“Do people actually come to the library?” he said, with a sense of wonder and a tinge of amusement. “Um, yes, yes, they do,” I replied before continuing to explain the kinds of programs and services we offer. This was the scene just a few short weeks ago when I was having an ingrown toenail removed. The doctor was not just surprised but honestly amused as if having a warm memory from his childhood. He then said, “everything’s available online.” Well, not exactly, doctor, I said in my mind, trying to find some coherent way of summarizing the vitality of modern libraries. Of course, there was no time for more discourse. His job was done, “if it grows back, come back in and we’ll treat it with a special solution,” and he walked out the door chuckling to himself.
image from Pixaby
If ever there was motivation to work on my elevator speech, this would be it!
It never ceases to amaze me how vastly different libraries can be. Even in the same city, urban area, state, or country. Each one seems to have some semblance of the same mission, to make information of all kinds available to their community. Many share similar Vision Statements citing the need for robust collections of information for their users. The differences start to appear when looking at exactly what kinds of information is collected and how these mission(s) and vision(s) are implemented. That’s what it comes down to, the “what” and the “how”.
Denning (2015) addresses this very concept, suggesting LIS professionals find ways to see things anew. He quotes French novelist, Marcel Proust, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” We, LIS professionals, need to “recognize the future that is already unfolding right in front of us.” So, this helps inform the “what” we need to do, but still, the “how” remains. This is where the differences in libraries become their strengths. The “how” will depend on the users being served. As part of my Materials for Young Adults class, I recently sat in on a zoom presentation with New Hampshire Young Adult librarians, Lucia von Letkemann and Julia Lanter. They noted that at one time, they were at libraries not a 15 minutes’ drive from one another. When discussing collection development and programming for their teens, they couldn’t be more different. In fact, when they would weed their collections, they would reach out to each other as their patrons were often clamoring for the materials from the other library. Knowing our communities is the first step to discovering the future that is already here.
As the person who is the one not only coming up with ideas but executing them, hopefully successfully, it is hard for me to look at things from a more philosophical perspective. I’m down in the trees, following my nose, doing what needs to be done day to day. Classes like this one encourage us to look at the big picture, discuss theories, point at great models and maybe at failures as well. We’re examining the forest, while yet stuck in the trees.
For clarity, we can look to visionaries such as our professor, Michael Stephens, who encourages shifting our view of library resources to include the people we serve, not just the technologies that serve them. Making the information center not just a place to consume information, but one where people can collaborate and create. (Stephens, 2019). Often we look to fill needs and serve the disenfranchised, but the “have-nots” can benefit by a more inclusive and inter-participatory library model that services the “haves” as well. (Mattern, 2014). Reflecting a community’s character back to itself, will clarify its identity, especially if it is a well-designed and contextually-designed library. (Mattern, 2014).
Resources:
Denning, S. (n.d.). Do We Need Libraries? Forbes. Retrieved June 15, 2025, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/04/28/do-we-need-libraries/
HeartofLibrarianship.pdf. (n.d.). Dropbox. Retrieved June 15, 2025, from https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/26cn6o86m5i0vcpcznebf/HeartofLibrarianship.pdf?dl=0&rlkey=ozp68co4gmafmfvcu2tv4ec7p
Mattern, S. (2014). Library as Infrastructure. Places Journal. https://doi.org/10.22269/140609