I believe this is the best culmination of everything we’ve learned to a degree or at least my take away from everything. The topic of learning in  a new way has come up a lot, as libraries are becoming spaces to create, it’s something I’ve brought up in other reports even. Libraries must become a place to go out and socialize in for their health and well being while learning how to become more well-rounded individuals.

Through creative workshops people can grow closer and learn new skills such as how to code or create. An example would be the Chicago Public Library which is, “developing a space and programming that focuses on entrepreneurial and workforce development for both adults and teens” (Digital Promise, 2016). These can help people constantly learn and grow since a changing world requires constant adaptation. We shouldn’t assume people are perfect after they grow older, we should constantly try to improve as people and as libraries.

Beyond that though we should use these new creative designs to help accommodate everyone such as the Marsden Library, which has a sensory space. It helps children with special needs while also providing a calming effective learning space for any child (Partridge, 2018). I believe this is a great example of how we should stray away from old conventional notions of strict binaries of learning. Just reading from a dull book doesn’t work for everyone, nor does that ability learn cease at any point regardless of disability or age.

I think inviting more creative and fun into libraries is the way to modernize their spaces. We can’t just assume people will want to come to learn a space in a strict suffocating space like a school, but find new ways to encourage everyone to come learn together.

References-

Digital Promise. (2016, January 28). The library as a gateway to the 21st century skills. https://digitalpromise.org/2016/01/28/chicago-public-library-the-library-as-a-gateway-to-21st-century-skills/

Lykasov, M. (2015, August 19). Visualization. workshop [Photograph]. Behance. https://www.behance.net/gallery/28830855/Visualization-Workshop

Partridge, A. [Logan City Council]. (2018, September 3). Sensory space at Marsden library [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDp-VBYtd7g

 

 

I’ve always loved stories, particularly fantasy. In my opinion people can learn something from a story regardless of if it’s true or false, what matters is if it makes them feel something. No one will care about a story if they feel nothing or just don’t remember it.

I can say this with confidence because when I was a child they read stories to the children about lots of different things. I don’t remember exactly what they were about, but I know from participating in the reading program I got posters and stickers. They had frogs and snakes, which both scared me, but I kept them anyways. I have to assume this meant it was scientific to a regard, but I can only remember this all because the gifts I got and the positive feelings I felt. It helped shaped who I was as well as my future, especially with deciding what I wanted to do as a job.

I believe those comforting, fun, and exploratory lessons when I was a child is what made me want to become a librarian and to help other people. I want to lead my own program giving gifts to others they can treasure or at least remember as they grow up. These reading programs don’t have to just be for children, but as long as people can smile together over something I believe it can improve their lives. It can make someone more understanding or even just a little more excited to learn which is a wonderful thing. I want to encourage other people to read these stories to others in a library because if they encourage each other instead of hiding in isolated worlds I believe they can at least give each other something to smile about which is a wonderful thing.

References-

Amrita-art. (2023). Kids group learning reading study [Photograph]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/kids-group-learning-reading-study-8316102/

There are many new horizons for libraries that come in a wide variety of formats. I find it interesting that libraries are becoming creative spaces. I find it interesting that they can adapt to suit the needs of their community as a free space to become more inventive, but obviously these ideas haven’t been universally adopted. It is the right direction to take libraries, my old home town hasn’t totally adopted the maker model yet.

Realistically I believe spaces such as the creative playful zones described in many of the articles are the right direction to take the space as a community center since all others have been slowly whipped away from our communities. If they focus on creativity they can justify their own existence since people will always need to create or invent something new. If they are making something with value you can show the value inherent in these spaces since people wouldn’t be able to otherwise create these devices with free devices such as the 3d printers some libraries are providing to their patrons. This prevents more conservatively minded people from taking away funding if it merely focuses on fun, which some people wouldn’t want to fund.

Beyond that though if I were to speculate on the future possibilities in a library there are many directions they can take, besides maker spaces. I would love it if anyone could just go into a library to join a community, create something, or just to find a place of comfort, but from a learning perspective one developing technology is the AI that has come into focus recently. As Allison Papini suggested these can be used to, “find keywords on a topic to help improve your searching” however she does point out Google can do that too (2023) . I believe it goes beyond that though as this is just a starting point, as an AI can be hooked up to the resources in a library data base to suggest articles, find specific quotes and reveal the source. This can drastically speed up how research is done, because for me the hardest part of writing an article was always finding a source. I of course believe this shouldn’t be the end of research since it can create a bias as someone can neglect alternatives, but using an AI as a companion can help find counterpoints as well.

Someone must use these technologies responsibly though, especially the artificial intelligence as overly relying on a source such as that without fact checking it can create large gaps in knowledge leading to the destruction of proper understanding. Hopefully this becomes less of a problem in the future, but that just requires training instead of an over reliance on a technology as someone must know how to utilize a deceive to use it effectively which is true for any field.

References-

Geralt. (2018) Artifical Intelligence Network Programming [Photograph]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/artificial-intelligence-network-3706562/

Papini, A. (2023, January 27). Chatgpt: A library perspective. Bryant University. https://library.bryant.edu/chatgpt-library-perspective

Digital spaces are one of the most important aspects of the modern world. More jobs are moving online in one way or another, even if that just means to stay in touch for work, but as libraries modernize they must adapt to these changes and the difficulties that come with it. My first reflection focused on how libraries should move online in a social sense, but they cannot forget the importance of internet safety.

I learned from a young age you shouldn’t post too many personal details online, nothing that can easily get you tracked or put yourself in danger. That’s why I originally suggested locking a social library site to those with library cards to prevent harassment. Along side this I believe libraries have a duty to protect the data users do provide.

I agree with Anne Ford’s article that quoted the director of the Library Freedom Project as it urged librarians to negotiate with ISPs, educate patrons, and advocate for better legal standards (April 21, 2017). It’s important for us as archives, educations, and community members to protect our communities. Minority groups aren’t always safe and can be targeted if their personal information is leaked, this is a prevalent issue on the internet already. Furthermore it’s important to not simply sell away information even if it’s not putting anyone in danger because people aren’t comfortable with that.

As was noted in Brooke Auxier article, “three-quarters of Americans said they thought there should be more government regulation of what companies can do with their customers’ personal information” (May 4, 2020). There are also reports in the same article people don’t use what they don’t trust to keep them safe, which makes sense. Our communities should be safe and have the anonymity to freely discuss what they want comfortably.

That is all to say I don’t believe libraries should sell off data, instead it should be encrypted, and only used to ensure members aren’t abusing the technology available to them or others in the community. It might be difficult to achieve, but it is our duty to preserve technology and peace. This will only get more difficult with time as more things are logged, but the least libraries can do is not pawn off information people don’t want to share.

References–

Auxier, B. (2020, May 4). How Americans see digital privacy issues amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/05/04/how-americans-see-digital-privacy-issues-amid-the-covid-19-outbreak/

Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. (2016) With October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month [Photograph]. PICRYL. https://picryl.com/media/with-october-as-national-cyber-security-awareness-month-e187ff

Ford, A. (2017, April 21). How to protect patrons’ digital privacy As broadband privacy rules are rolled back, what can libraries do to respond? American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/04/21/protect-patrons-digital-privacy/

I interpreted hyperlinked libraries much more literally than it actually applies, since I thought originally it meant online connections that the library could build up. I still believe that is the most powerful way libraries can connect people as technology has progressed, which is still the purpose of hyperlinked libraries as a concept.

Anyone can go to a library that is what makes them a beloved community hub that fosters a healthy community as I wrote about in my Assignment X, however by utilizing the internet sub-communities can flourish. Originally social media such as Myspace played the major role for online developing communities however many libraries neglect these websites. The best way to progress in my opinion is a library hosting it’s own local social media platform where different groups can form to interact both online and in person.

Not everyone can go to a library whenever they want due to obligations such as work and some people are not comfortable leaving their homes so cultivating online spaces people can freely engage encourages the start of socialization which can bloom into meetings at the libraries for events such as sewing classes, book discussions, or just to play games for example. This turns libraries from a cold silent place into one with deeper bonds that won’t just disappear if someone is too busy to show up one day, while also helping those in the busy modern world feel connected in a growing era of disconnection.

The only requirement to use the website is just getting a local library card that way it doesn’t get flooded with external drama many social platforms are known for making it a safe space for all identities from ethnic background to gender expression.  There is so much that can be done so libraries must step up.

References–

Franchi, M. (2022). Microsoft x Surface [Photograph]. Behance. https://www.behance.net/gallery/87835469/Microsoft-x-Surface/modules/524948359