Compassionate Librarianship: Dignity and Inclusion
I’ve been reflecting on this assignment as we’ve been doing our readings and completing our modules. For me the thing that truly stands out in my mind, and is reflected in my memories from childhood, is the importance of making people feel included and dignified in the library space, whatever form that might take.
I’ll explain further. One of my most enduring memories from childhood is the scramble at the end of the year to get yearbooks and pay back library fees. This being school libraries the fees generally weren’t exorbitant amounts(unless a student lost or damaged a book beyond saving). Still, it was part of the closing events of every school year. The reason I think this stuck with me so much is the way it highlighted students who could not afford the fees or who were in circumstances that made borrowing books from the library harder for them to manage.
Though I don’t remember the exact reactions of my classmates I do remember how it made their personal business and financial/home lives very public and I’m quite sure it was humiliating. These students were often reluctant to use the library unless class required it, and I distinctly remember this as a thread reaching from elementary school all the way up through high school when I used to assist in the library for open period.
I feel strongly that a library should be a space people feel excited to visit. Certainly nobody should dread the experience or worry about what it will do to their social standing in society. Doing away with late fees is a huge first step in making that a reality, I believe. Monetary concerns are often the first level of gatekeeping in information institutions, taking on many forms but late fees are a huge and universal one. In The Last Taboo: Abolishing Library Fines (2009) Daniel Sifton explains that fines have a huge impact on how people perceive the library- often one most of us do not want to foster in the community. Sifton states,
“Rather than talking about “getting” patrons as though they were villains or bandits, we should reframe the conversation and focus on why they are not coming into the library.
Surely the presence of fines plays a role in this. Not all fines stories invoke hysteria but it is surprisingly easy to find tales of families being denied mortgages, facing arraignments (Siegler), or even prison sentences (“Serious About Overdues”30), all stemming from overdue library books. The fact that we tend to laugh at them only highlights how outrageous they are.
These examples, although extreme, detract from the image of the library. Here the shushing librarian becomes an enforcer, a new taxman or bad cop to be feared.”
They seem like such little things, but fines and fees are capable of swiftly undoing all the goodwill, trust, and comfort librarians often work so hard to establish in their communities.
Another step in the right direction is to provide other services that help build community and a sense of belonging/familiarity. My local branch has a seed library and while that’s not particularly unique I’ve noticed and uptick in patrons since the seed library began. It’s a way for people who don’t typically think about the library as a resource to realize there is more to a library than simply borrowing books, as much as many of us may enjoy that. I’ve even seen patrons teaching each other about the seed catalogue, which makes me extremely happy. There are those tendrils of community beginning to grow thanks to a subject that is more relaxed and familiar to many people than a library might be on its own. While I and many of my peers might feel comfortable in a library, for many folks they can conjure images of stuffy outdated spaces where you’re expected to be very academic and buttoned up. That’s not what we want, and seed libraries are a great way to introduce people to what we’re really all about
For a previous class I used my local seed library as inspiration for a mock poster. I didn’t stray from the text on the library’s website to keep it as true to their vision as possible, but it was nice to create a more soft and friendly image that I hope would catch the eye of someone going about their day. This is the feeling I want other to experience at the library.
Like many of my peers and professionals in the field I’ve seen the need for programs specifically geared at teens. We have plenty of events and programs for children and older folks, but for some reasons teens seem to get left out of the conversation, possibly because there is the assumption that they would have little interest anyway- or the common complaint that they are loud and disruptive.
Personally, I feel the right response to this is to create a place where teens can practice communication and engage their minds where they will not be made to feel like burdens or somehow less-than. Michael Casey explains it well in Embracing Services to Teens (2008) during a conversation with Michael Stephens, “…teens will be teens-they need to talk and socialize-so don’t expect a library with a lot of teens to be quiet. Carving out a teen area is great, if you have the room. If not, try to find an area that can be kept relatively quiet and offer it to those users who need a sanctuary.
Issues with teens are often larger community challenges. Kids need interesting and safe things to do. The entire community should be a part of the solution.”
And this right here is where we start. Creating programs and a safe space for teens to spend their time, be that busy with projects or just spending time in a space that is not hostile. Each library will of course be limited by space or funds or whatever other challenges they have to work around, but something as simple as a movie night or sleep over at the library can make a world of difference in inviting teens to become part of the library community. Art is another very simple yet accessible pastime that libraries can provide for teens. Journaling, drawing, teen book clubs, many more things that don’t require the same level of investment that something like a gaming system might. I think in today’s techy world there is the expectation that all teens require state-of-the-art technology to be entertained, and we need to work beyond that to see teens and people, not stereotypes. A gaming system might be fun, but they become obsolete at a ridiculously fast pace. Pens and paper aren’t going anywhere. Conversation isn’t going anywhere. I think scaling back to basics a bit and focusing on creating a comfortable environment is the first step. We can do that for our teens the same way we do it for any other demographic we serve.
References:
SACLib. (n.d.). Sacramento Public Library – seed libraries: Grow a local garden. Sacramento Public Library- Books are just the Beginning. https://www.saclibrary.org/Books-Media/Specialty-Checkouts/Seed-Libraries-en
Sifton, D. J. (2009). The last taboo: Abolishing library fines. Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.21083/partnership.v4i1.935
Stephens, M. (2008, May 15). Embracing service to teens. Tame the Web. https://tametheweb.com/2008/05/15/embracing-service-to-teens/