The Impact of Public Library Closings

Earlier this morning I was reading a report entitled "Why Public Libraries Close"conducted by researchers at Florida State University (June 30, 2008). Much of the contents is devoted to explanations of the research design, methodology, and an analysis of findings. What struck me, and summarized eloquently the centrality of libraries to community health and stability was the following observation:

"The socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the population within the immediately surrounding 1 mile radius [of] the closed library tended to be poorer, less educated, and with more renters than homeowners when compared to the U.S. population as a whole...These characteristics are often associated with lower mobility and fewer alternatives for information access. Where these population characteristics prevail, closures could disproportionately impact potential library users who may need the public library more than most..."

This is yet another element of the story that libraries have to tell, to borrow again from Walt Crawford: their importance to under served communities as an immediate means of access to resources otherwise unavailable or available only tenuously.

Some thoughts on libraries and their roles

Over the past several weeks I have read a number of articles pondering the role of public libraries. Directly or indirectly all share a common theme, which is, to borrow the title of one article, “How to Future Proof our Library.” Personally I find that a rather ominous title, which conjures up images of libraries designed like Vauban fortresses or late nineteenth century armories with firing slits for windows and an intimidating, glowering massiveness. Which, mercifully the articles do not advocate or even consider!

One in particular struck me as addressing, albeit indirectly, a common misconception about libraries and their community role. Entitled “The Storied Library” by Walt Crawford, it actually deals with branding, or if a term from the world of marketing grates a bit, the stories a library has to tell about its community, the niches it fills, the ways in which it determines the community needs it will address and by so doing remains relevant to those it serves. So how many stories do we have to tell at Otis? There are several ways to frame the answer. We could count the number of on line data base uses per annum, the number of weekly visits, the number of books, CD’s and DVD’s circulated, programs offered, persons served by Literacy Volunteers, reference questions answered, and a myriad other quantifying factors. To paraphrase Crawford, our stories are in total the substance of what we are, what we do, and how we place ourselves in our surroundings and the lives of our patrons.

What I also like about Crawford’s approach is the reconsideration of information as the paramount library function. Heresy! No, not really. Designating or defining libraries as the information place is limiting and arguably leads to a narrow definition of what libraries and librarians do. We are certainly about information, which he defines as service designed to “bring resources to people for their education, enlightenment and entertainment.” That sounds more like the work of Otis Library and its staff. To that I would also echo Crawford’s addendum that “we serve as a safety net for the displaced and a primary place where young people learn to love reading and knowledge.”

This bountiful definition leads me to believe that we need to address the declivity between what librarians and libraries do and what users think they do. To use only the single element of information, in an environment in which profit increasingly shapes accessibility to information libraries represent just the opposite model, with digital and print, sources conveniently available, complete with a human resource for help. This is what one observer categorizes as the “quintessence of the sustainable information movement.”

Dealing with Distractions

A brief entry today, addressing the topic of libraries and distractions. I was reading Marcel Proust’s essay, appropriately entitled On Reading, and was struck by his descriptions of hours spent reading in profound silences, undisturbed by distractions, except for the distant sound of bells “carrying the time to distant regions, without seeing me, without knowing me, without disturbing me.” Juxtaposition this with Nicholas Carr’s article Is Google Making Us Stupid? cited in my last blog entry and more recently, the July 20 article in the Sunday Times (Great Britain) entitled Stoooopid .... why the Google generation isn’t as smart as it thinks, subtitled The digital age is destroying us by ruining our ability to concentrate. It is easy enough to categorize this class of complaint as mere crankiness, or resistance to change ( the oft mentioned Luddite analogy) on the part of a few benighted souls. However, it is an issue which arises at the library, and one that ought not to be dismissed. In a library environment the digital accessories of everyday life are numerous and potentially intrusive: mobile phones, various platforms for music, computer generated film and music clips, even normal speaking voices. What might seem an irritant outside the library magnifies into a noxious substance inside.

Personally, I do not think we will ever return to the allegedly pristine environment where the profound silences Proust describes permeate the library and distractions are minimal. Libraries are meeting needs and providing services that do not lend themselves to uninterrupted quiet, and distractions are part of that mix. That said, there are quiet areas in the library, especially in the carrels and seating adjacent to the adult stacks where quiet is the norm, and there are study rooms available, by reservation, through the reference desk. The use of cell phones is prohibited outside of certain spaces, and the list of discouraged behaviors is posted throughout the library. Listening to music don headphones and turn down the volume. Then too, on weekdays there are security officers on duty from the hours of 2-8 who will gladly show transgressors the error of their ways. These measures may constitute compromises, but they also reflect the changing nature of library usage, and the necessary balance between different audiences and their expectations.

Two articles worth reading

Two recent articles cover topics which library patrons and the reading public in general might find of interest. The first is Robert Darnton’s June 12 New York Review of Books article entitled The Library in the New Age. Darton is Director of the University Library at Harvard, and while he is principally concerned with the relevance of research libraries in the current information age, (he argues convincingly that every age is an age of information) some of his key points are equally applicable to public libraries. The whole article is well worth reading. His case for the instability of information is particularly good, with a wonderful example based on contemporary reports of Washington’s defeat at the Battle of Brandywine.

For those who value public libraries, there are some particularly resonant comments at the end of the article. I am especially fond of the following passages: “[D] on’t think of it [the library] as a warehouse or museum. While dispensing books most research libraries operate a nerve centers for transmitting electronic impulses…As a citadel of learning and as a platform for adventure on the Internet, the research library still deserves to stand at the center of the campus, preserving the past and accumulating energy for the future.” I think these sentiments are equally applicable to public libraries. While dispensing books and other media, the Otis library is also a forum, and a conduit for information in digital and printed formats. It is a source for original research, a classroom, and a community center. This is as it should be. A key challenge for Otis and other libraries now and in the future will be maintaining their importance to the communities they serve. That requires adaptability to changing needs. Otis Library takes that challenge seriously, and strives to be a good example of what Darnton calls a traditional service moving with the times.

The second article of note, by Nicholas Carr is entitled Is Google Making Us Stupid? and appears in the most recent Atlantic Monthly magazine (July/August 2008). The central theme is the impact of online searching and surfing on critical thinking and reading. Carr summarizes the perceived changes in the way he reads and his ability to immerse himself in books and lengthy articles: “[M]y concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, and begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.” It is that ability to read deeply and analyze complexities that on line reading practices sunder. Quoting Maryanne Wolfe, author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, Carr wonders if “the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and ‘“immediacy”’ above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerges when an earlier technology, the printing press made long and complex works of prose commonplace.”

It is a good question, albeit one even Carr stops short of answering categorically. I suspect I see evidence of the symptoms in my own evolving reading habits, but I leave it to you to test his thesis after reading the article.

Cell Phones and Civility

Last week a visibly upset patron stopped me and expressed her deep and abiding frustration with cell phones, or more specifically, the way in which some patrons used these devices. What she articulated was a not uncommon phenomenon in libraries. As the nature and uses of libraries have changed, and especially as libraries attract larger numbers of nontraditional patrons drawn by computers, games, programs and other attractions the question of public civility becomes a pertinent and contentious point of discussion. I am not certain that cell phones are the core problem, although they are certainly a visible and justifiable target. (I played baseball on a team where our first baseman had the first few bars of Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida as his ring tone. I always liked that song, until the fifth or sixth time the phone went off during a road trip.)



Not to sound like a curmudgeon, but there seems to be a lack of consideration for others that manifests itself in certain behaviors. Cell phone tones, followed by extended and often personal conversations peppered with expletives and graphic descriptions are clearly obnoxious. Similarly, the folks who stand over the no smoking signs at the library entrance puffing away, the fatigued or unreflective folks who park themselves in front of the book drop, and the group conducting a full throated conversation oblivious to those in adjacent seats trying to read all merit attention and remonstrance.


As this list implies the problem is as much a matter of behavior as of technology. Therefore, we ask cell phone users to hold their conversations in the foyer, the Media Center or outside the library. There is signage making that request in several locations, but experience shows that signage mostly helps staff point out the policy as they address a violation. Few transgressors read the text before the issue is raised with them. As for the other forms of inconsiderate or anti-social behavior, we could post multiple bill boards inveigning against smoking, cussing, drinking and chewing, but the results would be homely. What we will do is point out the violations as they occur, refer to the copies of the behavior policies posted in multiple locations, ask for cooperation, remove the recalcitrant, and maintain a belief in the long term efficacy of behavior modification.

The hiatus ends

It is hard to believe that so much time has passed since my last post. In fact, I find the lack of further entries hard to explain. The most plausible explanation is lack of time. It certainly is not for lack of subject matter. One of the topics preoccupying me during this hiatus is security. This is not a topic peculiar to the library, indeed it is a subject long associated with the down town area generally. However, what occurs at the library is a manifestation of larger community concerns, and exemplify the types of issues requiring resolution on a community wide basis.

It has been clear for some time that the library is too large to be adequately monitored by staff alone. There are too many corners, obscured and unobserved areas in the library, not counting the special challenges presented by the entry way and exterior. There are also the quantifiable incidents of untoward behavior which frustrate both patrons and staff and detract from our role as a community resource. It is not that one particularly egregious incident provoked a strong response, rather it is the slow grind of often minor events. These will eventually overwhelm even those of the most equable disposition. Perhaps in a less inspiring environment some of this could be rationalized as reflective of the surroundings, but in a new and dynamic building with wonderful amenities for public use the lack of consideration and proper use become intolerable.

Therefore the library has embarked on a program resulting in new, visible and we judge effective measures. A closed circuit camera system is now being installed expressly to monitor the most problematic areas internally and externally. Security staff are being added to the library and will be a visible presence during the days and evenings. Other salient measures cover the window sills and rest rooms.

In conjunction with these enhancements, we are holding regular dialogs with city officials and departments. The mayor's office, city manager, police department and department of human services are all contributing to these communications. The response from Norwich city government is encouraging, and the willingness of city departments to advocate for improvements in housing, policing, and other services validate their commitment to a renascent down town area.

I am pleased to report that the atmosphere at the library has improved markedly. We are an urban library, and the events in and around the library are those facing other urban communities. The environment may never be idyllic, but with the cooperative spirit evinced to date, both the community and the library will benefit.

Library Updates

I hope that you have all received the latest copy of the library newsletter. If you have not signed up to receive our monthly update on activities at the library please contact Julie Menders at jmenders@otis.lioninc.org and we will be sure to include you on our list.

One of my goals for the library is offering a broad spectrum of opportunities that enhance our utility to the public. One of our most recent and successful innovations is serving as a community service work site for area high school students. We currently have 6 students from Norwich Free Academy and one student from the Academy of the Holy Family in Baltic. Each student is required to perform 20 hours of community service as part of their course requirements, and we are very pleased to be a work site. Among the duties performed are shelf reading-a time consuming but essential process of placing the collection in its proper order in the book stacks, shifting collections as books and other materials are removed from the collection and replaced with newer editions, and ascertaining the status of materials listed as lost or missing. We are also hosting an intern from Three Rivers Community College who will help us with a patron survey. This, I hope, will help us to be more responsive to the needs of the library's users, and help us to effectively allocate our resources.

Long term, building on these time constrained service programs, my goal is to use the library as a vehicle for training future librarians. A fair amount has been written over the past few years about the graying of the work force in general, and of librarians in particular. Otis is a good location for a program designed to attract young adults and I am currently working on a proposal to build a collaborative effort with Norwich Free Academy that would introduce young people to the librarianship as a profession.

If any of you are interested in establishing a community service program with the library, or have ideas for other community based collaborations please let me know. Feel free to call me at 860-889-2365 x 122 or e-mail me at bfarwell@otis.lioninc.org.