In today’s technology-driven society, wherein users are a click away from accessing any and all kinds of information, libraries are plagued with maintaining a position of relevancy in the community lest they succumb to obsolescence. In the words of Andre Cossette, author of “Humanism and Libraries: An Essay on the Philosophy of Librarianship,” “Librarians find themselves in a technological world amidst a technological revolution, to which they are having trouble adapting” (23). This pressure to keep up with technology is compounded by a constant lack of funds. How might libraries assert their public presence and technological authority when faced with budgetary setbacks? Librarians in Colorado and Kansas are coming up with creative solutions to these very issues.

An article published in Library Journal’s July issue presented an interesting example. This past June, Colorado’s Aurora Public Library set up shop inside a local Kmart. The 600-square foot room accommodates 11 computers for the public’s use, making it more of an information or computer center than a traditional library. Despite the center’s lack of books, users are able to access the internet for educational or recreational purposes. Library members have unlimited use of the computers, while those without library cards are restricted to one hour. Luckily, since library cards are free, this should encourage non-traditional library users to start a membership. Patrons can connect to the library’s online catalog if they wish to place a hold on books, and they can even request drop-off or pick-up of books in the store.

There are many benefits to this unconventional solution. To start, the library “runs at a fraction of the cost of a conventional branch,” allowing Aurora’s public librarians the opportunity to save the money they would have spent on materials and upkeep in a bigger library. Additionally, by placing the computer center at the front of Kmart, the library will likely benefit from a greater exposure than a traditional library building could hope to receive. Customers looking to shop at Kmart may find themselves using the computers and signing up for a library card simply because of the library’s convenient location. Finally, and perhaps best of all, by opening this satellite branch, Aurora Public Library is strengthening its relationship with the community by meeting the needs of its citizens. According to the article, “one third of individuals living in northern Aurora–where many immigrant and low-income families live and the Kmart is located–do not own personal computers.” Cossette writes that “in providing needed information [and access to that information] to all citizens, especially the most disadvantaged, the library lends its support to the realization of democratic ideals” (56). In one fell swoop, Aurora Public Library managed to maintain its relevancy within the community and provide internet access for those who need it in a cost-effective way.

Elsewhere in the country, libraries have approached these aforementioned challenges in a different, though similarly unconventional, manner. Another article in the July issue of Library Journal explained how Kansas State Library recently partnered with its local airport, Manhattan Regional, to provide passengers with reading material while they wait to board. The program, called Books on the Fly, encourages people with mobile devices such as cell phones and e-readers to scan QR codes placed on cards throughout the airport. Users are taken to the library’s website, where library members can then download, for free, any of the library’s e-books. Nonmembers are redirected to Project Gutenberg, a digital library that contains thousands of e-books ready to be downloaded to any computer or mobile device.

According to Candace LeDuc, communications coordinator of Kansas’ state library, “the only cost to the library is the printed materials. Once your material is in the airport, there’s no overhead.” Because there are no computers or physical books to maintain, this is a simple, inexpensive way to promote a library without breaking the budget.

As was the case in Colorado, by establishing a base in a highly-populated, if unorthodox, location, Kansas State Library managed to find a way to reach out to the public, especially those who may not be the traditional library patron. According to the article,“With its emphasis on QR codes as a point of entry, the program is designed to appeal to irregular readers with time on their hands.” Once again, librarians were able to find a cost-effective way to secure their library’s place in a technology-centered society.

When libraries are faced with unrelenting budget cuts, the challenges of staying atop the current technological trends and maintaining a strong relationship with the community seem overwhelming. Author and librarian Sandy Iverson worried that “while technology has increased access to information, at the same time we are experiencing funding cutbacks to the public library system…In order to continue service, libraries are beginning to charge user fees for certain services. This practice contradicts the tenets of equal access to information, and may eventually result in the extinction of the public library system.” But as the librarians in Colorado and Kansas proved, it does not have to come to that. It takes some creative thinking, but it is possible to work with a reduced budget to incorporate technology at no cost to users, all the while establishing a strong public role. As these two cases show, libraries are far from becoming extinct.

Links to articles:

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/07/library-services/colorado-library-opens-outpost-inside-kmart/

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/07/marketing/libraries-partner-with-local-airports/

In the world, no library has the influence and the prestige of library of congress. In 1800, when government was moved from New York to the new capital city of Washington DC, the Congress established its Library. According to its mission, the Library is “to acquire, organize, preserve, secure, and sustain for the present and future of the Congress and the nation a comprehensive record of American history and creativity and a universal collection of human knowledge.”This mission holds true today, even as they broaden the ways in which the library fulfills it. More recently, the mission of it has been articulated as follows: “To support the congress in fulfilling tis constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people.” [1. Strategic Plan of the Library of Congress: 2011-2016]

As is a library belongs to the Congress, no doubt, the library’s single most responsibility is to provide the authoritative research, analysis and information to the Congress to help the US Congress to fulfill their duties. The Law library of Congress is a good example. The Congress will get the comprehensive research on international or U.S law and other legal reference services from the Law library of congress. This mission of the library of congress continues to hold today and will always exist first and foremost.

As the biggest collection in the world, the library of congress owned over 145 million physical items including books, movies, audios, maps, and photos. (Library of Congress website) One of them has a significant historic importance that is its collection of around sixty five million manuscript. This collection holds some of the most treasured documents at the library from the presidential paper to original draft of poems. In the world of print materials, the library of congress is famous for being the world’s largest library. Now, the library is on the way to hosting the largest digital collection in the world with more than 700 terabytes of data. The library of congress has been leader in digitizing primary sources. Because of the copyright issues only of two hundred of those can put online for worldwide education, learning and research. The online primary source files number more than 19 million and have greatly expanded access to unique and historically important items and full collection. [2. VOA news 2009-10-09, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylFlAQZ0piU] The library of congress opened their Audio Visual conservation in July 2007 and started to use Flickr to archive their photo documents since 2008. From 2010, they use twitter to save all their public communication. Recently years, they also established environmental monitoring program and tried to build a new storage facilities at Maryland. All those efforts are trying to preserve more physical and digital materials so that the future generation may use, learn from and be inspired by those information. Acquiring, preserving and providing access to a universal collection of knowledge and the record of America’s creativity is the greatest responsibility of the library of congress which is also a huge tough and never ending work. [3. A digital strategy for the library of congress (2000), page 146-149]

In the nineteenth century, the United States Constitution (Article1, Section 8) empowers Congress to

Promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors…the exclusive Right to their… Writings…

The Copyright Act achieves this goal to protect the authors’ right. The congress placed the library the function of sustain an effective nation copyright system. The library of congress is not isolated, it also need and have the duty to lead and work collaboratively with external communities to advance knowledge and creativity. That seems included all the missions and roles of the library of congress.

Since talking about so many roles, missions, and responsibilities of the library of congress. As the largest library in the world, the library is definitely not neutral, it present of the Congress. In this strike of federal government, the library of congress totally shut down. Also, the library of congress has so many treasured documents such as Shakespeare’s original first draft, the hand-copy of Beethoven’s sketch. But in fact, the public may have to chance to see those face to face in their whole life. Surely, only a tiny part of the future generation could be inspired by those preservations. Moreover, in the last decade, the library of congress really did a great job to digitize most of their physical materials including books, pictures, and maps in large size. Due to the copyright system, only two hundred of them can be visit online. So we couldn’t stop thinking who are their patrons after so many hardship. If citizens could not access those information, it feels like hundreds ponds lighter even under such a pressure of an endless, tedious, complexity, omnifarious work.

E-books: everyone has an opinion on them. Some say they will never read a book on a screen, loving the feel and smell of printed books. Others won’t go back to typical books again. I personally own a Kindle and love it. However, most of the books I want to read aren’t available on OverDrive, my public library’s domain for borrowing library e-books for free.

There are several article blurbs on the online Library Journal site which discuss the good, bad and the ugly concerning e-books. One article, “Penguin Drops Side Loading Requirement for Kindle Lending,” by Matt Enis advises that Penguin, the publishing company, has just changed their loaning terms and conditions for downloading e-books using OverDrive.  In the past, patrons have had to download books to their computers first and then transfer them to Kindles, but now they are able to download titles directly onto Kindle using OverDrive.

Another article, “Q&A: Recorded Books VP Matt Walker” by The Digital Shift, advertises a workshop called “The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries,” to be held on online on October 16.^th   The program will discuss how libraries have changed in the digital age.

Will libraries go 100% digital in the near future, leaving no need for “real” books, or—gasp—librarians? Some already have. For example, Gollis University in Somalia has a digital library which opened last year, featuring thousands of books in soft format. The first all-digital library in the United States is Bexar County, Texas and is called the “BiblioTech”.

Another article which touches upon these issues is “Stepinac Goes All Digital” by Gary Stern. Archbishop Stepinac High School is a private, Catholic all boys school in White Plains, New York. It is one of the first schools in the country to have all digital text books. Each student buys an iPad and uses it throughout high school, the article explains. The cost of textbooks adds up to about the same amount in the long run, so it is well worth it for families to invest in this piece of equipment. Another benefit of having an iPad for school is the apps which are downloaded onto it, such as an app for grading student essays for grammar, as well as repeating ideas throughout the work. It suggests how the essay can be improved as well.

Having things like digital libraries and iPads will make doing research much easier. Nowadays, we use libraries to search the Web for research projects or for other information more than we read books. When our parents were kids, they relied heavily on encyclopedias and other printed resources to do their homework. In the future, the more abundant all-digital libraries are, the easier it will be to find information. J. McGrath’s paper, “Methodology Matters: Doing Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences,” discusses research methods in depth. In the near future, perhaps these methods will change because of advanced technology.

New York City is one of the world’s leading cities. It is recognized globally for it’s innovative designs and planning. Though New York is forever changing and is always in constant motion, it is no secret that it takes a while before any ideas are implemented. Concerns about New York City’s public libraries have been brought to the public’s attention and debates over solutions are currently in the works. Now this is not another article about the tragedy public libraries face with underfunding. Though it is a serious concern, it might help to focus on the issues facing patrons. If the problems affecting patrons are addressed, libraries will then have someone to fight for them other than librarians.

Libraries have kept up pretty well with the changes in technology. Library items and data are easily accessible through any device. All libraries at this point have online public access catalogs (OPAC) that allow patrons to access the items at their convenience . This immediate accessibility from home devices or mobile devices is the main reason visitor numbers are declining. But should these technological advances steer people away from libraries? Are libraries doing something wrong?

Maybe the terrible florescent lighting or the ugly 1980’s dorm furniture are the reason people just don’t want to stay and do their work in a library. People would rather sit packed side by side surrounded by the grinding of espresso machines and tangled charger cords under their feet at a coffee shop than sit quietly at library. Something is off putting about the atmosphere. If libraries are moving toward becoming community centers they need to consider re-inventing their space. In simple terms, they need to be as cool as coffee shops.

It is possible that the interior design of public libraries is so dull and bleak because librarians cannot find descriptive words to paint a portrait of who they are and what they would like to represent. To create a space that captures the libraries’ ideals, librarians need to identify them first. In Andre Cossette’s Humanism and Libraries: an Essay on the Philosophy of Librarianship, Cossette argues that without a true grasp on their identity and a philosophy of their work, librarians will essentially never reach their true potential [1]. Though his argument has entails a more complex discussion of the philosophy and identity of librarianship, its basic premise is this: if librarians find a philosophy and identity they agree on, they might have time to focus on other issues that face the field, like attracting more visitors.

North Carolina State University recently rebuilt their library. Their new design and approach is something to admire. Not only is the building modern and equipped with the newest and latest technology, it’s also a place where people want to be. The library attracts both students and faculty. What makes it so different? For one, it throws tradition out the window. The typical quiet atmosphere you think of when libraries are mentioned is not NCSU’s main selling point (not to say that in order to be hip and relevant tradition cannot be present). What NCSU accomplished was being able to increase their visitor rate by re-inventing a space that the users can enjoy. The designers of the space worked with the staff and librarians to create an environment that captures what they would like to represent to their users. A library should not be an intimidating institution and that’s what NCSU was able to achieve.

Here’s what they did right:

1. Robot Alley/ Entrance (Watch book-bot Machinery and explore on the giant touch screen wall.)
2. Makers’ Space (including 3D printers and larger printers for art projects)
3. Gamers’ Lab (provides gaming equipment for users as well as a catalog of student made video games)
4. Black Box Theater (Performances based space that provides projector and audio equipment)
5. White Box Room (Art space with green screen, video production and whiteboard walls.)
6. Seminar rooms and study rooms all equipped with white boards, projectors and flat panel displays)
7. Rain Garden Reading Lounge (provides solo space for individuals, comfortable modern furniture and a relaxing environment)
8. Skyline Reading Room/Terrance (open during nice weather and used for special events)
9. Individual/Group computer work stations
10. Auditorium for various events

Obviously, an average New York City public library cannot house all these different functions due to space and funding limitations but there is no reason public libraries cannot build off of this idea. Librarians can transform their space without demolishing the existing building and starting from scratch. They do not need an expensive flashy design to ensure attendance. Visitors (as well as librarians) just don’t want to feel alienated. People want to feel a part of a collective, they want to be “cool”, they want to be noticed and they want to participate. Even the lone individual goes to read in a library to participate in a social interaction. Here’s what NYC public libraries should consider:

1. Group Space (for students who have group projects and need a place to meet.)
2. Discussion Space (a place where conversation is encouraged/ community gathering)
3. Snacking Space (an area designated for the workers who snack in between)

Discussing the motive and purpose behind the space should be encouraged among librarians. Once they agree on an idea, consulting with board members, donors, management and staff will help put the transformation into effect. But before any actions are taken, librarians need to forge a unified identity that will be the foundation for libraries as inviting spaces for social gathering and development.

[1] André Cossette, author, and Rory Litwin, translator. Humanism and Libraries: An Essay on the Philosophy of Librarianship. Duluth: Library Juice Press, 2009

Discussion about the social role of librarians is increasingly common with the advent of the digital age, but these topics are not new. For instance, in 1972 the book Revolting Librarians, was independently published by a group of librarians who were idealistic about the role they should play in society and were fed up with the tendency of their superiors to try and stop political activism. This issue is central to the essay collection Questioning Library Neutrality, edited by Alison Lewis. While the book succeeds in presenting the potential risks that come from neutral librarianship, if a bit dramatically, it does not allow much room for debate on the meaning of neutrality, nor does it provide many suggestions for how librarians and students of library and information science can work to mitigate these problems. Overall, the collection provides an introduction to the concept of neutrality but the essays included often rely on strong language and scant evidence to substantiate sweeping claims, while neglecting to address current efforts being undertaken to create more active librarianship.

By being neutral, the editor suggests that librarians run the risk of “promulgating misinformation or worse.” [1. Alison M. Lewis (2008) “Questioning Neutrality: An Introduction.” Questioning Library Neutrality: Essays from Progressive Librarian (pp. 1-4). Duluth: Library Juice Press, (2)] These concerns inspired her to compile this collection. It is comprised of 11 essays, each originally published in the journal Progressive Librarian and presented in chronological order from their original publication date. Her aim with this collection is to “stimulate further interest and debate about the concept of neutrality within the library community,” [2. Ibid., 4] and each of the articles within the collection is opposed to neutrality. While there are some issues with the book, it is a fairly short introduction to various aspects of neutrality and how it can manifest in libraries. The arguments may be a bit strong but overall it is a book that would be helpful for those new to the field as it is accessible to those unfamiliar with debates about neutrality.

There are many organizations that work for more freedom of expression within the library sector and encourage librarians to be activists both nationally and in their communities, none of which are discussed in this collection. These groups include Radical Reference, the Progressive Librarian’s Guild, and the Alternative Media Task Force. These are groups of activist librarians and each run different programs and initiatives to promote equality and support certain social causes. For instance, the Alternative Media Task Force works to include materials by alternative publishers in collections and Radical Reference examines corporate activity in the library sector and monitors it in case of unethical activity. However, none of the essays in this collection make note of any of these initiatives. The essays were originally published in Progressive Librarian, which is the journal of the Progressive Librarian’s Guild, and it seems unlikely that the authors would not know of any of these groups or activities. Adding examples of work done by these groups or others would have contributed a great deal to the arguments in each of the essays and to the collection as a whole.

Lewis concludes her introduction by claiming that “‘neutrality’ no longer means ‘impartiality’ or ‘objectivity,’ but too often lapses into ‘indifference.’” [3. Ibib., 4]. This brief statement is the closest thing to a definition of neutrality in the entire collection. This lack of a definition is the most glaring weakness of the book. None of the essays include a definition of neutrality in libraries or what being a neutral librarian entails. The authors seem to define neutrality as maintaining the status quo and ignoring social and political issues, but it is never explicitly stated. Additionally, each essay uses harsh, negative language when discussing the issue. This conceptual ambiguity makes it difficult for readers to draw independent conclusions as the explanations force them to conceive of neutrality only in negative terms. For instance, in Sandy Iverson’s article, “Librarianship and Resistance,” she says that, by striving to be neutral, “librarians responsible for acquisitions may be recreating racist censorship in their daily practices of selecting from lists of materials produced by mainstream publishing houses and other organizations that perpetuate these patterns.” [4. Sandy Iverson, “Librarianship and Resistance.” (2008) Questioning Library Neutrality: Essays from Progressive Librarian (pp. 25-32). Duluth: Library Juice Press, 27.]  Peter McDonald, in “Corporate Inroads and Librarianship: The Fight for the Soul of the Profession in the New Millennium,” suggests that that by striving for neutrality, librarians are being complicit in corporate hegemony and control of information. [5. Peter McDonald, “Corporate Inroads and Librarianship: The Fight for the Soul of the Profession in the New Millennium,” Questioning Library Neutrality: Essays from Progressive Librarian (pp. 9-24). Duluth: Library Juice Press, 10.] And in “The Hottest Place in Hell: The Crisis of Neutrality in Contemporary Librarianship,” Joseph Good discusses neutral librarianship as being on par with Switzerland’s smuggling of “millions of Deutschmarks of stolen Jewish money, in the form of gold bullion, out of Nazi Germany during the height of the Holocaust.” [6. Joseph Good, “The Hottest Place in Hell: The Crisis of Neutrality in Contemporary Librarianship.” Questioning Library Neutrality: Essays from Progressive Librarian (pp. 141-146.) Duluth: Library Juice Press, 142.] From all this, a reader can hardly draw any conclusion other than that neutrality is bad, but would not be able to say exactly what it is.

Another weakness of the collection is that most essays do not provide any workable suggestions or proposals of how to combat the negative effects they describe and how librarians can be more active. As mentioned above, there are many organizations working for more active librarianship, but these are not discussed. One essay in the collection, “The Professional is Political: Redefining the Social Role of Public Libraries,” written by Shiraz Durrani and Elizabeth Smallwood, is an exception. The essay focuses on the program called Merton Sense, which was designed for local youths to “connect young people, many of whom were from socially excluded groups, with their library service by actively engaging young people in designing the new service.” [7. Durrani, Shiraz & Smallwood, Elizabeth (2008). “The Professional is Political: Redefining the Social Role of Public Libraries.” Questioning Library Neutrality: Essays from Progressive Librarian (pp. 119-140). Duluth: Library Juice Press, 132.] The program resulted in the youths becoming engaged with the library and furthering their education, and was also beneficial for the library as it resulted in increased participation and interest from the local community. While the authors also neglect to define neutrality, the article offers an impartial examination of the problem and an example of ways it is being addressed in practice, which is more productive when addressing challenges to the profession.

This collection was meant to stimulate debate about the concept of neutrality in librarianship, but the uncompromising negative language of the authors combined with a lack of definition for neutrality greatly limit its potential impact. Also, without current projects to promote more activist librarians, the authors neglect an important aspect of the issue, which is taking steps to mitigate any harmful effects. Looking at and discussing those sorts of initiatives that encourage librarians to engage their communities and be more representative of different groups of voices would have been more productive than simply identifying problems without offering solutions.