big box/little libraries

The readings for the urban redevelopment group and the big box bookstore group flowed together surprisingly well for me.  I started with the big box articles.  When I heard that some libraries were organizing their spaces like huge chain bookstores, I didn't really understand where the controversy would lie.  I got that this might involve abandoning the Dewey decimal system in favor of thematic organization.  Maybe I just haven't been a librarian-in-training long enough, but I guess the thought of life without Melvil doesn't get me too riled up.  In fact, this example and one in the Putnam and Feldstein article helped me realize that I am mostly concerned with organizing books to benefit the patrons (though I have not yet taken any cataloging classes and may be eating my words next semester!). 

One of the articles focused on an aspect of this trend of bookstore mimicry that caught my attention: budget.  I really hadn't considered the implications of running a library like a bookstore beyond organization, but the Coffman article suggested that monetary issues might make staffing a library like a bookstore very difficult.  I found myself frustrated while reading this.  When Coffman was comparing relative costs of staffing and running libraries and bookstores, I kept thinking, "Bookstores and libraries are trying to do essentially different things!"  One is trying to sell books, while the other is trying to get books (and other information) to libraries for free.  The bookstore is out for itself; the library is there for the good of the community.  

I thought everything in the Putnam and Feldstein article supported how I was feeling about the Coffman piece.  Libraries are doing something very unique that cannot be done with minimally-trained $7.50 an hour employees.  While it may be that librarians attempt to create "neutral" collections, they are certainly advocating for social progression and positive change.  The Chicago branch libraries in the article are attempting to bridge the digital divide, welcome new immigrants and offer ESL, support students and parents with the "Teacher in the Library" program, and provide opportunities for different races/classes to interact.  One librarian profiled "chose to combine the youth and adult nonfiction sections, since he was sensitive to the fact that adults with a wide range of reading abilities patronized the library".  I thought this article outlined the tools and programs with which libraries can keep themselves relevant,  "a place where people see a reflection of their own culture even as they get access to a wider one".  I probably got a bit too starry-eyed reading the Putnam and Feldstein article: they did not address budgeting issues as Coffman so practically and dutifully did.  But the article depicted "the least threatening public institution" moving in a direction that I'd like to see other libraries go.  When my brother-in-law tried to convince my librarian-to-be husband and I of the obsolescence of libraries, we both stammered something about community centers, job-searching materials, and public computers.  I was so excited to read about libraries in Chicago that are doing exactly what I was trying to describe.

State of the Libraries: Kansas

 Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library

Topeka, Kansas

photo from city-data.com

Carlson, J. (2009).  Woman fights Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library policy.  Topeka      
          Capital-Journal, The (KS).

Last year at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library (TSCPL) board of trustees considered the request of a member of the "Kansans for Common Sense Policy" group.  Kim Borchers had lobbied for nine years to have four sexually explicit books restricted for minors.  The state does have a law against exposing minors to obscene materials.  However, under the same law, schools and libraries are defended in making obscene material available to the public.  The case walks the line between censorship and responsibility to protect minors.  On the one hand, libraries should be free from censorship.  As far as I understand, schools act in loco parentis (in place of parents) and therefore limiting students' access to obscene materials would be justified.  However public libraries are under no such compulsion.  Parents retain the responsibility to monitor their children's library check out habits.  On the other hand, things are further muddled by the fact that TSCPL previously caved to pressure to house Playboy magazines behind the circulation desk and make them available to adults only.  Also, libraries often do filter the internet on their children and young adult computers.  Borchers complained that the library policies on obscene print materials are inconsistent with the policies on internet obscenity.  I would tend to agree, but rather than restrict obscene materials, I believe that discontinuing the use of internet filters would be more in line with the library's mandate to provide open access to information.  Along with that, the library should provide educational workshops on safe and responsible internet use for children. This issue calls into question a library's responsibility for its young patrons versus the value of freedom of information. A solution is somewhat unclear since I do not feel that it is in any way appropriate for children to check out obscene books or magazines, but I also believe that public libraries should not limit access to materials under any circumstances.

Library program aids job hunters (2010).  Hutchinson News, The (KS).

The Kansas State Library, located within the state capitol building in Topeka, recently picked up a software program to assist those in search of jobs, seeking to take standardized placement tests, or even pursuing United States citizenship. This kind of program speaks to the librarian's sense of calling and service, of professional responsibility. Librarians should continuously look for new ways to promote equality. As the role of libraries and librarians changes, it is sometimes unclear what the field will look like in the near future. The idea of the “new” library as a community center is an appealing one. In terms of social justice work, the unbiased library seems the perfect venue to “level the playing field”. By providing services to help people better their lives, the library offers equal access not only to materials, but in a larger sense to basic rights: employment, citizenship, education. Education will be an essential part of ensuring that a program like this one will serve the public. Advertising the new programs may not be sufficient. To benefit individuals who need these software programs, the library may need to reach out to patrons who had not previously utilized the library's services. In this scenario, the social aspect of libraries intersects with the technological in a way that could bring real change.

Roggie, A. (1999). Tolerance alliance gives schools books. Intelligencer Journal (PA).

In 1999, the Alliance for Tolerance and Freedom provided seven books on acceptance to each Lancaster, Pennsylvania public school library. One book in particular, called Annie on My Mind, deals with female homosexual characters, and its inclusion in school libraries has caused some controversy. The connection to Kansas is that this same book was challenged in 1995 in an Olathe, Kansas highschool, one of seven challenges since 1988. The ACLU sued the school district for censorship and ultimately the courts found removal of the book unconstitutional. When I consider what professional responsibility means to a school librarian, I immediately think of a calling to provide a broad swath of materials to my students. I believe that each student should be able to find his or her perspective reflected in the books on school library shelves. In addition, students should have the opportunity to be exposed to other cultures, viewpoints, and lifestyles through the variety in their school libraries. The director of the Alliance donated the diverse collection of books specifically for the latter, stating, “'The purpose of these donations is to have several books on the shelves in the library giving students a perspective on diversity they might not have considered'” (1).

 The Ugly Side of Librarianship: Segregation in Library Services from 1900-1950
by Klaus Musmann

 I find it incredible that only 6 African-Americans became librarians in the first 25 years of the 20th century.  Libraries have welcomed African-American librarians for less than a century, and even then not in large numbers.  How diverse is the library profession now?  This calls to mind how in my district, the superintendent has made it one of her goals to bring more educators of color into our classrooms, stating that students of color in the schools have requested that more teachers "look like them".  I would assume that just as seeing teachers of color makes students of color more comfortable and welcomed, the same might hold true for libraries.  The diversity of the employees should match the demographic of their patrons.   Are there still roadblocks--instances of institutionalized racism--that are holding African-Americans and other people of color from entering the library profession?  Or have we made progress?  The country has clearly come a long way in the past 150 years from a time when African-Americans were prohibited from owning books.  However, I would guess that based on the demographic of my class and of the libraries I frequent, we still have work to do to make librarianship open to all.

After reading the article and thinking about librarianship this week, some questions that arose are these: if I am to provide library services and materials to all without judgment or bias, "tak[ing] the people with their prejudices" (81), how then am I to work for social justice?  Should I not hope to eradicate prejudices?  It seems that at least public librarians, unlike teachers, cannot (and perhaps should not?) do much to shape the opinions of those they serve.  Where does a school librarian fit on this spectrum?