Author: Sam Diaz

Oftentimes school libraries are simply viewed as a space for students to explore new books, utilize school computers, and a time for quiet learning. Though all of these things are true a school library is and can be so much more for students, teachers, and parents/guardians. Libraries within a school can be a third space for students to explore their learning outside of a structured classroom and choose their own area of interest. This can be done through various outlets and options. Hyperlinked libraries in school could be one way to allow students untraditional access to their library.

A question that seems to come up for me when thinking of hyperlinked school libraries is how to best serve students with this model. Henry Jenkins’ shares that participatory culture, in which communities produce and share their own media based on their interests, should be brought into education. This idea empowers students to make and challenge their own ideas through media and technology and select what they feel is important to their learning. If done correctly this new perspective on education can let students feel a part of their education rather than just being taught at. So how can this come to play in libraries? School libraries can support participatory learning through unstructured activities, makerspaces, media literacy courses, and more! In her article, Buffy J. Hamilton expresses her interest in makerspaces and affinity groups in libraries and the benefits of these programs for participatory learning. Makerspaces can contribute to students’ and teachers’ experience by providing new opportunities for learning and engagement, focusing on individual and group interests, and encouraging connection between home, school, and community. All of these aspects can allow students to dig deeper in their learning and make connections to what interests them. This shift in education will greatly benefit students and parents and libraries can play a crucial role in providing tools and spaces for new experiences. 

I hope to someday work in a school library and feel that participatory learning could be great for engaging students in non-traditional ways. If we can adjust our approach to better serve students by engaging in their own interests they may feel more empowered to utilize the library for more than project research and reading. Offering students a space that feels specially designed for them and their communities where they can contribute will allow for a greater hyperlinked library.

While exploring Hyperlinked Communities I came to the conclusion that they cannot function well without a thriving community where its members feel heard and represented authentically. A space cannot expect to be connected to its people unless they have a genuine understanding of them and their needs. In order to do this services such as libraries must engage with their members regularly asking for their input, interests, and challenges. These communities also need to feel they can trust these systems to have their best interest at heart. A library that exemplifies this model is the Multnomah County Library in Portland Oregon who strives to give all members of its community a voice through representation, equity, and inclusion. The staff within this library acknowledge that their city is populated with majority white people and they also strongly value sharing and uplifting the people of color within their community. The library staff also share that diversity is often not enough without equity and inclusion and can lead to further excluding groups of people. This stuck out to me because at times we so quickly turn to diversity as the answer without understanding that equity and inclusion are also vital to the whole picture of servicing communities. 

So how do we implement equity and inclusion into our work? It seems there is not a one size fits all approach to this topic as every culture, community, and person has its own unique set of wants, needs, and challenges. I believe that the first step is to embrace how different we all are and acknowledge that systems are often built without equity and inclusion in mind. The next step is to get to know who you are serving and ensure that they are being represented in a way that they feel comfortable and included. These components are necessary to continue building trust with patrons so that they feel welcomed and want to come back to these spaces. 

I feel that without equity, inclusion, and diversity communities would never build to becoming hyperlinked as there would be much disconnect between professionals serving individuals and the individuals seeking services. The priority of the library should always be to meet the needs of those they serve which requires embracing different and similar needs. As Loida Garcia-Febo shares in her article “librarians must continue to move forward to embed humanity, compassion, empathy, awareness, and understanding into our library services nationwide”. Information professionals will always face challenges and oftentimes become champions of change and understanding for their hyperlinked community.