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Tribal museums and the libraries that serve them are spaces where tribes can not only preserve their history and culture for tribal citizens and visitors, but also function as spaces where the community can learn together, build relationships, and incorporate ancestral knowledge into their daily lives. In this paper, we discuss the broad issues of tribal museums and the role tribal libraries play in communities. We then introduce readers to the difficult history that started the Squaxin Island Museum Library and Research Center (MLRC), and how the Squaxin museum and library work together under one roof, intentionally blurring the boundaries between the museum and library to create a holistic and relational experience for the community that incorporates Indigenous ways of knowing and learning. We tell the story of the Squaxin Island MLRC and examine the role of the library in this cultural hub, including the ways the tribe has taken control over their story through a self-publishing project. The article concludes with reflections on the future of the MLRC and a reflection on how the library incorporates Indigenous ways of knowing in a museum setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cultural divide has been demonstrated in the United Kingdom, with disadvantaged individuals and communities known to be least likely to participate in cultural activities. Recognizing that low levels of cultural capital can present multiple barriers to cultural participation and that public libraries have an important cultural role in supporting and promoting learning and development, this article examines issues of cultural divide through the theoretical lens of cultural capital. Through analysis of examples of public library good practice in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, this article addresses an understudied topic and advances our understanding of the sociocultural role of public libraries in stimulating cultural consumption, participation, and engagement in disadvantaged communities. The article also calls for further empirical research to support and operationalize cultural capital concepts in library practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the results from an exploratory study of seed libraries. Based on interviews with librarians working on seed library projects in their institutions, this study investigated why such libraries have been created, what processes and resources are required for their establishment and continued sustainability, how they function, what populations they serve, how their activities relate to more traditional library processes and functions, and how seed libraries offer a novel way for public libraries to engage with and serve the local community. Seed libraries provide an innovative mechanism for community service that is closely aligned with many of the traditional core values of public librarianship, including facilitating access, equity, lifelong learning, social justice, preservation and heritage, and community engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on public library-community relationships in Brazil. Initially, we take into account the international information science literature highlighting the contemporary relevance of public library-community relations. We also consider aspects of the Brazilian historical and political experience and previous research indicating that public libraries in the country have not been valued by public policies and that, although present in more than 5,000 municipalities, these institutions tend to remain invisible to their communities. The main empirical contribution of our article lies in the analysis of interviews collected from Brazilian intellectuals and researchers who hold or have held prominent positions in institutions that define policies or carry out research on Brazilian public libraries. These interviews reveal a strong consciousness of the need to strengthen library-community relations, suggesting several actions, both from the library to the community and from the community to the library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the peer-reviewed literature, there is a shortage of experimental and quasi-experimental studies examining libraries’ impact on children’s early literacy development. Therefore, Project VIEWS2 (Valuable Initiatives in Early Learning That Work Successfully 2) used a quasi-experimental design to understand whether an intervention to train public library storytime providers in early literacy principles makes a difference in children’s early literacy skills. In the experimental group, comparisons of preintervention and postintervention data showed statistically significant increases in the early literacy behaviors of the providers and attendees in the experimental group. There were no significant changes in the early literacy behaviors of control group providers and their attendees. A purposeful focus on early literacy principles makes a difference in storytime programs and in early literacy behaviors when children attend storytime. This article examines the design and delivery of the intervention, its effects on the study population, and its implications for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public libraries increasingly provide programs focused around moving the body and being physically active: everything from bike rodeos to chair-based yoga to music-and-movement programs. Although common, these programs have received little assessment in the scholarly literature. This article reports on an exploratory qualitative study of the experiences of staff in public libraries in the state of North Carolina that have developed and implemented these types of programs. Across the state, staff report developing a variety of programs that include physical activities for multiple audiences. The diversity associated with this programming area testifies to the creativity of library staff working in and with their communities. This study adds to the limited understanding of programs involving physical activity in libraries by identifying and articulating several key aspects that need attention, including how this programming relates to the overall mission of the library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing focus on the public library's role as a place of and for the community that should have at its heart the needs of that community. In this respect, the development of new or renovated public libraries offers an opportunity for the design of these new buildings to reflect the needs and wants of the communities they serve. The aim of this project was to develop an in-depth understanding of the views and approaches of both librarians and architects involved in public library development projects in Australia. Using data gathered through semi-structured interviews this paper explores notions of community-focused design and co-design and the implications of involving the community in the process of library design for six public library development projects. Participants described a range of community engagement activities, relating benefits and challenges to the community consultation process. However, it was noted that there was also a curated nature to this input, and there was little evidence of community engagement extending beyond consultation to truly participatory design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the phenomenon of Australian 'street libraries'. Enthusiasts have suggested that they contribute to their communal fabric, providing increased sociability and promoting reading and literacy. Street libraries have been associated with 'placemaking' activities. Seen as part of the 'gift' economy, their 'Take a book. Give a Book. Share a Book.' motto promotes their role in recycling. International research has contested some of these claims, with some critics suggesting their role in addressing 'book deserts' is limited, that they represent a highly individualised paternalism by social and economic elites, and they are associated with the neoliberal assault on public libraries. This paper finds mixed evidence in support for the views of advocates and critics. Australian street libraries are skewed towards localities with the highest socio-economic measures of advantage. They are less 'interventions' into the landscape, as associated with private ownership. Street librarians are not, however, disproportionately urban, and their maintainers have greater economic diversity than their 'elite' characterisation would imply. Street libraries can be seen as an example of a gift economy, recycling about $11 million in value in 2021. In addition, some social capital advantages in establishing and maintaining a street library can be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public libraries occupy a highly visible and promissory role for how individuals and communities learn, interact and share with one another. Yet libraries are increasingly underfunded, decried as outdated or irrelevant, or swept up in neoliberal agendas and financialised logics. Combined, these threaten the public library as an indispensable site for community collection and re-collection. Inspired by previous library-focused position statements, a workshop, and subsequent experimental writing exercise, we offer our own manifesto for co-creating public library futures. In this, we seek to unpack the tensions that encircle public libraries and seek to chip away at their physical, digital and social infrastructure. Due to the way in which public libraries can co-create multiple possibilities, we argue that this manifesto be used to inform future participatory research agendas. The key message is hopeful, yet pragmatic: co-creating public library futures can support social justice efforts yet requires ongoing vigilance and new forms of institutional and societal investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a study of activity that occurred in public libraries during early implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Data were collected through telephone interviews, using open-ended questions, with 72 public library employees between November 2013 and February 2014. The article is not a comprehensive or statistical study; rather, it demonstrates different ways that librarians were or were not helping people find out about ACA health-care coverage options in large and small libraries across the United States. The research found that library involvement was related to perceived community need and to activities of other groups in the city. Anomalies and various problems suggested during the interviews point to areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports on an innovative, community-based effort to promote awareness and understanding of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through a public library system in one southeastern county. Specifically, this study assesses the current knowledge, perceptions, and communication sources and needs regarding the ACA among adults in one southeastern county in an effort to determine the feasibility of establishing the public library as a trusted and nonpartisan source of ACA-related information. Results of formative research are discussed, and campaign development activities are chronicled. Findings indicate that public libraries can serve as a hub of information on important health-related issues through their efforts to communicate with, educate, and engage with the communities they serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1999 Library Quarterly published the author's article "Tunnel Vision and Blind Spots: What the Past Tells Us about the Present; Reflections on the Twentieth-Century History of American Librarianship." In it he argued that library and information studies (LIS) research and discourse suffered from a narrow perspective that limited its ability to discern a wider range of contributions and roles libraries played in their host communities. In this follow-up article, by harnessing conclusions emanating from research for his new book, "Part of Our Lives": A People's History of the American Public Library (2015) as a test case, the author argues that LIS discourse and research continue to manifest tunnel vision and blind spots that limit librarianship's ability to more deeply understand its present circumstances and more prudently prepare for its future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a theoretical framework for conceptualizing public library membership and belonging as an ongoing action net of joint intention and collective action between individual members of the public and the library. It provides an analysis of how membership is constituted, observed, and documented by public libraries from a social-constructivist perspective. Drawing on social theory and philosophy, organizational studies, and secondary public library data sources, a high-level typology of public library member categories from the political and organizational modes of public library action is proposed. Member types are characterized using institutionalized structures of public library use, access, data, discourse, behavior, and social media applications. Implications of this framework for future research and public library innovation are suggested in conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an overview of the Western public library's development into its present form(s) and its shift to the prevailing social perspective. This leads to a discussion of "digital and point-oh libraries" as one of two major strands and " social space and place" as the other. Our main critique is that this development has caused an unfortunate downplay of societal perspectives in favor of a focus on social issues. Another side effect is a growing lack of attention to the potential of physical, on-site collections. By proposing a specific counterexample, we discuss library collections as a community concern and as a step toward bridging the social-societal gap. The potential of a redefined on-site collection is set against the backdrop of public libraries offering nontraditional collections, such as tool-lending libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of library and information science (LIS) has long struggled with issues of diversity and inclusion in the composition of information professionals, in educational content, and in connecting with many communities. Yet the field has also produced many innovative approaches to meeting unique community needs and incorporating issues of justice, rights, and equity into educational activities. Although these approaches rarely connect education and advocacy, connecting these two can both facilitate better sharing of best practices in these areas and enable the educational and professional efforts of the field to better complement one another. Building on the "virtuous circle" concept that a truly effective focus on inclusion in the field will require involvement of both educators and professionals, this article offers a series of cases from LIS education programs and information institutions focusing on intersecting issues of diversity, inclusion, rights, justice, and equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These introductory comments to the Symposium on Diversity and Library and Information Science Education at the University of Maryland are designed to frame the crucial role that library systems, structures, and personnel play in providing information access to marginalized communities, particularly as our society continues to be increasingly dependent on electronic forms of information for basic functioning. These remarks highlight the role that libraries play in cutting through the noise of "infotainment" as well as the spaces they provide for communities to name and describe their lived experience. It is intended for audiences interested in the connection between information systems, their stewards, and the practice of building an inclusive society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synonyms for diversity include assortment, difference, distinctiveness, medley, unlikeness, and variety. Note that not one of these terms includes the concept of quotas or force of any kind. Diversity is the natural state. Sameness and uniformity are unnatural. Diversity is not about color, gender, age, language, or sexual orientation--it is about all of these things. If we do not ensure that our libraries have frontline professionals who reflect the nature of the communities with which they work, then we will lose valuable patrons. They will turn instead to their neighbor who looks just like them, regardless of whether or not they receive valid information from that person. Encouraging diversity and looking at things differently are some of the most important things libraries do as educational institutions. This article explores ways to ensure that in the future our library and information professionals mirror the people they serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work presented here characterise the engagement of one university library with two social media platforms popular with academic libraries. The collected data are analysed to identify the forms of Twitter and Facebook activity that engage library stakeholders in social media conversations. Associations were observed between: i) directed tweets from the library and mentions of the library by others on Twitter; and ii) comments from the library and comments from others on Facebook. Three broad classes of Twitter user interacting with the library were revealed: i) accounts strongly linked to the library with multiple to/from tweets; ii) those weakly linked to the library with, typically, a single tweet; and iii) those indirectly linked to the library through tweets mentioning the library and sent by other users. Two divergent forms of Facebook interaction with the library were highlighted: i) a library post generating a large sequence of comments, typically in response to a competition/challenge; and ii) a library post with no comments, typically a photo post or a post inviting readers to click a link to find out more about an event/service. The work presented here is an initial investigation that provides useful insights, and offers a methodology for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the legacy of library science scholar and outgoing "Library Quarterly" editor John Carlo Bertot. Particular focus is given to his work in the area of promoting libraries as key institutions in ensuring universal public access to the Internet and thereby helping to foster social inclusion. Topics include Bertot's "Public Libraries & the Internet" surveys, urban versus rural community needs, and library-community relations.

The article discusses public library administration and its relationship to the needs and opinions of its public patrons, arguing that the scope and mission of public libraries is as diverse and open-ended as the directors and communities wish them to be. Topics discussed include the centrality of supply and demand on library services, levels of responsiveness from libraries to service design, and issues surrounding user-centered design.

The article presents an entry in the journal's regular column focusing on public librarianship. This entry addresses the basic question of what constituencies use public libraries and why they are important to serve. Topics addressed include trends in providing non-traditional public services through public library facilities, the views of researcher David Thacher on the existence and maintenance of libraries as public spaces, and managing the realities of misbehavior in such spaces.

The article presents personal narratives in which library leaders from the Johnson County Public Library in Overland Park, Kansas and the Novi Public Library in Novi, Michigan discuss how they work with the community and local governments to achieve success.

The article discusses support for U.S. libraries that are located in small communities. Libraries discussed include the Chelsea District Library (CDL) in Chelsea, Michigan, the Seward Community Library Museum in Seward, Alaska, and the Hood River County Library District in Hood River, Oregon. Topics discussed include the connection between libraries and the public, outreach activities performed by libraries, and fundraising activities performed by libraries.

This report describes several linked empirical studies that examine the activities of public libraries in increasing the financial literacy of their service population. A qualitative field study examines librarians' perceptions of the challenges in offering information and services in this domain; a second set of interviews centers on the perceptions of six "partners," individuals and organizations that work with libraries to offer programs and services. Next, we report the results of a survey of the financial literacy programs and services offered by a sample of public libraries, including the priority audiences and topics of those programs and services. Finally, we discuss an analysis of the finance-related hyperlinks contained on a sample of public library websites. We discuss the implications of our findings for public librarians as well as the organizations that produce content designed to improve financial literacy. Only by understanding the reasons why these gaps in financial literacy exist can we hope to address the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the concept of service branding in the context of libraries and information organizations. We discuss community perceptions of library brand value from the librarian's perspectives in the context of public and academic libraries. Librarians’ thoughts and viewpoints in improving the community's library experience are also discussed. The findings highlight the importance of improving the library's visibility, creating appealing ambience, and developing a strategic branding plan in order to provide robust, compelling, and meaningful experiences for their community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents issues of concern for public librarianship and the concepts of community needs and public interest. Focus is given to the state of public libraries in 2013. Topics addressed include the need for political-economic advocacy on behalf of libraries, the irony of struggling libraries amidst rising rates in literacy and book consumption, and the library as a community center.

Public libraries are heavily affected by political and policy-making processes that shape the funding, activities, and roles of libraries in society, with the explosion of information policy decisions in the past two decades significantly increasing the responsibilities of libraries while also increasing limitations on their activities. Research in library and information science, however, has paid scant attention to these issues over time. If libraries are to be able to effectively advocate for the interests of their institutions, patrons, and communities, researchers need to more strongly engage problems of politics and policymaking that impact libraries. With greater amounts of data and analysis in this area, libraries will be better situated to advocate for their needs in political and policy-making processes, as well as better able to articulate their positions to members of the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic special collections librarians have made great strides in making their collections discoverable and accessible to a wide audience. This article examines use of special collections departments and the many kinds of outreach librarians undertake to increase access to and knowledge of their collections, including creating electronic finding aids, digitizing material, collaborating with faculty, increasing participation in instruction and reference, and using exhibits, social media, and relationships with community partners to further the mission and goals of the library and the college or university. The article uses the University of Illinois at Chicago Special Collections Department as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Academic libraries are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their value to their communities. As academic libraries transition from collection-based institutions into service-based organizations, it is important that the value of their services is recognized. This article describes some of the challenges facing academic libraries in retaining visibility during the provisioning (i.e., delivery) process, and it explores new and creative approaches that academic libraries might undertake to address these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the role of the public library in ensuring access to the broadband communication that is so critical in today's knowledge-based society. It examines the culture of information in 2010, and then asks what it means if individuals are online or not. The paper also explores current issues surrounding telecommunications and policy, and finally seeks to understand the role of the library in this highly technological, perpetually connected world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]