{"id":30,"date":"2026-06-27T01:01:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T01:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/?p=30"},"modified":"2026-06-27T01:01:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T01:01:23","slug":"reflection-hyperlinked-communities%f0%9f%9a%8c-%f0%9f%93%9a%f0%9f%9a%b6%f0%9f%8f%bb%e2%99%80%ef%b8%8f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/2026\/06\/27\/reflection-hyperlinked-communities%f0%9f%9a%8c-%f0%9f%93%9a%f0%9f%9a%b6%f0%9f%8f%bb%e2%99%80%ef%b8%8f\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection: Hyperlinked Communities\ud83d\ude8c \ud83d\udcda\ud83d\udeb6\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I was listening to the lecture on hyperlinked communities, I couldn\u2019t help but think about how people access libraries in terms of transportation. In most contexts and especially in cities, people are maybe a walk or short drive away from their public library. What does it mean for folks who are further away, don\u2019t have access to a vehicle, or lack access to public transportation? I was drawn to the title of one of the articles in this week\u2019s module: The necessary nearness\u2014an ode to bookmobiles (Lauersen, 2025) In this article, the author writes about how the bookmobile, or bus filled with books, creates a nearness to community and information through access to books and information professionals. \u201cAccording to Statistics Denmark<\/a>, the use of public libraries is strongly dependent on how far citizens live from their nearest library. Almost 50% of all library users live within 1,500 meters of their nearest physical public library\u2026\u201d For reference 1,500 meters is less than a mile. According to Donnelly\u2019s article on average distances in the US from libraries: \u201cThe national average population-weighted distance to the nearest public library is 2.1 miles.\u201d (Donnelly, 2015) How does this distance affect those who want to access libraries and what resources are available for those in regions where that distance is greater?<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I know that in this module we read about engaging patrons and the public through various activities, programs, and community building, however, I find the idea of accessibility or just the fundamental idea of getting to the library vital and key to everything else found in that library. In the lecture it was mentioned that Community Closet was open and free to use by library patrons which also touches on this concept of ease of access and thinking of the whole person. It is open so that anyone who feels hesitation or anxiety about the accessing these food and personal items will not have another barrier to necessary goods i.e. asking staff. How can we address the other barriers that people might have in accessing the library itself? How can we reach out to folks who might feel overwhelmed by their lack of transport to the library in addition to bookmobiles?<\/p>\n

One way to make getting to the library easier is the intersection of public transportation and libraries. Here are some examples I found across the US:<\/p>\n

Although I live north of Seattle now, I appreciate the Seattle Public Library’s informational guide on accessing the library through public transportation.<\/a><\/p>\n

Library train<\/a> in Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Digital displays<\/a> of bus and train times in the Boston area.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n

\u00a0Donnelly, F. P. (2015). Regional variations in average distance to public libraries in the United States.\u00a0Library & Information Science Research,\u00a037(4), 280\u2013289. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.lisr.2015.11.008<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Lauersen, C. (2025, February 5).\u00a0The necessary nearness \u2013 an ode to bookmobiles. The Library Lab. https:\/\/christianlauersen.net\/2025\/02\/05\/the-necessary-nearness-and-ode-to-bookmobiles\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I was listening to the lecture on hyperlinked communities, I couldn\u2019t help but think about how people access libraries in terms of transportation. In most contexts and especially in cities, people are maybe a walk or short drive away from their public library. What does it mean for folks who are further away, … Continue reading Reflection: Hyperlinked Communities\ud83d\ude8c \ud83d\udcda\ud83d\udeb6\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":874,"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-30","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions\/32"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/librarianodyssey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}