A major theme across the Hyperlinked Communities Module, and across the course as a whole, is that the library has functions that go far beyond their widely recognized purpose of housing books. As was discussed by Tareq Nurul Hasan (2022), libraries can be a sanctuary for health and wellness. In her TEDTalk, Ciara Eastell shares how they can be spaces for people to navigate complex emotions, such as grief. They are spaces for both staff and patrons to learn and grow together. 

With this discussion of the wide range of community-centered library functions, this module immediately brought to mind the widely discussed “loneliness epidemic” and the disappearances of third spaces across the United States. According to the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, lack of connection can increase the risk of premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Summers et al., 2023). As technology has evolved, and culture has shifted, people spend far less time with one another in person as compared to two decades ago. American participation in community organizations has declined in recent decades. In a public health advisory, the very first foundational pillar is the need to strengthen social infrastructure, and the advisory explicitly utilizes libraries as an example. 

Extremely relevant to our course content is the idea that one can be around many people and still feel lonely. According to Dr. Murthy, the actual quality of the connection drives how lonely a person may be. A core question for this module is: How can one foster genuine connection within one’s community? What are ways that librarians can cultivate meaningful and genuine connection in the library spaces?

One way of cultivating meaningful connections that I find to be particularly weighty is for libraries to emphasize the reciprocal learning experiences that can occur in library spaces, and to utilize the knowledge gained from these experiences to create more inclusive systems. A fantastic example of this was the “Wash & Learn” partnership between Libraries Without Borders, The DreamYard Project and the LaundryCares Foundation. In a pop-up library at a local laundromat in the Bronx, students from the community act as librarians to work with fellow community members to answer a myriad of questions. One student noted that many people from their community have information needs but that these people were still waiting to be asked if they needed help. This is an example of learning from community members, and allowing those community insiders to guide work that allows libraries to go to the community, not make the community come to them. 

Another ideal example is the formation of the Black Culture Library Advocates Group at the Multnomah County Library. LeFoster Williams formed and leads an outreach and programming group in the library with the motivation of acting as a voice for the local Black library community. As was discussed in the video, forced diversity makes zero sense without the existence of an inclusive system. Communal experiences are not meaningful, and will not be to our social benefit, if they are not built on genuine efforts toward continuous learning and connection. 

References

American Library Association. (2019, June 17). Multnomah County Library: Creating conditions for equity to flourish. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGlxh-zc0Y&t=114s

Bibliothèques Sans Frontières. (2017, October 11). “Wash & Learn” Pop-Up Library Program in the Bronx. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HM7pQiqDZY

Finlay, J., Esposito, M., Kim, M. H., Gomez-Lopez, I., & Clarke, P. (2019). Closure of ‘third places’? Exploring potential consequences for collective health and wellbeing. Health & place, 60, 102225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102225

Hasan, TN. (2022). “Free, non-judgemental, accessible”: how your local library is a sanctuary of health and Wellness. SBS Bangla. https://www.sbs.com.au/language/bangla/en/article/free-nonjudgmental-and-accessible-how-your-local-library-is-a-sanctuary-of-health-and-wellness/t15blzsi9

Summers, J., Acovino, V., & Intagliata, C. (2023, May 2). America has a loneliness epidemic. here are 6 steps to address it. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/1173418268/loneliness-connection-mental-health-dementia-surgeon-general