Infinite Learning at the Library

Years ago, a tenant of high school education was “home ec” and “shop.” Typically, girls were assigned Home Ec and boys went to shop, but not exclusively. These programs fell-out of popularity, focusing students on academic subjects over the practical instruction that helped us live life.

Admittedly, despite conquering the beginnings of Calculus in high school, the most useful math I use daily is a ratio: it helps me convert recipes, and figure out %-discounts on purchases. While Calculus was a mind-bending (and growing!) academic experience and exercise, it proved useless for living my life—other than expanding my mind, which is arguably the reason I can have “more reason” in my life.

Libraries have invested in all sorts of classes, allowing anyone from the community to attend a session on anything that peaks their interest. Maybe a child wants to learn how to stack bubbles. A teen wants to learn the complexities of technology. An adult is searching for genealogy and needs to know where to start. Cooking classes are a perfect example: Goffstone Public Library has brought practical lessons of how to make pizza. What could be more practical than learning to feed yourself? It’s something we each aim to do daily. Learning the steps for one recipe eventually translates to another, and sooner than later the mystique of how to handle yourself in the kitchen are wrangled and a life skill is established.

Libraries have become the “community help center.” (Kenney) Mini-universities in and of themselves. They are community learning connectors (Stephens) where people can expand their knowledge and that which is available, to something that defies the limitations of what is known: as people, we continue to explore and expand our knowledge through connection. We connect dots: making pizza leads to making pasta, burritos, filet mignon… until you have fed your family, or become a top chef. It begins with a basic “shop” class on “how to.” This is where the library of now shines.

Teaching and assisting with digital skills have been the most important expansion for libraries. Older adults in particular have a knowledge-gap in the digital world. It has become ubiquitous to have basic skills in digital literacies. Buying an airline ticket, making a doctor’s appointment, texting and email, handling household bills or applying for jobs are all simple examples of basic daily tasks that have moved online. As digital skills coaches (Digital Promise,) librarians have become the “home ec” teachers of today. Managing a household has become reliant on digital skills. Raising kids has also become deeply enmeshed in digital know-how, so parents need to brush-up. Libraries that provide digital learning courses are the coaches and teachers of today’s most livable skills classes.

Breeding, M. (2019). Public Libraries are Teaming Up to Prepare Middle Schoolers for 21st Century Careers. https://librarytechnology.org/pr/24146

Digital Promise. (2016). Chicago Public Library: The Library as a Gateway to 21st Century Skills. Digital Promise. https://digitalpromise.org/2016/01/28/chicago-public-library-the-library-as-a-gateway-to-21st-century-skills/

Goffstone Public Library. (2020, May 5). Life skills: Cooking basics for teens- Pizza making.

. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf6N_Be7kaI&t=18s

Kenney, B. (2015). Where Reference Fits in the Modern Library. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7nmpo0n5k5cn7x4nrfs1u/Where-Reference-Fits-in-the-Modern-Library.pdf?rlkey=5ifp67t3sl7jhazw2mmhe78ew&e=1&dl=0

Stephens, M. (2014). YLibrary: …Infinite learning. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4zt1yliwb2ffzr8euix2p/YLibraryInfiniteLearning.pdf?rlkey=m0v6lkd43ufilkp5aktawhlpr&e=1&dl=0

Stephens, M. (2014). Making The Case for the Library as a Space for Infinite learning. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4zt1yliwb2ffzr8euix2p/YLibraryInfiniteLearning.pdf?rlkey=m0v6lkd43ufilkp5aktawhlpr&e=1&dl=0

Stephens, M. (2016). LibraryEmoji. https://287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/LibraryEmoji.pdf

Park, Y. (2016). 8 digital skills we must teach our children. Medium. https://medium.com/world-economic-forum/8-digital-skills-we-must-teach-our-children-f37853d7221e#.789qtaw64