Libraries Challenged to Prove Their Value

Wiki discussion sponsored by IMLS focuses on providing the most relevant services

Allison Zisko -- Library Journal, 05/10/2010

• Bookmobile redefined?
• Importance of reaching patrons
• Expedient vs. authoritative access to content

UpNext is a wiki hosted by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that invites discussion about the future of libraries and museums. It consists of 10 different discussion themes, the first of which is “Changing Roles.”

Librarians across the country are taking part in a lively wiki discussion regarding the best strategies for engaging the public, the make-up of future audiences, and how libraries and museums contribute to the public good. 

In “Changing Roles,” the first theme in UpNext’s ongoing wiki, some of the most popular topics were the societal value of libraries, ways to engage communities, the provision of information literacy, and the converging role of libraries and museums. Each of those topics spawned multiple discussions.

The societal value of public libraries
While many agreed that libraries have evolved from being mere “repositories of information” to becoming learning centers, some commenters  argued that libraries need to do more to promote the services they offer.

One contributor suggested redefining the concept of the bookmobile in urban areas. Like the urban food trucks that have a loyal following of foodies on Twitter, the contributor suggested, library trucks or vans could roam the community to promote the digital resources libraries have and how to use them, in addition to more traditional library services.

“There’s something very current about information (both digital and print)... coming to you,” the contributor wrote.

Community engagement must happen at all levels, agreed discussion leader Martín Gómez, City Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library. "Everyone needs to believe that the institution (museum or library) belongs to them," he wrote.

Impact of IMLS grants
The IMLS has awarded several National Leadership Grants in an effort to help libraries connect with their communities, noted Mary Chute, IMLS Deputy for Libraries.

Among the grant winners was the Orange County Library System, FL, to expand its role as a partner in the community’s economic development through new technology. The University of Michigan and its partners received a grant to develop and evaluate a computer game called Bibliobouts to teach incoming undergraduate students information literacy skills. Dominican University, River Forest, IL, was awarded a grant to examine the impact of public library summer reading programs on third and fourth-grade student achievement.

Sharing communities and acquiring patrons
As libraries and museums arguably share similar missions in engaging the public, one discussion concerned whether librarians have become curators, and curators have become collection builders. Some agreed that roles of libraries and museums have converged, particularly in the digital realm.

Librarians can follow the lead of their patrons when building digital collections, one contributor said. Patrons tend to conduct research on a “need-to-know basis,” such as when they want to conduct genealogy research..

It is up to libraries to provide new avenues for research, such as improving the visibility of the library’s resources while making sure DOI/URL technologies link to print and online sources.

If, as one contributor suggested, “the wiki is the library itself," the library should be concerned more with "acquiring patrons rather than materials."