How Libraries are Reinventing Themselves for the Future


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Submitted by Rebekah Wallin on Tue, 06/26/2012 - 1:12pm.

TIME published a very short article yesterday on the future of libraries, reporting on several ways "feisty librarians" are creatively responding to shrinking budgets and greater demand for services. I thought that non-librarians might be interested in seeing some examples of how libraries are trying to reinvent themselves. Perhaps there are even some ideas to take away for consideration.

Libraries are trying to meet people where they are. Bookmobiles have been around for ages, but now libraries are exploring some new outreach models. For example, the Free Library of Philadelphia set up library Hot Spots in underserved neighborhoods, which are equipped with computers, printers, and small reference collections. Also, last year the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (where I used to work!) opened a “library without walls” open only on the weekends at the popular Pittsburgh Public Market.

Libraries are offering new kinds of collections. It's obvious that libraries are expanding their ebook collections as demand rises, but a number of libraries now circulate things like cake pans, musical instruments, toys, and plots of land for organic gardening.

Libraries have makerspaces. Basically, these are spaces in the library, like the Fab Lab at the Fayetteville Free Library, that offer machines and software (like 3-D printers) for making things. Another cool example is Chicago’s YOUMedia lab, a space where teens can create podcasts or make videos or compose audio tracks in the recording studio.

Libraries are mobile. Text a Librarian is an increasingly common mobile reference service. In California, Contra Costa County Library has a campaign called Snap and Go, enabling smartphone users to download audiobooks via QR code without having to visit the library. And then there's an interesting mobile app from Scottsdale Public Library in Arizona called Gimme!, providing book suggestions to users.

So what do you think? Do any of these ideas have a future? Why or why not? Are any of them applicable to EdLab or The Gottesman Libraries @ Teachers College?

Posted in Public | The Interns | Rebekah Wallin's blog | login or register to post comments »

Kate Meersschaert Says:
Tue, 06/26/2012 - 4:44pm

Rebekah, this is such a great run-down of innovative, out-of-the-box library offerings! Here is another concept to explore... the UK's "Idea Store" model for public libraries that plays off of libraries as community centers and creates an experience modeled around commerce-based experiences, yet in this case, for free content, events and physical resources.

Rebekah Wallin Says:
Thu, 06/28/2012 - 11:41am

Kate, thanks for sharing the Idea Store - it looks awesome! What an interesting concept to apply to libraries. Have you checked out the long list of courses they offer? It reminds me of a community college. I wonder how this model for affordable, community-based learning fits in with all of the other conversations about the future of education. I will definitely keep this in the back of my mind as I explore ideas.

Rebecca Hyams Says:
Tue, 06/26/2012 - 1:54pm

I've always felt that libraries are more about information than about books, so the shift towards digital information isn't as dire for libraries as some people would have you believe. (As long as there is information in some form, someone will be needed to help users find/interpret information, and that person is a librarian or some sort of information professional.)

That being said, I think the mobile services and things like bookmobiles and building-less libraries are very interesting. I feel like the other two services are somewhat less practical, and only make sense if there's really a user demand for them given the geography or demographics of the user base. (Libraries lending toys and cookware? Does the library assume responsibility for cleaning them between users?) A lot of these new services/collections cost a lot of money that public libraries (and school/academic libraries) don't necessarily have. (For a fabrication lab/materials lab/audio production lab not only do you need to buy the equipment, but you ideally should have someone on staff who's an expert that can assist users. If the equipment is expensive and there's not demand for it, is it worth the cost? In an academic or school library is that service already being provided elsewhere in the institution? Can community users use it already?)

Rebekah Wallin Says:
Thu, 06/28/2012 - 11:30am

Rebecca, you're right. I think the overarching question libraries need to consider is whether or not these new services sustainable in the long run. (Well, and, "What's the point?")

You're totally right that libraries are more about information than about books. It's such a common misconception, however, and I think a large part of the immediate future of libraries will be outreach, marketing, and education. Many people (potential library users/members/patrons/what-have-you) don't really know what to think about the purpose of libraries right now - frankly, neither do a lot of librarians. I think it's an exciting place to be, since there are so many opportunities to creatively make library services even better in the process of this shift to digital information.

In addition, I think that libraries are also about physical spaces in a community, and I've always liked the concept of libraries as a "third-place." I'm sure that library spaces will look very different in the future, and maybe they be called something else (like Idea Stores), but I believe these physical spaces will still exist as important community centers of learning and exchanging ideas. For that reason, I think new services like toy-lending and makerspaces could very well be part of the future of library. We just need plan and strategize for how to do it well and make it sustainable.

On a related note, are you familiar with librarian/professor David Lankes at Syracuse? I think his thoughts on the "Participatory Library" are relevant to this conversation, although they deserve their own post(s). Let's keep talking throughout the summer!