For Project X, an aspect of the hyperlinked model that stood out to me is that libraries can be “transformational for those who use them” (Stephens, n.d.). Although this isn’t specifically part of the structure of the hyperlinked library (it was an observation from the OCLC’s 2018 funding report), it is an outstanding feature that can combat the challenges that libraries face on a consistent basis. Stephens notes the importance of the library as a safe and comfortable space and what it brings to social movements. This also invites us to consider the significance of sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s concept of the “Third Place.” It is essential to have a place away from work and home where one can connect to self-identity and the community (Leferink, 2018). Of course, there are other places that serve the same purpose, such as coffee shops, restaurants, and parks. In her impassioned defense of public libraries, the author Zadie Smith succinctly gets to the heart of the library’s appeal: “well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay” (2012). However, all libraries have opportunities to be more than just that: they can be beautiful community spaces while still meeting users’ needs and defying the traditional views of what a library “should be.”
Advocates for the library often find themselves defending the right to exist as physical spaces within a highly digital world. In an era during which most of our interactions and transactions occur online, it doesn’t seem too farfetched to question if people really need and want libraries anymore (Denning, 2015). And yet, it is not the technology that stands as a barrier to using the library more, but how people use technology to improve their lives and engage with one another and if those same features can work in the same world as library services. People still want the library, but they want to access it in a way that is convenient and modern. We live in a world in which information is everywhere and competing for our attention and time. The library is no different, but its engagement with users and non-users alike keep it connected with the community it serves. Some of the best social media posts I’ve seen on Instagram actively encourage people to come out to various library branches and check it out for themselves.
There is a library branch that I step in very infrequently, as it is not near my home and I have to cross a treacherous intersection to reach it, but when I do, I never regret it. During the past two springs, my daughter’s weekly softball practices took place at a field just a block away, and to kill time, I would often stop by the Merced Branch on the west side of San Francisco. What an utter joy it is to be in this library; the atmosphere is amazing, and I have no other way to describe it. There are no hushed voices as the librarians and staff engage in spirited conversation at regular pitched volume. Teenagers sit at fold-out tables near the entrance for study groups. I can hear children playing in their area while older patrons sit at the other end of the library, reading magazines and newspapers. The environment imbues a sense of community just by the diversity of the people actively using the space. Keep in mind that this is a compact library, so there is not a lot of room to work with. But small details make a difference. Trees and foliage line the perimeter of the building, and windows fully fold out on the rare warm days, so even gazing out the window while inside makes one’s experience contemplative and peaceful. A small courtyard also abuts the side of the building for studying or reading outside. While I cannot profess to know all the ins and outs of running a library branch, seeing and experiencing a vastly different atmosphere in contrast to a handful of other sites within the same side of the city has me convinced that the branch librarian most likely sets the tone and creates the culture for this community space.
Stephens heartily extols the rare “loud spaces in libraries that might be full of collaboration and conversation” (p. 6, 2019). Radical trust in humanity, making mistakes, and the simple act of trying something new can be the keys to changing the format of traditional libraries. Libraries hold special significance to every patron, but for a myriad of different reasons. How can the library be everything to everyone at the same time? More importantly, how can every user “feel included in a community, backed by a support network that addresses their unique needs” without alienating others? (Mathews et al.). Keeping in constant contact with communities matter; people and their needs matter. Kenney notes, “it’s difficult to genuinely meet people where they are,” and although libraries generally try to anticipate patrons’ needs in advance, listening to and conversing with patrons will pave the way for a better library in the future (2014).
I’ve included an Instagram link below for a user’s quick tour of SFPL’s Merced Branch Library. This person decided to visit each of the city’s neighborhood branches. Enjoy!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSNnJr6D2qZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
References
Denning, S. (2015, April 28). Do we need libraries? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/04/28/do-we-need-libraries/?utm_campaign=ForbesTech&utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_channel=Technology&linkId=13831539
Kenney, B. (2014, January 27). The user is (still) not broken. Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/60780-the-user-is-still-not-broken.html
Leferink, S. (2018, January 24). To keep people happy…keep some books. Next. https://blog.oclc.org/next/to-keep-people-happy-keep-some-books/
Mathews, B. et al. (2018, May 7). Empowerment, experimentation, engagement: Embracing partnership models in libraries. Educause Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/5/empowerment-experimentation-engagement-embracing-partnership-models-in-libraries
Smith, Z. (2012, June 2). The North West London blues. The New York Review of Books. https://www.nybooks.com/online/2012/06/02/north-west-london-blues/
Stephens, M. (n.d.). “Historic” Hyperlinked Library Model. [Lecture]. https://sjsu-ischool.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=a0569381-4d66-4e0a-a7fa-aab3010a8f3e
Stephens, M. (2019). Chapter 1: Past is prologue. Wholehearted Librarianship: Finding Hope, Inspiration, and Balance. ALA Editions.
Tayler [@taylesofthecity]. (2025, December 13). Visiting every SFPL branch – Merced. [Video] Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSNnJr6D2qZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==