Libraries are more than books. In San Francisco, SFPL cardholders can receive access to free passes to local museums, family and genealogy research, and career assistance, among other resources (Ferrell, 2022). Malls and coffee shops encourage purchasing for patrons to stay while museums may look down on people who are just trying to search for a place when they have nowhere else to go, and in modern-day America, libraries can be described as one of few remaining public, open spaces that require nothing from the visitors (Howard, n.d.). Somehow, public libraries have ended up on the country’s front lines of various hot-button issues, ranging from book bans to assisting with local unhoused people (Kingson, 2024). From my personal experience working at a public library, library staff are always eager to help even if they’re not always fully equipped or supported to handle every single issue that comes their way.

Recently, there has been a resurgence in younger people and public library usage; in fact, “Gen Z and millennials make up the largest cohort of library users across the United States” (Fox-Sowell, 2024). This helps combat the myth that libraries are losing popularity. Interestingly, there is a downside to this sudden boom, and library visits becoming a trend of sorts. Younger folks may end up romanticizing libraries which can be detrimental when there is plenty of room for improvement within the library field; for example, libraries are in dire need of support from legislation that veers closely toward censorship (Demopoulos, 2024).

As previously noted, there is keen interest in public libraries, particularly as multifaceted spaces open to a broad spectrum of the population. The pressing question is, can librarians channel this enthusiasm and use a trend to cultivate lasting, tangible support? In Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service, Casey and Savastinuk (2007) highlight the importance of “customer involvement in the creation and evaluation of programs and services” (p. 17). Social media is a great tool for libraries to implement, providing patrons a space to voice concerns and give input.

There was an interesting blog post that @michael shared in one of the readings from Tame The Web written a few years after the publication of Library 2.0. In that post, Casey (2011) pointed out that a good chunk of library social media activity is one-sided, acting more as an announcement board. He raises important questions, and this notion hasn’t changed even today, as I can see with my local public library system in Santa Clarita, where social media is primarily a marketing tool, instead of a conversational one. It doesn’t help that there isn’t a designated social media team, with work delegated to various staff members or handled by the city’s social media team, who quite frankly, aren’t as plugged into the library’s inner workings. How are we supposed to know what patrons truly want? How are they supposed to know how they can help us? Having a higher level of interaction will also lead patrons to become more invested when public libraries come across hurdles such as budget cuts or legislative battles and in these critical conditions, every bit of help counts (Casey, 2011).

A good way to reach out to community members is by implementing surveys, such as seen within the LAPL system, where they ask patrons how they want the library to look in the future (Mack, 2013). Community engagement is a strong tool, particularly via social media, and should be something libraries continue to explore more deeply in the future. Particularly when with this recent surge of public interest that can be further maximized for long-term goals.

References: 

Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2007). Library 2.0: A guide to participatory library service. 

Casey, M. E. (2011, October 20). Revisiting participatory service in trying times – a TTW guest post by Michael Casey. Tame The Web. https://tametheweb.com/2011/10/20/revisiting-participatory-service-in-trying-times-a-ttw-guest-post-by-michael-casey/ 

Demopoulos, A. (2024, January 26). Books and looks: gen Z is ‘rediscovering’ the public library. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/26/books-and-looks-gen-z-is-rediscovering-the-public-library 

Ferrell, J. (2022, September 15). 13 awesome free things you can do with an SF public library card. Secret San Francisco. https://secretsanfrancisco.com/sf-public-library-card/

Fox-Sowell, S. (2024, March 12). Public libraries are alive and well, thanks to gen z, millennials and the shift to digital collections. StateScoop. https://statescoop.com/public-libraries-alive-well-gen-z-millennials-digital-collections/ 

Howard, J. (n.d.). The complicated role of the modern public library. National Endowment For The Humanities. https://www.neh.gov/article/complicated-role-modern-public-library

Kingson, J. A. (2024, February 18). Libraries are on the front lines of America’s problems. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2024/02/18/libraries-ebooks-hoopla-libby-book-ban-censorship

Mack, C. (2013, February 17). Crowdsourced design: why Los Angeles is asking the public to create the library of the future. Good. https://www.good.is/articles/crowdsourced-design-why-los-angeles-is-asking-the-public-to-create-the-library-of-the-future