Category: Reflection Blogging

 

Greenwalt’s (2013) article, Embracing the Long Game, was fascinating to read about local small-scale participatory activities taking place at libraries. I enjoyed the library director of a small library with close to nothing in the budget, still making the library participatory by creating a Post-It wall. I remember visiting a small college library that had something similar. There was a wall of poster boards with questions, and students were allowed to write responses with pens. Cost-efficient participatory activities convey to users that libraries care about their input and crafting an environment that creates community. Much like social media hashtags can do on a grand scale, libraries can accomplish on a local scale.

Another interesting topic discussed in this module was a public library offering online courses made with the help of community experts (Stephens, 2016). I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to enhance learning for busy patrons. Time is constantly one of the barriers to visiting the library. A chance to learn from classes or workshops held in person is lost. Creating multiple short classes online would assist patrons interested in learning in general or acquiring digital literacy skills. I have been interested in working on something like this for my non-profit organization. I was able to co-lead a class last month, teaching people a skill. I thought there may be other community experts willing to teach a skill or share their knowledge. It would be great for public libraries to create partnerships with community organizers to add virtual class lessons to allow it to be more accessible for people who cannot attend in-person.

 

References

Greenwalt, R. T. (2013, February 21). Embracing the long game. Public Libraries Online. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/02/embracing/

Stephens, M. T. (2016). The heart of librarianship: Attentive, positive, and purposeful change. ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association.

I appreciate StoryCorps’ animated videos tremendously because they highlight different stories. Some I related to, and their story resonated, while others left an impression about the lived experiences of someone. As an undergraduate, I conducted interviews informally to understand my family’s migration history for a class project. We unfortunately do not have many photos and items to cherish because it was left behind or lost along the way. The stories are what I get to keep. I have always felt that the power of stories is important for growing our empathy and understanding.

I believe the Living Library project, which uses people as books to “borrow”, would be interesting to implement in libraries everywhere, especially during this heightened clash of beliefs (Wentz, 2013; Wollongong, n.d.; Pew Research Center, 2019).

Image: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/10/10/partisan-antipathy-more-intense-more-personal/

Bringing stories to life from real people sharing their stories can be a great addition to combating book censorship. PEN America released the most banned book list from the 2023 to 2024 school year. There were over 10,000 bans targeting over 4,000 titles. Tolin (2025) writes, “this censorship…predominantly targets books about race and racism or individuals of color and also books on LGBTQ+ topics.” The Living Library project could be a surrogate for the books that are banned, which cuts down access to learning about marginalized voices. Guests can share their stories covering the same themes of banned books. Although, there should be effort to create a balanced collection to reflect users’ interests which can be developed to cover other areas not exclusive to challenged themes (Wentz, 2013).

References

Pew Research Center. (2019, October 10). Partisan antipathy: More intense, more personal [Report]. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/10/10/partisan-antipathy-more-intense-more-personal/

Popova, M. (2016). How libraries save lives. The Marginalian. https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/10/06/libraries-storycorps-bookmobile/

Tolin, L. (2025, February 24). Banned book list 2025. PEN America. https://pen.org/banned-books-list-2025/

Wentz, E. (2013, April 26). The human library: Sharing the community with itself. Public Libraries Online. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/04/human_librar/

Wollongong living books. (n.d.). City of Wollongong. https://wollongong.nsw.gov.au/my-community/events-and-programs/living-books

Image: https://www.internationallibraryservices.com/library_automation_technology/lending-library-kiosk/

70% of respondents responded positively to libraries removing print books and stacks from public libraries to make space for “tech centers, reading rooms, meeting rooms and cultural events” whereas 64% of respondents agreed that libraries should have “more comfortable spaces for reading, working, and relaxing” (Raine, 2016). The Lending Library 6 kiosk can help libraries achieve this recommendation because it offers storage of up to 500 items (Lending Library Kiosk, n.d.). It is ideal for extending the library’s reach and also freeing up space at the library for new spaces or investing in more comfortable spaces.

The company claims to be more affordable when compared to other similar kiosks. It can help take the library to its potential users by reaching people at grocery stores, public transit, recreation centers, and more. It brings the library to potential users instead of waiting for them to find the library. Based on a few reviews by library staff, it is very popular in their community. It is exciting and encourages users to keep coming back. A few libraries in Contra Costa County have had a similar item known as Library-a-go-go since at least 2011 (Levein, 2011). It may be a worthy investment to boost library engagement from groups who cannot regularly frequent it.

References

Lending Library Kiosk. International Library Services. (n.d.). https://www.internationallibraryservices.com/library_automation_technology/lending-library-kiosk/

Levein, R. E. (2011, June). Confronting the future: Strategic visions for the 21st-century public library [ Policy brief 4]. American Library Association.

Raine, L. (2016). Puzzles librarians need to solve.

I reflect on Barbara Fister’s (2016) article, Reframing Libraries: How the Framework for Information Literacy might help us rethink what libraries are all about, which details the need for libraries to keep up with new advances, adapt, support their users, and seek new paths. Fister highlighted drastic changes in the library world, including the switch from ownership to a year-by-year subscription. Although libraries have typically always bought journal bundles, a combination of rising package costs and a preference for online materials, influenced libraries to subscribe to journals for virtual access.

It has been nearly 10 years since Fister’s article was published, and while many things still ring true, there have been interesting changes. An important and close-to-home example is the KingbotGPT, which became available in September 2024. The AI team at SJSU began production four years prior during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the team refined the KingbotGPT based on users’ queries. The KingbotGPT serves users when live reference is not available. As with anything new, people are hesitant, reluctant, and skeptical of it. Librarians can help ease worries by producing information literacy and policies surrounding AI use in addition to addressing known bias concerns (Cox and Tzoc, 2023; San José State University, 2024). In 2024, two librarians at the Université de Montréal also considered adding chatbot assistance to their toolkit. The librarians considered the benefits and challenges in three areas: “reference services, user training and metadata creation” (LaSelle, 2024). Although it was just a possibility, the open source coding was made available by the AI team at SJSU Library to help others who are interested in bringing this idea to life at their institution, almost acting as seeds that plant innovation (Rodriguez et al., 2025). I think it is important to reflect on change in the information landscape because there will always be a new technology to learn and libraries should strive to be ahead in adapting it.

References

Cox, C., & Tzoc, E. (2023). ChatGPT: Implications for academic libraries. College & Research Libraries News, 84(3), 99. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.84.3.99

Fister, B. (2016). Reframing libraries. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library-babel-fish/reframing-libraries

LaSelle, M. (2024). Coming to a library near you: Chatbots! Udemnouvelles. https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2024/09/20/coming-to-a-library-near-you-chatbots/

Rodriguez, S., Szydlowski, N., & Cai, J. (2025). Library-Led AI: Building a library chatbot as service and strategy [Conference Proceeding]. Association of College and Research Libraries.

San José State University. (2024, August 19). Chatbot policy (SJSU). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. https://www.sjlibrary.org/policy/chatbot-policy

This module highlighted the latent function libraries serve – building community. As Sally Pewrainangi claimed, libraries offer human connections. The world is at our fingertips through mobile devices, but what libraries can offer us are opportunities to build relationships. Bill Ptacek admitted no one can offer evidence that libraries alone create a better society, but the alternative would be an uninformed public, unequal access to information, and lonely, disconnected people.

Recently librarians have repeatedly echoed how libraries are safe spaces for all. In 2020, library director, Shamichael Hallman, from Memphis gave a TEDx Talk about the library’s commitment to reconnecting the community. He told the story of a woman named Grace who was arrested over 50 years earlier for entering the segregated library he now manages. He thanked Grace for being a catalyst for enacting change. He promised her that he would make the library as inclusive as possible while he served as library director. He also encouraged the audience to offer other library patrons a sense of belonging because everyone deserves to feel welcome.

Libraries have repeatedly stood firmly as supporters of intellectual freedom, ensuring libraries remain a place for everyone’s story to be told. Libraries have certainly earned the trust of their visitors. Bill Ptacek jokingly asked, “What other institution lends millions of dollars of materials on the premise that you’ll bring it back in three weeks? It’s a really bad business model, but it works. It’s a wonderful trust relationship that libraries have with their public.” Some libraries have also demonstrated trust by allowing library access after hours when staff is no longer there.

However, hyperlinked communities extend beyond the library’s walls. I find it intriguing how community can be created and found everywhere. The Hunt Library’s project allowed the library to be captured through the user’s perspectives. I admire the project’s goal of creating a participatory environment and including users as contributors to the library’s digital collection. Projects like those demonstrate a pledge to “Cultivating thriving virtual learning communities with broad, beyond-the-walls outreach managed by future-thinking professionals…” and it “…seems like the way forward to reaching as many users as possible” (Stephens, 2014, p. 43).

References

Adobe. (n.d) Online reading-Businessman taking books from bookshelf on smartphone screen. Mobile library concept [photo].

Dixon, J. A. (2017). Convening community conversations. Library Journal 142(17), 41-44.

Pewhairang, S. (2014, May). A beautiful obsession. Heroes Mingle.

Stephens, M. (2014). The heart of librarianship: Attentive, positive, and purposeful change. The American Library Association.

TEDx Talks. (2016, October 10). The library is not a place, it’s a concept. | Bill Ptacek | TEDxCalgary [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES0zGUvZj5s

TEDx Talks. (2020, March 17). Reimagining the Public Library to Reconnect the Community | Shamichael Hallman | TEDxMemphis [Video]. YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI2CLgq3LLk