This is a comment I threw together for a discussion board in my Public Libraries class. Don't know how true I think it is, but it's worth sharing. If I'm way off, feel free to tell me. Topic for Module 1: Factors supporting public libraries Libraries generally suffer from a PR problem that places them in a more precarious position than when the movement was young and growing. Libraries are often pegged as nothing more than quiet study spaces, book repositories, antiquated resources for information much inferior to the Internet, and sources for free DVD “rental.” This isn’t the case in every community, but I believe it’s fairly common outside of the library profession and the relative handful of regular users. Many of the external factors that would otherwise support libraries fail to penetrate these misconceptions, and every library that has successfully changed its reputation has had to work very hard against these misconceptions.
The economic situation for libraries was far different in the 19th century than it is today. The country was still more rural than urban, taxation on all levels was very low compared to today, and the public library was relatively new and exciting. “Captains of industry” gave to libraries, whereas modern tech billionaires and others with money today give more to schools and politics. In rural Van Buren County, there are many towns and villages that are struggling economically, and there is no Andrew Carnegie looking out for them. Having an awesome public library is not, I think, a point of pride anymore for most communities. We tend to be seen as old-fashioned, and most communities don’t want to be seen that way. There are plenty of opportunities to change this, but it will take a lot of work and patience. On the other hand, scholarship, conservation, and local pride combine to lend support to one library service: local history/ genealogy, which has a small but loyal base of users. The focus of public resources in support of universal public education tends to be the schools these days, to the exclusion of public libraries, although that doesn't help school libraries. There is often a disconnect between the school library and public library, which presents another problem and/or an opportunity. I have seen quite a few parents who opt for homeschooling making extensive use of our public library. Self-education is alive and well in free computer classes for seniors and some other programming, but many of the cultural programs designed for younger and middle-aged crowds tend not to do well in my area. Vocational influence offers another opportunity for improvement. There is a lack of programming aimed at helping blue-collar working people. Even factory employment these days often requires basic computer skills. Increasingly, working people have to go online to apply for jobs, follow up on applications, check schedules, and retrieve paystubs. Although the younger ones among them have been exposed to computers in grade school, older working people are often at sea, technologically. There is a need for support of both employed and unemployed working-class people that often goes unfulfilled. Vocational focus could work in favor of public libraries with an increase of attention and marketing. The relationship between these factors and the success of libraries is also complicated by the change in basic assumptions over the decades. Libraries generally no longer emphasize Americanizing immigrants as much as providing collections that strengthen connection to their culture while helping them navigate the American bureaucratic structures. We also no longer prescribe “good” literature for moral uplift, but often instead focus on providing popular material and diverse literature for underrepresented groups. This impacts the effect of the self-education factor as well as the religious factor. (Here's where I get into some sweeping and frankly unfair generalities for the sake of time and space and the aesthetics of rhetoric. There may be more exceptions than adherents to the "rules" that I seem to indicate here. There is a vast and growing Christian Left that stands for diversity and inclusion. If the following offends, I apologize. I couldn't resist a few choice words at the end.) Middle-class White Anglo-Saxon Protestants were once inspired by their religion to use public libraries to tame the heathen and savage foreigner. Today, they are too frequently inspired by their religion and morality to oppose collections and programming that support disaffected young people, LGBTQ people, and other vulnerable populations.
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Post-SOUP, pre-dinner. Here is the fact: I didn't expect to win. Upon scanning the competition's descriptions, my first thought was that a program addressing such basic needs as food for the hungry and citizenship for immigrants had me beat from the start. Creative writing is not a necessity, like eating and living in a free country are necessities. Unless, of course, you're a creative writer, in which case to not write feels like dying. That is the reason I will continue to pursue funding for this program, because exercising creativity and learning to communicate effectively can make life profoundly more livable and fulfilling, especially for the kind of kid that I was when I was in middle school and high school. It's a good thing for other types, too. It can enhance almost anybody's life, I think. But the misfits are my favorite, the ones for whom I stand at the cliff in the field of rye.
You must have come in during the middle of the conversation in my head. Let me back up. I just finished a short presentation at the Library SOUP event at the Michigan Library Association 2016 Annual Conference. It was a crowdfunding event, based on Detroit SOUP. Each participant voted with her/his ticket for the favorite of five programs presented. My program: the Teen Writers Journey to Publication, a Skype-connected writers' group that meets in seven different library branches across the county. The Teen Librarian from the East Lansing Public Library won with her Wee Free Pantry idea. And good for her! She deserved it. She presented it well and it is a worthy idea. For my part, I received a lot of great feedback. A friend told me I was "hands down, the best presenter" at the event. My bosses told me I looked natural up on stage. (Inside, I was screaming with anxiety. But one learns to disconnect and let another part of oneself take over. Which can also be learned through creative writing.) It was suggested that I "take it on the road" to some local civic groups to see if I could procure funding from them. It was also suggested that I try again next year at the SOUP. I intend to do both. I've been meaning to connect with civic groups anyway to gauge interest in a local history wiki project and find people willing to contribute as writers or interviewees. Outreach is also maybe part of my job, as Marketing Assistant. Now that I know I can pull off a presentation, I think I'm ready to be more active in that capacity. At any rate, it was a great opportunity and a big step in my professional development. Now, back to my MLIS homework ... and maybe the Pub Crawl at 7 (which will be a Pop Crawl for me, but a chance to hang out, maybe) ... Just a quick idea: I was reading this article, and it struck me that a local history wiki hosted by the public library but involving local people, businesses, organizations, who knows what, would be a really cool thing! Simple Google search turns up a couple of communities that are already doing it, like this one and this one. I want to do some research and see what it would take to fund this for Mattawan, Van Buren County, Southwest Michigan ... Just imagine how much ground you could cover and how many people of all ages you could engage ... And all the library programs it could spawn, teaching Web 2.0 to seniors and students, historical presentations, 21st century oral history workshops ...
But realistically, this is a good idea for someone ... My plate's pretty full already. I'm just going to put the idea out there for now and get back to my homework. Next week, I will be attending the 2016 Michigan Library Association Conference. My first professional conference. I'm realizing more and more that it's at least as much a responsibility as a privilege, and that I'm not the only one going who lacks a Master's Degree in Library & Information Science. Still, part of me feels guilty for being chosen to go instead of those more qualified. Like I don't deserve it.
I do realize, also, that I have to go, because I wrote the proposal for and am the facilitator for the program that is up for Library SOUP funding. I am responsible for representing the program and the Van Buren District Library at the competition. But there's a little bit of that old imposter syndrome that I've felt in other professional situations, the child in the position of a grownup through some random mistake of fate. I can do this, though. Just have to put on my big boy briefs and get to it. If I'm going to get one thing done today, it's finding and reading the four resources I need on the core functions and structural components of rural and urban libraries. Except that I'm not sure what I'm doing there, or what I need for that project. Taking action, however uncertain, is sometimes preferable to doing nothing, however. I also need to do laundry and figure out how to accomplish everything I need to do in preparation for the big debut of the Teen Writers Journey to Publication Skype network on Tuesday ... and prep my presentation for the MLA conference SOUP competition next week ... I do not have enough time for everything. I have even less time if I devote time to panicking. I need to organize. I need to manage stress. I need to go.
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AuthorJeffrey Babbitt, MLIS, is a graduate of the School of Library and Information Science at Wayne State University who is pursuing a career as a librarian in Michigan. Subject Headings
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June 2021
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