Information centers have had a shift from individual, linear research to being environments where collaboration, creation, and open-ended information searches are welcomed and encouraged. Academic institutions are no exception to this trend. Libraries at universities are necessary to guide students in their curiosity and open-ended exploration of topics they find interesting.

With the goal of being an academic librarian, there are a few things I would like to implement into my future career. I want to encourage students to explore research topics that interest them and consult a variety of sources. Direct reference questions are on the decline while complex, interpersonal questions have increased; this is cause for academic librarians to shift the mindset on how they guide students in conducting research (Mathews, 2015). We need to encourage student curiosity by designing research projects that allow students to explore their own interests without becoming overwhelmed by the possibilities.

Even if students have something they really want to interest, they may face challenges that we have to guide them through. For one, the options for what to research might seem overwhelming. This could result in students not selecting a plausible research topic; perhaps it’s too specific, too broad, or there is not enough scholarly research to do a research project on it. Further, the hyperlinked environment of viable scholarly sources is vast; students may not know where to look for sources or what sources to look for.

Here are a few resources with information on how information professionals can help students to overcome these challenges to find interesting and relevant research topics.

Sparking curiosity – Anne-Marie Deitering and Hannah Gascho Rempel talk about strategies they have implemented at OSU to encourage students to embrace curiosity and promote open-minded, exploratory research. Creating guided activities for students to practice their research skills was helpful for getting students comfortable with research. They also guided students in taking their interests and developing them into appropriate research topics. They found that when students could discover topics they already had interest in, they were more intrinsically motivated do their assignments.

Designing curiosity– Peter Carney talks about the need for students to utilize their curiosity in the age of information overload. He cites research that explains we remember what we think about, not what we are taught. We can One interesting thing that he mentioned is that we cannot suppress teacher curiosity. Teachers should be empowered to create their own teaching methods. This sentiment can be transferred to information professionals. I have had the idea that when I am an academic librarians, I will have students play The Wiki Game. The rules are to get from one Wikipedia page to another through hyperlinks. I thought this would be a fun and creative way to show the interconnectedness of the topics we research and the Internet as a whole.

How to create an effective LibGuide – LibGuides are an excellent tool for information professionals to create a manageable hyperlinked environment for students to determine research topics. We can link databases, have a section on how to conduct an effective search, and add inspiration for searches that may interest students.

How to use Wikipedia in a smart way – Though Wikipedia should not be used as a primary source, it can be used as an exploratory resource. This LibGuide can be shown to students guide them in exploring their interests.

References

Deitering, A-M., & Rempel H. G. (2017, February 22). Sparking Curiosity – Librarians’ Role in Encouraging Exploration. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2017/sparking-curiosity/

Diao, J. (2023, June 1). How To Use Wikipedia in a Smart Way. York College. https://libguides.york.cuny.edu/Wikipedia

Eby, L. (2025, June 18). LibGuides How-To Guide. SJSU. https://library.sjsu.edu/how-to

Mathews, B. (2015, May 27). The Evolving & Expanding Service Landscape Across Academic Libraries. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/blognetwork/theubiquitouslibrarian/2015/05/27/the-evolving-expanding-service-landscape-across-academic-libraries/

TedX Talks. (2015, December 1). Designing Curiosity | Peter Carney | TEDxJacksonville [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8nnyjvaYVM&t=105s

Libraries are a space where people can safely exist and find the resources they need to increase their wellbeing. This can be achieved through emphasis on community partnerships. We need to lead with a mindset of community wellbeing, even if it may be challenging or uncomfortable.

Our current political landscape can make it difficult for people to exist safely. There are folks are ostracized directly and indirectly. They face the threat of having their speech suppressed and being treated hatefully. It is vital that the library is a space where all members of a community feel safe. Public libraries in Australia serve as a prime example of what a library should be; they should be a space where patrons of all backgrounds can come to learn skills, gain and share information, actively participate in conversation, and feel a sense of togetherness without bias or judgement (Hasan, 2022).

Libraries are a safe space because they provide resources for the community to address aspects of their health. The Victoria Library System’s Libraries for Health and Wellbeing framework and its accompanying toolkit lay out ways for libraries to serve the public’s physical health, mental wellbeing, and social connection. All of these aspects contribute to the community’s health and wellbeing as a whole. The toolkit delves into how libraries can connect with community partners. It a necessity for libraries is to reach out to community partners for collaboration as this is how the ties of the community are strengthened. Senior centers, schools, community education, local businesses, and career resources are a few examples.

The Plfugerville Library collaborates with businesses in the area to put on a teen job fair. Photo courtesy of Austin American-Statesman.

The challenge I see when making changes to foster a space where communities feel safe is the hesitation to make change in spaces. The action of actually changing something and the mindset shift that comes with change are no small feats. We have to be comfortable with this discomfort. We should never do anything that makes the library staff unsafe seeing as the library must be a safe place for them as well; however, we must recognize the difference between being unsafe and feeling uncomfortable. When we switch around our furniture to make our space more accessible or put in the effort to make the connection with a community partner, it can be easy to get annoyed at doing extra work. However, we need to have shift to an empathetic mindset. Michael Stephens has the idea that we need to bring our hearts to work to ensure our service is rooted in humanism, compassion, and understanding as these are the things that make a community (Garcia-Febo, 2018). Taking the extra time to make and keep libraries safe is a necessity for the betterment and wellbeing of the community.

References

Garcia-Febo, L. (2018). Serving with love: Embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/11/01/serving-with-love/

Hasan, T.N. (2022). ‘Free, non-judgemental, accessible’: How your local library is a sanctuary of health and wellness. SBS. https://www.sbs.com.au/language/bangla/en/article/free-nonjudgmental-and-accessible-how-your-local-library-is-a-sanctuary-of-health-and-wellness/t15blzsi9

State Library Victoria, Public Libraries Victoria. (2024). Libraries for Health and Wellbeing. https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/LFHAWB-vFIN-web_0.pdf

State Library Victoria, Public Libraries Victoria. (2024). Libraries for Health and Wellbeing Toolkit. https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/LFHAWB-PT-FIN-web.pdf

@lindsaymahowald

The first concept that resonated with me was during the module 3 lecture when I heard the words “hyperlinks are people too” (n.d., 37:24). Libraries were once a place for individual research, but they have evolved into a place of learning through collaboration, connection, and community. This idea began to blossom for me during module four when I was introduced to the idea of libraries as a necessary piece of social infrastructure. Social infrastructure is both the physical spaces and services that serve as the foundation for a community’s social health. Eric Klinenberg says that “when social infrastructure is robust, it fosters all kinds of social interactions, helps build relationships, and turns community from a vague, fuzzy concept into a lived experience” (2018). I think of the idea of libraries as social infrastructure as twofold. On the one hand, libraries are free and unbiased physical spaces where people can gain and share ideas. On the other, libraries should be collaborating with community partners to implement social programs that benefit library users.

Mesa County Libraries in Fruita, Colorado hosted a panel discussion with local activists to participate in dialogue and answer questions. Photo courtesy of Knology.

Libraries are a vital physical space for communities to collaborate and create. Though people still utilize the library as spaces for solitary research, they are more often viewed as community centers. Libraries are one of the only free spaces for people to gather (O’Brien, 2019). Free spaces are truly accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status. In addition to being free, they are unbiased. Many free spaces are part of organizations that have agendas; even if a user agrees with the agenda, they are often still biased. Libraries aim to create a space where people can come together to respectfully discuss different ideas and opinions. An obstacle that can stand in the way of libraries being an effective public space is the limitations of utilizing what is available. Building new rooms is not a cost efficient or plausible option for many libraries, to say nothing of the disruption that construction projects cause. What is the best way to utilize existing spaces to promote connections? Each library space and patron base is unique, so there is no one way to organize a space; perhaps though, there is a strategy or guidelines that each unique library can utilize.

Darien Library puts on an intergenerational program where they collaborate with the local senior center. Older adults read to young children. Photo by Claire Moore.

The services the library provides should be diverse and all encompassing of the patronage it serves. Through my MLIS career and current position as a library assistant, it has always been instilled in me to advocate for marginalized communities by ensuring they are served and represented. However, it is important to serve all other patron groups in the library as well. Libraries are social infrastructure that both serves and needs the participation of all community members from marginalized groups to the otherwise enfranchised (Mattern, 2014). This idea does face the challenge that libraries often have a limited amount of resources; therefore, they cannot put on programs and display materials that represent every single intersection of every single person. I believe the notion that hyperlinks are people can help with this. Instead of finding a material that represents the complexities of each identity, we can find materials that encompass the identities of as many folks as possible and emphasize our connections. We can provide programs for specific groups as well as intersectional programs that encourage community.

References

Klinenberg, E. (2018, Sepetember 11). How ‘Social Infracstructure’ Can Knit America Together. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-11/our-libraries-and-schools-are-vital-social-infrastructure

Mattern, S. (2014). Library as Infrastructure, Places Journal. https://doi.org/10.22269/140609

O’Brien, C. (2019, June 24). How San Fancisco’s public libraries nare embracing their changing role. Shareable. https://www.shareable.net/how-san-francisco-public-libraries-are-embracing-their-changing-role/

Stephens, M. (n.d.) “Historic” Hyperlinked Library Model [Video]. Panopto. https://sjsu-ischool.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=a0569381-4d66-4e0a-a7fa-aab3010a8f3e

@lindsaymahowald

Greetings all! My name is Lindsay and I am looking forward to learning and collaborating. I live in Minnesota and work as a Library Assistant in a public library branch outside of the Twin Cities. I have been in the MLIS program since Fall 2023 and I plan to graduate in Fall 2025. I have learned so much through the program, one of the biggest things being that I would like to go into academic librarianship. Being fully transparent, I took this class because I read the syllabus from previous semesters and the course description stuck with me. I am interested in the things that connect us as humans, so I thought this class would be up my alley!

I live with my partner John and our dog Franklin. In my free time I enjoy playing my Switch (currently playing Pokemon: Legends Arceus) and reading (my favorite author is Emily Austin, if you would enjoy sapphic literary fiction with a humorous tone I would highly recommend reading her works). I recently took up bird watching which I am enjoying. As if working, classes, and my current hobbies weren’t enough, I am also currently in a community theatre production of Hairspray that will go on stage in mid July.

I am looking forward to learning with you all!