Making Shhh Happen

If I hadn’t already submitted my symposium presentation, I would have added a bit about reflective practice. So much of the lecture and readings slotted in and made sense. I saw the recurring value of “owning it,” and it really resonates with me. There’s so much that we do daily that sometimes it is easy to miss something or make a mistake. Owning the work that we do, or don’t do, adds that level of accountability that I think all fields need. Also, the idea of owning it can also lead into feeling personal pride in your work. If you take control of the work that you do for the community, you get so much more out of it than if you treated it as another responsibility.

Another thing I took away from the lecture is being compassionate. I think that being compassionate not only helps you do your job, but also helps you build relationships with others in your work, community, and life (which can also help you do your job!). Additionally, being compassionate and building relationships with others will better help you serve your surrounding communities. Instead of reading reports and data, hearing the opinions from the community and understanding where they are coming from will let you better address their needs. There is a reason why surveys always include a textbox where people can add in their own thoughts. That kind of information is invaluable.

I chose to do a 3-2-1 Course Takeaways presentation. Please find it at here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14dL4P1vxggTH-01dkOYRc2CnGdDluKaW/view?usp=share_link

Objective

Examine the facilities and operations of the Oodi Helsinki City Library in Finland and identify key participatory services.

Executive Summary

This report will review the Oodi Helsinki City Library in Finland. This paper will break down the participatory services the Oodi Library provides by floor. The third floor of the library is comprised of a café, the library’s physical collection, a children’s area, and an observation deck. The second floor of the library is known as the Urban Workshop which houses studios, game rooms, urban workshops, work and meeting rooms, and group work facilities. The first floor is home to the Kino Regina cinema, another café, a multipurpose hall, and other pop-up stalls. Each floors’ offerings carefully consider the community’s needs. The Oodi Library is an exemplary model of the modern library.

Introduction

Libraries have existed for as long as there has been the written word. Though they originally served as archives, throughout the ages their purpose has evolved based on the needs of society. Today, modern libraries are more than repositories of knowledge in the form of books and other ephemera; they are also gateways of access and centers of community. Each library can customize their collection, facilities, and other offerings to cater to the communities they serve. However, regardless of location the most successful libraries seek to listen, support, communicate, and serve together with their community.

The Helsinki City Library in Helsinki, Finland has 37 branches. Of the 37 branches, the newest addition is the Oodi Library located in the heart of Helsinki at Kansalaistori Square. From its conception, the Oodi Library was meant to engage the community; the library is an “ode” to the “educational zeal and digital skills of Nordic society” (Meyer, 2018). The building was completed in 2018 and has since become a bastion of learning and culture. Their website describes the library as a “living meeting space” that provides its users with “knowledge, new skills and stories, and is an easy place to access for learning, story immersion, work and relaxation” (“What is Oodi,” 2023). Additionally, its location further supports its vision as it “complements the cultural and media hub formed by the Helsinki Music Centre, Finlandia Hall, Sanoma House and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma” (“What is Oodi,” 2023).

Body

The Oodi Library has three floors, each with their own distinct purpose. Starting from the top, the third floor is aptly named “Book Heaven,” as it contains the library’s physical collection of 100,000 books and periodicals. This floor most resembles the classic library model of reading spaces and material available for circulation. However, even this floor has features not found in the traditional libraries. This floor also includes a café, a play area, and a view of the Square from the Citizen’s Balcony.

While it may seem like a small thing, having a café is indicative of the trend to make libraries more inviting. Libraries have the reputation of being cold, quiet places that forbid any kind of disruptive noise or action (Spars, 2019). A café is a place that allows for conversation and collaboration while still granting a space and amenities for reading, learning, studying, and other similar activities. The addition of a café is something that is becoming more commonplace with libraries as it gives patrons a convenient location to refuel before continuing to use library resources. Alternatively, groups that need library resources, but are unable to secure a meeting or study room can use the café as a meeting space. Newer libraries like the Oodi Library and the Newport Beach Library in Newport Beach, California were able to include a café in the build plans, but older libraries like National Library of Finland or Doe Memorial Library in Berkeley, California do not have this addition. Some libraries, like the Roskilde Library in Denmark and the British Library in the United Kingdom, have had the opportunity to make renovations to their original builds and add facilities like a café (or even more than one) to meet community desires.

Similarly, having a play area is another small thing that shows the library was built with the community in mind. A play area makes the space welcoming to anyone with young children. When the Oodi Library first opened in 2018, the play area was located on the first floor, but in 2019 it was moved to the third floor. This move was made for several reasons. It allowed the library to place the play area closer to other services meant for children and families (i.e., the children’s section and story room) as well as increase the amount of pram parking. Additionally, one of the more practical reasons was that the third floor would be a “warmer and cosier space for the littlest customers” (“Playground Loru,” 2019). Having a play area and a children’s area in a library is essential to creating a positive relationship with citizens even when they are young and before they are able to really utilize the other library resources on their own.

The second floor is called the Urban Workshop. This floor is where the library highlights that it considered the needs of the community. The second floor is dedicated to “work, learning by doing, interaction and sharing time with others” (“Floors,” 2023). This floor is filled with meeting spaces, study rooms, equipment, and more. This is inline with the global trend of participation in collaborations, networks, partnerships, [and] social networks” (Murphy, 2022).

While it is not uncommon for a library to have music in the form of CDs or online recordings, sometimes even rarer vinyl, for circulation, Oodi Library takes it a step further and has instruments and recording studios available for patrons. People can go to the library and book time out to learn how to play an instrument on their own. This service makes music more accessible to everyone, even those that cannot afford an instrument or music lessons.

Additionally, this floor houses equipment like 3D-printers, laser cutters, audiovisual equipment, and sewing machines to encourage exploration and creativity. While study and meeting rooms are not new, the variety of spaces is fairly new to the industry. A 2012 article from the Tennessee Library Association highlights how the addition of makerspaces allow library patrons access technologies unavailable to them and explore the sciences further (Ratledge, 2012). The availability of technology, facilities, and learning programs for the technology are often linked with the increase in literacy and interest in the sciences (Ratledge, 2012).

The first floor of the library is an immense space where people can host events in the multipurpose hall, nourish themselves at another café, access quick library services, and more. Having the first floor and entrance of the library have these alternative spaces is representative of the shift in library services from book lending to community centers. The first floor is home to Kino Regina, a cinema that is utilized by Finland’s National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) to explore examples of film history to the latest releases. The cinema also hosts special events such as seminars and lectures. The presence of this cinema shows that Finland has considered global trends in terms of repurposing library space (Murphy, 2022). Allowing library space to be used for film, lectures, seminars, and other events invites a wider variety of discplines to be explored at that location and a more diverse group of patrons.

While it is easier for new libraries to incorporate community needs in their plans before construction begins and the library is built, older libraries have to carefully consider how to implement similar plans. They face the challenge of working with their current facilities, maintaining their current patronage, as well as administrative obstacles such as limited budgets or obtaining permissions from other public offices.

The first thing older libraries need to do is create new goals and strategies to meet the changing needs of society. That way, they can identify what their community needs and then plan for how to address it, whether that is creating a new space, updating the collection, or implementing a new service. For example, the Roskilde Library in Denmark is over 100 years old. In a 2020 article, the library announced new library strategies based on the United Nations’ list of Sustainable Development Goals, which include having “good health a well-being,” “quality education,” and “peace, justice and strong institutions” (“The 17 Goals,” 2023). The new strategies will put directions and action into the vision that the “Roskilde Libraries will be the creative and inspirational focal point for all citizens meeting with learning, culture, community and diversity” (Lauersen, 2023). They can leverage their new goals to gain the funding or support needed to implement the changes needed.

Conclusion

The Oodi Helsinki City Library is emblematic of the modern library. They considered and met the needs of the community while also providing room to grow. These changes have helped to usher in a new era of literacy and innovation. Technology today is growing at an exponential rate and that is because of the support people find in their public institutions like libraries.

Libraries everywhere are making moves to include resources and facilities past the traditional collection and reading space to meet trends not just locally, but trends that are seen globally as well. With planning and persistence all libraries, new and old, can successfully implement these changes in order to meet the ever-changing needs of the community.

References

Lauersen, C. (2020). “Learning, culture, community and diversity: New library strategy for Roskilde Libraries 2020—.” The Library Lab. Retrieved on April 25, 2023, from https://christianlauersen.net/2020/06/23/learning-culture-community-and-diversity-new-library-strategy-for-roskilde-libraries-2020/.

Meyer, U. (2018). “An ‘Ode’ to the Educated Citizen.” World Architects. Retrieved on April 29, 2023, from https://www.world-architects.com/en/architecture-news/reviews/an-ode-to-the-educated-citizen

Murphy, J. (2022). “Global trends heal science libraries.” Wiley Online Library. Retrieved on April 28, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12417

“Playground Loru will be moved to the third floor of Oodi and the pram parking area will be explanded.” Oodi Helsinki Central Library. Retrieved on April 26, 2023, from https://oodihelsinki.fi/en/playground-loru-will-be-moved-to-the-third-floor-of-oodi-and-the-pram-parking-area-will-be-expanded/

Ratledge, D. (2012). “Makerspaces.” Tennessee Librarian: quarterly journal of the Tennessee Library Association.

Spars, C. (2019). “Library studying versus café studying.” The Stanford Daily.

“The 17 Goals.” (2023). The United Nations. Retrieved on April 25, 2023, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals.

“The Floors of Oodi.” (2023). Oodi Helsinki Central Library. Retrieved on April 26, 2023, from https://oodihelsinki.fi/en/facilities/floors/

“What is Oodi.” (2023). Oodi Helsinki Central Library. Retrieved on April 26, 2023, from https://oodihelsinki.fi/en/what-is-oodi/

I am an avid reader and traveler. I try to travel somewhere new every year. When I do, I make it a point to visit at least one library. Because of that, I was drawn to the Learning Everywhere module.

For some background, my local library growing up was a small building. It had a good-sized collection that included children’s books, YA book, fiction, non-fiction, and a small periodical and reference section. There were maybe two desktop computers that were added later on that allowed visitors to search the collection, but you were better off asking one of the three librarians for the location of something. Except for a few wooden tables and chairs, there were no study areas or meeting rooms. The library’s technology offerings were slim-to-none. Both the public library and my school library were extremely limited. Now however, when I visit libraries, they’re completely different.

The Roskilde Libraries’ in Denmark vision is to be “the creative and inspirational focal point for all citizens meeting with learning, culture, community and diversity.” Lauersen’s article highlights how the library has become more than just a book depository; instead, libraries in that municipality will encourage lifelong learning, foster a joy of reading, ensure citizens can “meet the music” in their everyday lives, and other goals with dedicated spaces like study rooms and an in-library café.

The two newest libraries I’ve visited (in terms of build date, not visit date) are the Oodi Library in Helsinki, Finland and the Newport Beach Library in Southern California. Like every other library, they have a physical collection and online services. I’ve also noticed that the newer libraries have a variety of meeting spaces. This could be the café in the library, which was amazing the first time I saw one (side note: I grew up in a time when there was no food or drink allowed in the library). It could also be music spaces. For example, the Oodi Library has instruments and practice rooms available for patrons.

Libraries today are designed with the community in mind. Because society has changed so much over the years, it makes sense that the library of my childhood is no longer the standard for today. While new libraries can be designed like that from the onset, older existing libraries should also take those things into account and consider how they can adapt to the communities’ needs. That can be incorporating more community programs or creating new spaces for use.

References

Lauersen, C. (2020). “Learning, culture, community and diversity: New library strategy for Roskilde Libraries 2020.” The Library Lab. Retrieved on April 21, 2023 from https://christianlauersen.net/2020/06/23/learning-culture-community-and-diversity-new-library-strategy-for-roskilde-libraries-2020/

I want to talk about the ideas brought about by Mike McShane’s article “Is Virtual Reality the Future of Field Trips?” McShane starts off by talking about a fond memory of visiting a museum and the visceral reactions patrons got from seeing the objects. While he agrees that visiting museums has many positive benefits, it also has its challenges.  Field trips require many different things. Parents need to give their kids permission to go. Teachers need to schedule field trips into their curriculum, and they need to coordinate with the institution which may require previous notice so they can plan for the visit. Field trips require money to pay for transportation, entrance fees, and other incidentals so funding needs to be pulled from somewhere. Some of these can be easily addressed. For instance, throw a fundraiser to get funding or have the parents pay for it. Or plan the curriculum ahead to figure out when to schedule the trip and give the institution a heads-up as soon as possible.

While I agree that nothing can replace physically going to see a collection, it just isn’t possible for some people. I think that having alternatives is essential. Digital collections and digital exhibitions are not a new thing. During COVID these things became even more commonplace as attendance at museums and libraries dropped to zero because of the shelter at home orders that took over the world. Institutions were forced to reimagine how to draw in and interact with patrons. Even now, when many things have reverted back to pre-COVID times, the collections that have been posted online still continue to attract patrons and have even served to boost in-person attendance at some institutions. I don’t think virtual visits will ever replace in person visits. However, I do believe that adding a virtual component will allow institutions to widen their audience and draw more people in.

Reference

McShane, M. (2018). “Is virtual reality the future of field trips?” Forbes.

Convince Contra Costa County residents, both library users and non-users, that by collaborating with a legal organization like BayLegal they will have access to legal services which will improve the quality of life for residents because the library is meeting the cultural, informational, recreational, and educational needs of Contra Costa County’s diverse community.

The mission of the Contra Costa County Library is to “Bring People and Ideas Together.” Their goal is to provide resources and services to “meet the cultural, informational, recreational, and educational needs of Contra Costa County’s diverse community” (Library Policies, 2023). Contra Costa County is home to an estimated 1.1 million people from a variety of cultures and histories.

My idea is to provide free, basic legal services through the local public library. This idea was inspired by how several public libraries throughout California (e.g., Berkeley Public Library, Los Angeles Public Library, King County Library, etc.) provide free tax help during the tax season. I utilized this service when I first got out of college and didn’t really have any guidance on how to navigate those forms. It was very helpful for me to sit down with someone with experience and have it all explained to me in a way I could understand. Many people can and have benefitted from this service because understanding the terms and the forms is not always intuitive. Similarly legal contracts or terms can be difficult to understand.

Because of this, I believe that in addition to consultations with an accountant or other personnel trained in filing income tax forms, consultations with an attorney or legal aid would be a useful add-on to library services. Some things that they could provide guidance on are housing agreements, debt collection, family law, or other agreements adults must enter into or come across. If someone does not read through paperwork carefully, they can accidentally agree to predatory arrangements from loans to one-sided employment contracts. An example of a predatory arrangement is if a lease agreement takes advantage of the renter by requiring an abnormally large deposit or tacks on additional fees that are not standard (e.g., convenience fees, telecom fees, etc.). Unfortunately, situations like this disproportionality affect underrepresented groups like low-income or ethnic minorities.

Some libraries already provide free consultation services with lawyers. For example, the Alameda County Library has the “Lawyers in the Library Program” (2023). Their service is limited to scheduling a phone appointment with a lawyer and their target audience is people dealing with property law (e.g., transferring property, property inheritance, etc.).

One thing I would do is open the service up and extend it from just scheduled phone appointments to include online or in-person appointments at designated times. This could be implemented in a number of different ways. One way this could work is someone signing up for a slot when the attorney is scheduled to be online or at the library. Another way is to have open “office hours” once or twice a month to assist with any “walk-in” legal inquiries.

The program is not meant to be a complete solution. It is meant to be a guide for the users. Here are scenarios in which the program can assist with:

• According to the United States Census Bureau, 33% of Contra Costa County residents rent. If a third of the county is renters, that means they all should have entered into lease agreements. Having people at the local library that can help even a small portion of that 33% understand their lease agreements would be a huge help in preventing predatory lease agreements.
• Another need that could be addressed is people that are experiencing financial difficulties. Legal advice can also extend to advice about debt collection or bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy is an involved process that goes through the judicial system and can be confusing to navigate.
• People facing immigration issues can also use this service to find learn more about options available to them and their families regarding visa petitions, health care access, or other issues.

The point of the program is to help the community find solutions and resources. If their query cannot be answered completely in one consultation, then the idea is that the attorney or legal aid will refer them to further or more comprehensive services if needed.

Another thing I would do to add to this type of service is to make it multilingual. I volunteered as a translator for a legal services program in San Francisco while completing my undergraduate degree. Many of the people I assisted were not fluent in English and required assistance understanding documents like leases, employment contracts, or other correspondence and agreements. I believe that the diversity of Contra Costa County, the third most populous county of the San Francisco Bay Area, makes it so that government and other public institutions have to consider accessibility for everyone. According to a 2017 report from the Census Bureau, more than 40 languages are spoken in Contra Costa County. The Contra Costa County geographic information systems (GIS) reports that over 387,000 residents speak a language other than English at home, and over 150,000 do not speak English well (Languages Spoken, 2017). This number continues to grow as the 2021 data set from the Census Bureau estimate over 403,000 residents speak a language other than English at home. (Selected Social Characteristics, 2023). I understand that being able to cater to all those languages is unrealistic, but the different library branches can look at their community demographics to determine which languages are most widely spoken in their areas and offer translators for the most common or likely languages that would be needed in that area.

The easiest way I can see for implementing this kind of service is for the county library to work with an existing organization like Bay Area Legal Aid (also known as BayLegal) which provides low-income clients with free civil legal services, including “legal advice and counsel, effective referrals, and legal representation” (What We Do, 2023). To start the project with a collaboration versus starting from scratch would shorten the amount of time needed to source the volunteers. This is something that could be set up simply by getting volunteers and putting it in the library’s schedule. The flexibility of the program of being online or in-person, depending on which works best for your location, allows for easier scheduling. In terms of budget, all it would really require is space and time from the volunteers, library staff, and library.

I believe that access to basic legal services is a need that some people don’t even realize is necessary. In our increasingly litigious society, it is important that people understand the agreements they enter into. As a space for knowledge and access, the library is the perfect place for people to seek out and obtain this service.

References

Lawyers in the Library. (2023). Alameda County Library. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from  https://aclibrary.org/lawyers/

Languages Spoken in Contra Costa County. (2017). Contra Costa County GIS. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://cocogis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=89da86c1bd714aa89d0951e2f45f02bd

Library Policies. (2023). Contra Costa County Library. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://ccclib.org/policies/

Selected Social Characteristics in the United States. (2023). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://data.census.gov/table?q=DP02

What We Do. (2023). Bay Area Legal Aid. Retrieved March 25, 2023, from https://baylegal.org/what-we-do/

The reading that struck me this time was Barbara Fister’s article “The Boundaries of ‘Information’ in Information Literacy.” It was a short article, but it brought a bunch of topics to the forefront that I think are sometimes forgotten. Fister highlights like academic libraries believe their most important role is “helping undergraduate students develop research, critical thinking, and information literacy skills.” However, does this focus have value to students after graduation. In other words, with the focus being on doing academic work in academic libraries, what information literacy skills are students learning during their undergraduate education that translate to usable and relevant skills outside of the school setting. Here are some areas that Fister believes students need to learn, but don’t necessarily fall within the purview of academic library information literacy:

“Surveillance is the dominant business model of the internet and, by extension, news media.” This means that while privacy is more important than ever, it is also harder than ever to maintain. Additionally, constant surveillance has “huge implications” for intellectual freedom. I always remember the issue of “the right to be forgotten,” and how the internet has made that even harder than ever. A lot of people aren’t even aware of these issues and post and produce data with no idea of how it might be collected and used.

“Big Data has the capacity to do many wonderful things, but we need some social agreement on how it can be used ethically.” Data is being produced constantly with and without human interference. Our devices create data simply by existing. A lot of times, the various data we produce is being used to determine our futures, which takes us back to the first point of surveillance. If data is being used to decide everything from the frivolous like who gets concert tickets to the more impactful who gets elected into office, how can we help students be cognizant of the information they put out?

In the end, I think it’s all about preparing students for more than just academic uses of the library. I understand that is the priority for undergraduate students; I remember going to the library to do research for papers and study groups, but little else. However, undergraduate education should incorporate true information literacy to the curriculum somewhere.

Fister, B. (2017). “The Boundaries of ‘Information’ in Information Literacy.”

For this post, I want to take a deeper look at the biases that have emerged because of the internet. The reading that really intrigued me this time was the article by Danah Boyd entitled “What World Are We Building?” In the beginning of the article, Boyd looks at how social media can be perceived differently. For instance, she discusses talking to some teens in the late 2000s about which social media platforms they use. Some of the teens she was interviewing and communicating with implied that MySpace was lesser than Facebook. They specifically described MySpace as being “ghetto” or that the users are “more likely to be barely educated and obnoxious” (Boyd, 2016). (sidebar: I also used MySpace before moving to Facebook. I honestly can’t remember why I made the change.) This is only one instance of bias that Boyd came across during her research.

In Lauersen’s article “Do you want to dance? Inclusion and belonging in libraries and beyond,” he talks about inclusion and exclusion on a broader scale. For example, language itself is a tool for inclusion and exclusion in that anyone that knows the same language as you can be included, but you are (intentionally or not) excluding those who do not know the same language. This brings me back to Boyd’s insight on social media because the algorithms that govern social media will automatically include and exclude things that have been shown to statistically match your profile. It’s really interesting to realize that the World Wide Web isn’t very wide at all because of that.

References

Boyd, D. (2016). What World Are We Building?

Lauersen, C. (2018). “Do you want to dance? Inclusion and belonging in libraries and beyond.

I want to discuss some readings from the second module revolving around the library as a space. In Module 2 – The Hyperlinked Library Model many of the articles and readings discussed how libraries have changed or can potentially change to adapt to the ever-evolving needs of their patrons. This includes anticipating community needs and wants and incorporating emerging technologies. The general consensus seems to be that this shift in service is inevitable, if it hasn’t happened already.  

People like Saskia Lefernik argue that libraries act as “third spaces,” meaning that they provide opportunities for a community to develop and retain a sense of cohesion and identity (2018). One of the newer needs that the library services is becoming a center for access. Because of the increasing technological nature of the world, having access to technology and the internet is basically a necessity. Unfortunately, not everyone has the means to obtain or retain that access. That is why it is imperative to provide this access in a place that is accessible to everyone. Unfortunately, libraries have to compete with places like cafés, restaurants, or parks for providing access or meeting spaces (Leferink, 2018). What sets libraries apart from these other spaces are their services.

These new needs should be balanced with traditional services. One example of a traditional service is reference services, which is arguably the core of library services. With traditional reference services, library patrons would usually have access to reference books or materials that are updated annually or otherwise maintained by the library, or they are able to make inquiries with a reference librarian. With the shift in user needs this traditional service has expanded from having only onsite access to access anywhere with an online connection. There are several different platforms that libraries use to provide online reference services including, but not limited to, online chats, emails, and Lib Guides. Even the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, has acknowledged this by changing their Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers to address reference services both in-person and remotely (RUSA, 2023).

While updating practices and technology to match current needs, the emergence of the new technology has given rise to the digital collection. Digital collections can be small and niche or wide and all-encompassing. An example of a small digital collection is the Great War Digital Library (Veliki rat, 2013). Alternatively, digital collections like the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) or Calisphere cover numerous topics, host a variery of resources, and are constantly being added to. In Denning’s article “Do We Need Libraries,” he discusses how libraries have made significant efforts to “computerize services and develop new technology”  in an effort to appease the consumers’ needs (Denning, 2015). (Side note: This is directly related to how marketplace power has shifted from the seller to the buyer.) However, despite the convenience of digital collections, the physical library space is still desirable according to Leferink.

Personally, I like how libraries are becoming more than just repositories of knowledge. They are also becoming community centers in addition to places of access. For example, the Oodi Library in Helsinki, Finland was designed with emerging technology and community needs in mind. The library has a physical collection of over 100,000 titles, several different types of meeting rooms, a comprehensive e-library, and is a bastion of modern architecture. It was built with the community in mind just like Lefernik suggests. 

References

Denning, S. (2015). “Do we need libraries?” Forbes. Retrieved February 16, 2023.

Leferink, S. (2018). “To keep people busy… keep some books.” OCLC. Retrieved Febraury 17, 2023. 

Veliki rat. (2013). About us. Retrieved from https://velikirat.nb.rs/en/about    

The readings from the first few modules were extensive and slightly overwhelming. The foundational readings gave a comprehensive overview of how emerging technology has impacted libraries and changed library services. What struck me was how quickly these changes came to be. For a (very) long time, libraries were simply repositories of knowledge—places where people could go to access books and periodicals for information. This could be seen as early as 600s BCE with the Assyrian empire’s library that included approximately 30,000 clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform. However, in recent history libraries have made the shift from to being simple repositories to being centers of access and knowledge that are constantly in flux.

Casey and Savastinuk’s “Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service,” looks at library services and how they can be improved with users in mind. Casey and Savastinuk says that “Library 2.0 is a model for constant and purposeful change… [and] empowers library users through participatory, user-driven services” (Casey & Savastinuk, 2007). This does not mean doing away with traditional services. Instead, Library 2.0 focuses on integrating emerging technologies with traditional services like the reference desk because that is what many patrons are familiar with and want. This means adding things like community classes or access to laptops or tablets to meet these new needs.

From the hyperlinked library module readings, I found “The hyperlinked school library: engage, explore, celebrate” to be the most helpful(?), for lack of a better term. I think because it was originally a speech, therefore more easily understandable. Stephens breaks down how the constant evolution of emerging technology has and will continue to affect libraries, with a focus on school libraries. The current generation of kids and teens have integrated using technology and the web into their lives, especially for social activities. Because of this, school libraries and teacher librarians have had to integrate technology into the curriculum because they are being used as a basic communication tool that has students approaching learning and life differently. Being flexible with the way they tackle issues is essential to a library’s success.