{"id":41,"date":"2026-10-11T06:00:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T06:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/?p=41"},"modified":"2026-10-11T06:04:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T06:04:39","slug":"reflection-on-hyperlinked-communities-module-5-bridging-the-gap-between-90-and-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/2026\/10\/11\/reflection-on-hyperlinked-communities-module-5-bridging-the-gap-between-90-and-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection on Hyperlinked Communities – Module 5 – Bridging the Gap between 90% and 29%"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"a
Turnout for our library programs is high, but what could we achieve by taking our programs outside our building?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While exploring the readings for Module 5, I encounterd a statistic in Stephens (2016) that surprised me greatly: According to a study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 90% of Americans ages 16 and older said closing their local public library would affect their community. However, only 29% said that their own household would be impacted by such a closure. That made me wonder: if 90% of American adults believe libraries are so important, why are we only reaching a third of them? How can we have more of a positive impact on our communities?<\/p>\n

Stephens (2016) asks a version of this himself when he wonders whether we are giving people a reason to depend upon us. His advice is to find the people who are not using the library and ask them what they need. He also emphasizes paying attention to what people are not saying, because that can indicate they do not believe we can give them the assistance they need.<\/p>\n

As an Assistant Branch Manager at a public library in Temecula, California, I supervise circulation, our highest-volume point of contact with the public. We issue a card to almost anyone who requests one. But after reading Lauersen (2018), I reflected on his distinction between being invited to a party and being asked to dance at the party. Applying that analogy to the library, the library card is the invitation. The dance is what happens afterward, when we have an opportunity to connect with the patron one-on-one. Exclusion, Lauersen notes, is seldom intentional; it happens when inclusion is not built into our systems and habits \u2013 when we do not capitalize on these opportunities to connect with our community.<\/p>\n

\"the
Taking storytimes on the road more often could be a simple first step to increasing our outreach efforts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So how do we close the gap between 90% and 29%? As suggested in Stephens (2016), library staff cannot keep waiting for people to come to us. We must reach them where they are, just as Stephens’ home library did through the launch of Books & Brewskis, a discussion group held in a local microbrewery. We must be willing to leave our building to connect with those who do not yet know how many valuable resources and connection opportunities await them at their local library.<\/p>\n

My challenge to myself and my co-workers for the upcoming year will be to pick a place where our community already gathers and show up there with some regularity. It could be the farmers\u2019 market, recreation center, or even the senior center. A folding table, a stack of library card applications, and one staff member to issue cards on the spot would put us in front of people who may never walk through our doors otherwise. I would also like to inquire about scheduling our county\u2019s book mobiles to visit our community. Williams and Muller (2021) describe how book mobiles can be used to extend service past library walls, and no additional funds would be required to offer that service to our community if we can leverage our current partnerships.<\/p>\n

If we want to reach more than 29% of American households, we cannot just extend an invitation to meet at the library. We must ask our communities to dance with us.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lauersen, C. (2025, February 5). The necessary nearness\u2014An ode to bookmobiles<\/em>. The Library Lab. https:\/\/christianlauersen.net\/2025\/02\/05\/the-necessary-nearness-and-ode-to-bookmobiles\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Stephens, M. (2016). The heart of librarianship: Attentive, positive, and purposeful change<\/em>. ALA Editions.<\/p>\n

Williams, A., & Muller, C. (2021, March 17). Libraries are bridging the digital divide<\/em>. Internet Society. https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/libraries-are-bridging-the-digital-divide\/<\/a><\/span>internetsociety<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While exploring the readings for Module 5, I encounterd a statistic in Stephens (2016) that surprised me greatly: According to a study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 90% of Americans ages 16 and older said closing their local public library would affect their community. However, only 29% said that their own […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":907,"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-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/907"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions\/48"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/marloramirez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}