Hyperlinked Communities
In Module 5, we will examine how we can engage hyperlinked communities of all kinds. Peter Block writes in Community: The Structure of Belonging that “communities are human systems given form by conversations that build relatedness.” Building a relationship between the librarian and the user is a step toward establishing the bonds of community. That’s why we can’t just hide behind our reference desks or our virtual lecterns and hope that students or users listen but leave us alone: active engagement begins here. If we can articulate our purpose and goals well, and use it as a basis for building community, we are on the right track.
We’ll explore examples of hyperlinked community engagement via technology tools, place-based meet ups, and engagement strategies designed to enlighten and entertain. Don’t miss the video featuring Monica Harris, at that time from Oak Park Public Library, discussing “The Idea Box” and more.
Lecture Recording
Things to Read
- Older but Useful Resources
- My #HuntLibrary Project: Using Instagram to crowdsource the story of a new library.
- Pewrainangi, S. (2014). A beautiful obsession.
- Stephens, M. (2014). “Reaching All Users” in The Heart of Librarianship, p. 41
- West, J. (2014). 21st century digital divide.
- Boyd, D. (2016). What World Are We Building?
- Dixon, J. (2017) Convening Community Conversation.
- Smith. C. (2017). Madison’s Library Takeover.
Current Thought
- Skot-Hansen, D. (2017) 4 Spaces Model from Univ Copenhagen
- Garcia-Febo, L. (2018). Serving with love: Embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion in all that we do.
- Lauersen, C. (2018). Do you want to dance? Inclusion and belonging in libraries and beyond.
- Stephens, M. (2019) “Libraries in Balance” in Wholehearted Librarainship, p. 78
- Klinker, J. (2020). The Healing Power of Books.
- Williams, A. (2021). How Libraries Are Bridging the Digital Divide.
- Greenwood, C. (2022). Healthy Library, Healthy Life.
- Hasan, T.N. (2022). ‘Free, non-judgemental, accessible’: How your local library is a sanctuary of health and wellness.
- Warner, L. (2024). Revolutionizing Public Libraries: Three Ways that Alternative Service Delivery Strategies Can Meet the Challenges of a Booming Population
- Lauersen, C. (2025). The necessary nearness – an ode to bookmobiles
Things to View
- Oak Park Public Library. (n.d.). IdeaBox Collections. (Older but super inspiring!)
Things to Explore
- Community Engagement at SJPL
- OCLC (2015). The Library in the Life of the User.
- Jensen, K. (2017). Libraries resist: A round-up tolerance, tolerance, social justice and resistance in US libraries.
- Anderson, N. (2018). Curated resources on diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and equity for libraries
- Heresay Storytelling (2018) http://heresaystorytelling.com/
- Oak Park Public Library (2019). A New Kind of Summer School.
- Jensen, K. (2022). As Seen on #BookTok: Inspiring Young Readers, TikTok is a Boon for Books.
- Potter, N. (2022). Instagram for Libraries.
- American Alliance of Museums. (n.d.). Gender Transition and Transgender Inclusion in the Museum Workplace: A Toolkit…
- CBOX (n.d.). Commons in a Box.
- CUNY (n.d.) CUNY Academic Commons.
- Memphis Library. (n.d.) Cloud 901 Lab
