Libraries as Social Hubs

I love this statement by the authors of the Brooking Institution Blog, “They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. Increasingly in the United States, you also can’t judge a library’s value to its community by simply its books.” They go on to describe how libraries and librarians “have gradually taken on other functions well beyond lending out books.”¹

Indeed, a look at any library branch calendar will confirm the library’s role as a “social hub”.

•        Book clubs
•        Knitting and sewing groups
•        Yoga, Tai Chi, stretching, meditation, Zumba
•        Teen groups
•        Parent’s groups
•        Scout meetings
•        Citizenship classes
•        ESL classes
•        Arts and crafts
•        Computer literacy classes and help
•        Polling places and Mail-In Ballot drop off sites
•        Play and Storytimes
•        Concerts
•        Films
•        Academic subject workshops and tutoring/homework help
•        Chess clubs
•        After school snacks, free summer lunches for children
•        Safe space: youth LGBTQIA+ meetups

Testifying to this fact, during this current COVID-19 crisis, while physically closed, the library continues to function virtually as a resource for their community by providing links to information:

The Carnegie UK Trust presents the idea of the Library as contributing to social wellbeing and the value of the Library is “a shared resource in which experiences and value are created”.²

Another lovely image is created by Kirsty Williamson as she explores the impact of retirees on the Public Library. In her explorations of the topic she likens the Library to “The New Village Green”. This conjures up the notion of public space open to all and charmingly describes the core mission of the Library even as the particulars change over time.³

Shana Hinze goes further and encourages Librarians to act as Community Ambassadors.

I think Libraries and Librarians already do this to varying degrees but bears further consideration. Beyond offering in-house programs, she suggests actively getting involved in the community by reaching out and joining organizations through the local Chamber of Commerce and services such as the WIC office, state job placement office, schools, and after school programs. “The idea is to go where people in the community go to get help, ask for things, or get things done”.⁴

In these ways, the Library expands its role as community centers.

Referenced:

1. Butler, Marcela Cabello and Stuart M. “How Public Libraries Help Build Healthy Communities.” Brookings, 30 Mar. 2017, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2017/03/30/how-public-libraries-help-build-healthy-communities/.

2. “Library as Social Hub (Speaking Volumes).” Carnegie UK Trust, https://www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/publications/library-as-social-hub/. 

3. Williamson, Kirsty. “Creating the New Village Green: The Impact of the Retirement of the Baby Boomers on the Public Library.” APLIS, vol. 22, no. 2, June 2009, pp. 83–88. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=40102604&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

4. Hinze, Shana. “Librarians as Community Ambassadors.” Young Adult Library Services, vol. 15, no. 1, Fall 2016, pp. 27–30. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=118843606&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Libraries and the Homeless

Libraries are visited by all kinds of people, including the homeless. It is a safe place where people who live on the street can find shelter during the day. For the homeless, libraries are their home. Some libraries face the problem of having too many homeless people. Some homeless have the problem of drug addiction, others alcohol addiction, some have lost their jobs, and some have mental illnesses. They do not have access to hygienic facilities, so a main complaint about them is that they smell bad. This creates a problem with patrons who feel uncomfortable near them. According to Patric Grace “Homeless people are not stereotypes; they are members of our society…. And they have the right to visit and use our nation’s public libraries” (Grace 54). Fortunately, homeless people have the same right to get a library card even though they may not be able to provide an address. Libraries offer resources that homeless people can use. For example, with the availability of computers they can search for jobs along with shelters where they can spend the night. Also there are a great variety of books, magazines, newspapers and more. Librarians play an important role by helping them by providing information about shelters and places where they can eat and take showers. Their lives are difficult but with some help they can start a new life by finding a job and a place to stay. 

Interfaith offers many resources for people who are homeless.
https://www.interfaithservices.org 

Works Cited

Grace, Patrick. “No Place to Go (Except the Public Library). (Cover Story).” American Libraries, vol. 31, no. 5, May 2000, p. 53. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=3072708&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Libraries and Social Hubs

There are many places where people can gather together and spend time. Libraries are a public place where anyone can enjoy the resources provided. Libraries offer many resources such as, books, DVDs, audiobooks, computer use, database use, along with programming for all ages. And most importantly it is free. Libraries are an important part of the community. Besides books, libraries also have concerts and literacy programs. According to William Senville, the editor of a city commissioner’s journal in Vermont, “Another valuable role that libraries play is in integrating immigrants and other newcomers into communities.” (Senville 102). Literacy departments are a useful resource for immigrants who are learning the language. At my local library, the Escondido Public Library, the literacy department offers programs and classes to help with improving English pronunciation, obtaining citizenship, career workshops, and other events that more generally help immigrants to integrate into the community. For children, libraries offer programs such as recycling, composting, magic shows, crafts and more. Libraries have a huge section for children, teens and adults. People who do not have a computer can benefit from computer labs to do homework, search for a job, submit a job application and much more. Libraries are a good place to learn and have a good time.

Libraries are important today even as younger generations start to rely more on technology, especially because “smaller cities and towns may have even more to gain from having a thriving library as they do not have the range of community gathering places that larger cities often have” (Senville 97). For older populations and younger ones, libraries offer book clubs. People love these programs where they read a book and then gather together once a month to have a discussion about the book along with reading so they can meet new friends around a common interest. In addition to book clubs there also offer a book in the bag, where they can check out a bag with books normally 8 to 10. This is another option at home, in a classroom or any other place besides the library. For example, virtual book clubs or low-commitment book clubs are becoming popular, not just traditional meetings. These meetings let people come together in a public space, and make use of the library as a hub for connecting people. 

Works Cited

“Literacy Services.” Escondido Public Library, library.escondido.org/adult-literacy.aspx.

Senville, Wayne. “Public Libraries: The Hub of Our Communities.” APLIS, vol. 22, no. 3, Sept. 2009, pp. 97–103. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=44266947&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Social Networking and Libraries

http://quiteunpredictable.blogspot.com/2014/07/social-media-inand-libraries.html?m=0

Why?

Libraries make use of Social Media as a cost effective and efficient way to promote/popularize and improve the quality of their services to users.¹

How?

It is important for a library to determine which social networking platform will be preferred by their particular community. It is especially relevant to determine this for those users who do not frequently visit the library but are primarily online users. The library’s online presence does not only serve to promote services, but is an expression of that library’s culture.

This video (although created for a research library) gives tips on maximizing and maintaining any library’s social media channels:

https://youtu.be/BcTLkT_mrf0 

What?

Facebook

• Library news. Libraries are sharing about themselves—what’s happening at the library, what will happen, and what recently happened.
• Fun stuff. Libraries are also sharing what I’m calling “fun stuff.” These are light-hearted or humorous posts that one often finds on Facebook. These types of posts tend to make people smile and click the Like button. That’s the goal.

Twitter

Many libraries share current information and news about their library—that “what’s happening now” type of content.

YouTube

• Reference and entertainment. Want to learn something fast? There’s probably a YouTube video about it. Want to listen to a new song? Increasingly, YouTube is where bands put their newest music (lyrics-only videos), even before the official music video is created. 
• Library information. YouTube is also a great place to post library-related instructional videos. 
• Social content. YouTube is a social network, too. So if you post videos, there’s a good chance people will follow your channel and comment or Like your videos.

LinkedIn

Libraries can use LinkedIn to connect with the professional community in their service area.

Tumblr

Tumblr can be a fun, popular place for animated gifs and visual-based posts for libraries.

Pinterest 

Pin interesting content that…is happening in the library. Pin new books.

Instagram

Libraries can share photos of what’s happening at the library—fun stuff and behind-the-scenes pictures. You can also use Instagram to give your library a human touch—to share the human side of the library.²

This topic has taken on an enhanced meaning in this time of sequestration. Libraries are making heavy use of social media platforms to connect and communicate with their patrons with relevant and timely information.

  

                  

Referenced:

1.      BOOKER, LATRICE, and SUBIR BANDYOPADHYAY. “How Academic Libraries Can Leverage Social Networking to Popularize Their Services: An Empirical Study.” Journal of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences, vol. 16, no. 2, May 2017, pp. 129–146. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=129365572&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

2.      King, David Lee. “Landscape of Social Media for Libraries.” Library Technology Reports, vol. 51, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 10–15. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=100279059&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Libraries and the Homeless

https://blogs.proquest.com/general/libraries-and-homelessness/

In her letter to the editor of Computers in Libraries, in a response to an article identifying homeless patrons as the #1 security risk, Lois Odabas states “I am a public librarian and my number one issue is not unfortunate people in my library, but these kinds of response to them. Homeless people first and foremost are people. Human beings” (Odabas). And then...I have heard one of my own highly educated and intelligent, compassionate, loving and kind family members acknowledge that she no longer takes her children to their local library branch because of the number of homeless persons there.  Libraries today are grappling with this issue and how to manage it for the best of all patrons. This interview from 2007, “Libraries Become Temporary Refuge for Homeless”, asks the question, “So what do libraries do? How strange is too strange? How smelly is too smelly?” (“Libraries Become Temporary Refuge for Homeless”). Mr. Chip Ward, interviewed for the story, acknowledges that the challenge is managing “odd behaviors” that accompany “addiction or alcoholism or mental illness” and speaks to how his library has responded. Their solution, to “respond to people's behavior - not their appearance and not their status but their behavior” sounds very much like what is presented by Jared Oates of the Niche Academy which, among other things, offers a webinar and free tutorial on “Effective Responses to Homeless Issues” in the library. This is a very powerful presentation which will forever change one’s perception of the issue.  As is often true, the more we educate ourselves, the more comfortable and well equipped we are to manage complex and difficult circumstances. The website http://www.homelesslibrary.com/ is an excellent resource for libraries offering a newsletter, an online course, webinars, and training presented by author and homeless shelter Executive Director, Ryan Dowd.  A solution lies not in ‘what to do about the homeless population in our libraries’, but in educating ourselves to be more knowledgeably and confidently addressing the issues presented in creating an inclusive environment “capable of serving everyone” (“IntroLibrary”). Carolyn Harvey

Works Cited:

“IntroLibrary.” Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness, http://www.homelesslibrary.com/introlibrary.html. Accessed 19 Mar. 2020.

"Libraries Become Temporary Refuge for Homeless." Talk of the Nation, 2 Apr. 2007. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.palomar.edu/apps/doc/A161459041/OVIC?u=cclc_palomar&sid=OVIC&xid=1dfc7daa. Accessed 19 Mar. 2020.

Odabas, Lois. “Not All Homeless Are Library Security Risks.” Computers in Libraries, vol. 38, no. 7, Sept. 2018, p. 3. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=131799515&site=ehost-live&scope=site.