Death to the public library.

The New Public Library

Proposal overview

The post-industrial age public library had an inspired calling – make books available to the working class. The coming of the information age introduced computers and video tapes to these libraries, and now the post-information age is leaving libraries behind in favor of Google, Kindle, and iPod. It may not be the sort of change we want to acknowledge, but the public library isn’t as necessary as it once was.

Whether you believe big, or small economic and environmental change is heading our way, change that effects us all is inevitable. The greater the change, the greater the impact on the way we live, and enough change is likely to occur that it will make it necessary to have new ways of using information resources. The new local community public library should bring information, people, and activities closer together to better manage economic, social, and environmental change.

Change

Change? We’re not talking about the effects of war, or terrorism, or bacteria and virus mutations, though within the context of large-scale change, we could. The changes we are considering are large, but also much more difficult to address within a relatively short period of time, as well as having local and global consequences.

Global warming – makes some areas wetter, drier, stormier, hotter, cooler; raises sea levels; alters disease causing mechanisms like bacteria and mold growth; has negative impacts on sea life, plant life, and food production.

Resource depletion – “peak oil,” or increased demand, and oil that is more costly to get out of the ground, causes prices to increase dramatically; over fished oceans; increased demand for consumer goods and food from developing nations depletes wood from forests and tillable soil.

Demographics – continued world-wide population growth; increase of elder population increasing demands for services while decreasing consumer purchases.

Economics – changing global economies based on increased wages in developing countries, increasing focus on localized production due to increased transportation costs and consumer demand; effects from the U.S. deficit.

Effects from any of these examples are debatable due to the large number of variables in each – the point though is not to predict the future but to appreciate the large-scale dynamics at play, any number of which may impact the way we live. The point is not to prepare, but to prepare to prepare – to consider the available resources that would enable society to respond appropriately to changing environments. On a local level, schools, police, fire departments, and libraries, are some of these resources.

Critical functions of society like schools, police, and fire departments are relatively easy to understand and appreciate. But what about libraries? Why do we find so many strewn about the country in town after town? Their critical purpose was making books available, disseminating information to the broad population. The questions here and now are, what are they good for, and what can they be good for in the not-too-distant future?

A centralized resource for information, and large-scale social change just seem to be a logical fit, and it is as true now as it was when society got an overhaul in the industrial revolution. But a lot of change has happened, and will continue. How can public libraries best serve their communities in the near future, even if we can’t know exactly what will happen?

Response to change

The climate changes; energy availability changes; populations and demographics change; world and local economies change – any of these can affect the kind of information we need, and how it will be used. In that sense, information is what change is all about – get the right information when you need it, know how to apply it, and you have more options in dealing with your environment.

In the “age of information,” libraries (and schools) responded by installing computers. When film became available in new forms, tapes and DVDs, libraries added these to their collections. All very well and good in terms of managing mediums of information, but how have libraries managed the way we interact with information? It’s still, mainly, information off the shelf. Dealing effectively with potentially large scale social change may rely on the same media forms, but require different forms of interaction.

The future may require those living within a local community (most of us) to work more closely and more effectively with each other. It’s how we share resources, how we make a living locally, how we help each other as we age, that will change – not so much how we read – information is still information whether it is on paper or an e-reader. The main function of libraries can no longer be simply to house information on a shelf (Any doubt? Ask the Encyclopedia Britannica).

On some level, everyone works to adjust to their environment. For libraries that has meant installing computers and networked laptop tables, expanding media selections, deploying comfortable couches, and focusing on young readers. These changes were appropriate, but what about now, after the information revolution?

Wonderful idea – libraries – books, journals, media of all kinds, in rooms with people.
Problems for libraries: Google, Kindle, iPod.
Problems for humans: global warming, resource depletion, demographics, economics.
Response: appropriate information flowing between people taking action.
But: Twitter just can’t do it all.

It is no longer the book, journal, or film we need centralized, but the interaction of community residents within a flexible information oriented environment.

If you assume – and when it comes to anticipating the future you must make some assumptions – that greater changes are ahead for our communities than recycling, installing energy efficient light bulbs, buying fuel-efficient cars, and starting a 401K pension, then consider how we might modify the resources we have, to adapt further. We can guess at some: more bicycle lanes, community composting, modifying building codes to allow green roofs, more mass transit, supporting local business and entrepreneurs so more citizens can make a living locally. But how do we promote others yet to be discovered? A key element in a flexible management style is to design so change can dictate an appropriate response.

Design for change

Creating a design that helps people use information to take effective action is to effectively manage the physical and economic environment as it changes in unpredictable ways.

This design can take many forms: accessible meeting spaces, managed bulletin boards, (alternative) reading and media materials addressing niche markets that can (and will) invite and include a broader audience. For communities, the centralized local information resource is of course the public library. It is the community interaction and the centralized information that allows people to take on major challenges, and the public library is the one community space designed and built to bring these two things together. We just need to make a few alterations.

Make available “alternative” information resources in spaces that allow (and stimulate) interpersonal interaction so that people’s responses and feedback can continue to address ongoing change.

Printed material, including books, still need to be available and read, just offered in a way that appeals to all generations including those growing up on iPods and Twitter. And offered in an environment that can stimulate social interaction within the community. How? Not with more electronics that anyone can get and use anywhere, but with two things that can get people talking, and talking to each other – new and different print works, and social settings that are compelling.

“To catch a thief, become a thief.” One interpretation of this expression might be: To appeal to your clientele, be as they would be. Libraries are fundamentally places specializing in two things – information, and people interacting with information.

Ms. and Mr. Librarian, do you want more people to make greater use of your facility? Make it serve their needs and desires. A generation has been reading graphic novels – offer that. A generation has been reading books where they can sip coffee and tea – offer that. A generation has been networking online and in Meetup.com groups – offer onsite networking. And do you really care how or why a person finds her/him self in a library, if ultimately, they are exposed to the process of learning, and perhaps even new ways of thinking? Include comics, a subset of graphic novels.

Intellectual stimulation and social interaction are two of the main ingredients of learning, and they are also two necessary ingredients when adapting to environmental and economic change. This proposal would make libraries the central meeting place to address a changing world environment that impacts local communities.

Additions and modification

Alternative media types.
Minor journals, self-published books, graphic novels, comics – one way to obtain unique media, and at no cost, is through donations. And it might not be necessary to catalog it all, simply offer alternative journals “as is,” on a shelf.

Meeting and social rooms.
Meeting space is already an accepted idea, what can change is accessibility and restrictions. A space is not useful if people don’t know they can use it, and what it can be used for. Bringing people together can and should be a focus of the local public library – residents of a community who meet become acquaintances, and acquaintances can become colleagues. On some level, this is called, networking, and can happen around a bulletin board, coffee maker, a “cafe” space, an entrepreneur presentation, or other public event. Make instructions and signage visible and offer a simple sign-up sheet.

A “cafe” space can simply be a room that has chairs, tables, hot water, tea and coffee (and donation box?). It should be a place where people can talk, walk around looking at display tables, bulletin boards, local art hanging, maybe a book sale rack, etc..

Work and career development.
“Think globally, act locally.” One of the most critical future shifts may be work location – locally made, locally serviced – more people trying to make a living where they live. A “Career Table” with “What Color Is Your Parachute” resting on it does not address the magnitude of economic and environmental change – a bulletin board for business cards, events, and meeting room access, is a start.

Bulletin boards.
A flexible information resource, personalized to the user, adaptable to all interests and needs, can be designed to support the specific needs of the community, and for the most part is self managed. Bulletin boards can also act as a catalyst for social interaction if placed in the same location as a “cafe” space.

Extended lending.
I have books and media I believe are unique and I would like to share them with people in my community. I go to, or log on to, my local library and supply registration and cataloging information and sign a release. I print out a bar code strip and affix it to my book and wait. Someone searching the library catalog signs my book out, the system emails/calls me, I deliver it to the library where it is picked up, and later returned to the library and the owner (everyone can view, but only lenders can borrow?).

Suggestion box.
A “suggestion box” could be more suggestive – ask, “What might we add to this library that would make it more compelling for you to stop by and visit?.