Beyond books: The 21st century public library

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On the one hand, it's a shallow puff piece about how libraries are still around and doing all kinds of "cool" things for their communities. But it just feels like another in a long line of tired, recycled news stories looking for ways to fill air time.

Nothing about the library "fine free" movement, let alone the increased challenges from patrons (and occasionally library boards) regarding content challenges and the bias underlying them.

Guess we have to continue to tell our own stories.

👍︎︎ 9 👤︎︎ u/librarianist 📅︎︎ Jul 24 2022 🗫︎ replies

"[Libraries are] much more a model for how we should treat other people than just an artifact of the past"

Libraries mentioned:

Kanawha County Public Libraryhttps://www.kcpls.org/

Austin Public Libraryhttps://library.austintexas.gov/

San Francisco Public Libraryhttps://sfpl.org/

Seattle Public Libraryhttps://www.spl.org/

Flint Public Libraryhttps://www.fpl.info/

Fayetteville Public Libraryhttps://www.faylib.org/

Spokane Public Libraryhttps://www.spokanelibrary.org/

DC Public Libraryhttps://www.dclibrary.org

👍︎︎ 3 👤︎︎ u/librarianist 📅︎︎ Jul 24 2022 🗫︎ replies

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this you're not going to believe the new york public library uh-huh says that i took out tropic of cancer in 1971 and never returned it do you know how much that comes to that's a nickel a day for 20 years it's gonna be $50 000 it doesn't work like that if like jerry seinfeld you still haven't returned that library book you borrowed in 1971 prepare to be surprised by what you find when you do with conor knighton time to check out the library 2022. on a recent monday morning the citizens of kanawha county west virginia came to check out a new chapter in the life of an old institution these are no longer warehouses of books these are marketplaces of ideas this is a community's living room after more than two years and 32 million dollars in renovations downtown charleston's public library reopened to the public inside visitors discovered a brand new cafe a tool lending library an idea lab full of the latest technology there was an excitement you could see and hear which is exactly what the librarians were hoping for librarians from time and memorial like shhh are we beyond the age of shushing we're beyond the age of that yeah erika connelly is the director of the kanawha county library from podcasting booths to computerized sewing machines to augmented reality screens the facility has been updated for the modern age i tell you what i'm not seeing here i'm not seeing a ton of books yeah no we have 3d machines we have robotics we have 3d pens while there are still plenty of books the redesign allowed the staff to rethink how they were displayed it was more about the engagement how we wanted our public to engage within the library and it wasn't at the shelves it wasn't just grabbing a book and then leaving we wanted them to stay across the country library attendance has declined at 21 from 2009 to 2019 but borrowing has actually increased it's just moved online as collections have shifted from physical to digital material that's caused libraries to shift their thinking in terms of what might bring people through the doors good morning welcome good morning welcome austin public library director roosevelt weeks begins each day greeting patrons as they enter the downtown branch hey boss what's going on man the 200 000 square foot building fills up fast i mean you've been open for all of nine minutes at this point and it's bustling already it's always like that people come to austin's library to play board games video games games of giant chess alongside the actual books there are chromebooks and macbooks to check out the teen area hosts jam sessions featuring the library's collection of guitars we think it's the most unexpected physical item that you can check out at the library seeds seeds? yes if you want to plant a garden we have seeds that you can check out so that's not something you have to return right there's not late fees opportunities come show us what you got from your guard when austin's central library opened in 2017 it instantly became a community hub visitation increased in subsequent years were you here on opening day oh gosh i was here it was one of the most glorious days of my life you know we had 17 000 people waiting to get into this building the building itself is part of the draw bright and open full of spaces to lounge and meet modern libraries are attempting to meet the needs of today while staying flexible for the future more and more of these libraries are being built so that they have very open floor plans and i think part of that is that vision of long term we don't know what the next thing might be miguel figueroa is the former director of the center for the future of libraries it's really easy to think about the future as exclusively technological and i think a lot of libraries are keeping pace with that at the same time i think we're starting to see that there's a really great future for these institutions as place the value of having an open public place in your city in your neighborhood in 2009 the city of san francisco became the first in the country to hire a full-time social worker for its main library dozens of cities across the country have followed suit a lot of the social safety nets have been underfunded or removed and unfortunately that often means that there's a crunch on other public institutions like public libraries they are very trusted institutions and people feel welcome within them people like andrew constatino who for a time was a daily visitor to the downtown seattle library the library is like your grandmother's house if you're homeless or living in poverty that's exactly what it's like when you are allowed to be at the library whereas you know if you're homeless you're not allowed to be many places years ago constatino was living on the seattle streets and in shelters the library was his refuge a place to get out of the rain and get back on his feet you mentioned the importance of feeling welcome here what was it like to not feel welcome elsewhere oh it sucks you know it's like everywhere in our society you have to buy access you know if i want to use your bathroom i have to buy a soda pop public libraries are public a place where everyone can come together in one room recent immigrants practice english and another the upper left-hand corner first-time computer users learn how to navigate the internet the internet an always-on limitless hub of information didn't replace libraries it may have made them more essential the side effects of some of the technologies where we do become so focused in on online information or online discourse that we forget how to connect with other people libraries retrain you i think to be a member of the public to be part of the civic discourse while covid made those connections challenging most libraries close during the height of the pandemic there's been a recent slew of grand openings newly renovated libraries have popped up everywhere from flint michigan to fayetteville arkansas from spokane washington to washington d.c. i really think that far from any idea that some people might have that the library is somehow obsolescent you know or irrelevant it is actually the opposite i think that our society as a whole needs more institutions and public areas that are like the library it's much more a model for how we should treat other people than just an artifact of the past

Info

Channel: CBS Sunday Morning

Views: 96,256

Rating: undefined out of 5

Keywords: CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, news, new york, public library, public spaces, technology, modern, library, books

Id: _4QxDOCagxg

Channel Id: undefined

Length: 7min 3sec (423 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 24 2022