{"id":15,"date":"2026-06-27T02:15:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T02:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/?p=15"},"modified":"2026-06-27T06:35:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:35:33","slug":"hyperlinked-communities-reflection-blog-libraries-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/2026\/06\/27\/hyperlinked-communities-reflection-blog-libraries-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyperlinked Communities Reflection Blog: Libraries for All"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Libraries
Image via hafuboti.com, reproduced in Libfocus (2019). https:\/\/www.libfocus.com\/2019\/07\/accessibility-and-libraries.html<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Community is at the heart and soul of library work. Many of the readings from Module 5 Hyperlinked Communities emphasized the importance of reaching all members of the diverse communities libraries serve, and providing adequate access to meet their different needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I really enjoyed the reading in the Hyperlinked Communities module by Jessica Klinker about the healing power of books. In her blog post, she highlights the importance of books for showcasing diverse perspectives and experiences, as well as providing different formats of books so all patrons can access them (Klinker, 2020). Klinker poses an important question: how do we reach the people who aren\u2019t already reading? As I mentioned in my Assignment X<\/a> <\/span>post on the Four Space Model, the library is so much more than books. However, I also agree with Klinker\u2019s take that books can serve as both mirrors and lenses: a way to see oneself reflected in a story, and also a way to gain new perspectives and see the world from others\u2019 points of view. As a bookworm myself who finds comfort and solace while reading a good book, I want to ensure that libraries provide all patrons with access to books. Klinker describes various formats of books (audiobooks, e-books, large print, different languages) that help expand access to books for different types of readers. At the library I work at I learned about another format, VOX books, which are children\u2019s books with attached audio narration of the stories. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the other resources in the module express similar ideas of centering diversity and accessibility in library spaces. For example, the Multnomah County Library evaluated the diversity within their staff and made changes so that it better reflected their community (American Library Association, 2019). One comment in the video that stood out to me was the positive reaction from patrons and that it created a more welcoming environment. Furthermore, I think back to a previous module in the course that discussed self-service libraries that extended the hours of public access availability (Zulkey, 2019). This is another form of increasing library accessibility for users who may want to use the library outside of typical hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Creating inclusive, accessible library spaces and services is central to my library practice philosophy. This module has helped me to contextualize the diverse needs of library community members and ways in which libraries can meet these needs. When making changes to libraries, I plan to keep this perspective in mind and work to overcome possible barriers to access.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To end this reflection blog, I want to share a quote that really resonated with me about library accessibility:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne book does not fit all\u2013there isn\u2019t one magical book, or even canon, that will speak to every reader. The answer is access and choice\u201d (Klinker, 2020).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/span><\/p>\n

American Library Association. (2019, June 17). Multnomah County Library: Creating conditions for equity to flourish [Video]. YouTube. <\/span>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SKGlxh-zc0Y<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Klinker, J. (2020, July 24). The healing power of books: Using reading to address social and emotional needs. <\/span>Gale Blog.<\/span><\/i> https:\/\/blog.gale.com\/the-healing-power-of-books\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Zulkey, C. (2019, September 3). Automatic for the people. <\/span>American Libraries Magazine.<\/span><\/i> https:\/\/americanlibrariesmagazine.org\/2019\/09\/03\/automatic-people-self-service-libraries\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Community is at the heart and soul of library work. Many of the readings from Module 5 Hyperlinked Communities emphasized the importance of reaching all members of the diverse communities libraries serve, and providing adequate access to meet their different needs.\u00a0 I really enjoyed the reading in the Hyperlinked Communities module by Jessica Klinker about … Continue reading Hyperlinked Communities Reflection Blog: Libraries for All<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":824,"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-15","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/824"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedbookworm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}