisco have also been embracing this idea of “libraries for people.” One of their main goals emanates this message, being “to provide a space where people can connect to one another and to services, for free” (O’Brien, 2019). In order for this to be a reality, the services need to reflect what is most important for the people. To do this, they took into consideration the idea that there should be less room for staff and more room for youth at the library. As a response, they made a space called The Mix, “a nearly 5,000-foot section of the main library designed by its target audience: youth” while using a model they call the “HOMAGO — a mix of hanging out, messing around and geeking out” (O’Brien, 2019). Because of the weakening of community ties that the authors mention in the article, the idea of The Mix gave SFPL leaders the chance to “double down on the institution’s commitment to social connection and serving its community, and embrace flexibility and accessibility” (O’Brien, 2019). Both of these library institutions, the L.A. Public Library and San Francisco Public Library, have demonstrated the immense benefits that come from creating library spaces as a goal for keeping the people at the center of it rather than the physical resources. A community, after all, is only as strong as they are seen, and when we create libraries for people (not books), the community gets stronger.
References
Mack, C. (17 February, 2013). Crowdsourced Design: Why Los Angeles Is Asking the Public to Create the Library of the Future. GOOD. https://www.good.is/articles/crowdsourced-design-why-los-angeles-is-asking-the-public-to-create-the-library-of-the-future
O’Brien, C. (24 June, 2019). 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/
Stephens, M. (2024). The Hyperlinked Library: Participatory Service & Transparency. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l9Kd4Rx4EEGxFrpKNRHQpdmoIO3l2GaX/view