Does Library = Books?
As I make my way through my Hyperlinked Library class (taught by Dr. Michael Stephens) readings, I must pause a moment to respond to something. Brian Kenney is a library director in White Plains, NY. His article, Three Ways Publishers and Libraries can work better together (Publisher’s Weekly, 2016) talks about the importance of the relationship between publishers and libraries, particularly around the subscription to eBooks. This is an interesting discussion, and Kenney’s perspective is vital as he has worked in both publishing and libraries.
However, I must take exception to something else Kenney says in the article. He states, that “in survey after survey, the public still overwhelmingly views the library brand as books.” (Kenney, 2016). With surveys, devil is always in the details. I wonder, if the library’s brand is perhaps not books per se, but knowledge. Kenney bemoans the LIS faculty, panelists and conference speakers who proclaim that, “public libraries should be community centers, agents of innovation, knowledge creators, and makerspaces.” (Kenney, 2016). I suspect that LIS folks understand that Library = Knowledge, not Library = Knowledge Format, in this case, books. Kenney himself discusses this very notion in his article, The user is (still) not broken (2014). So perhaps the outreach and marketing we deliver should focus on the types and formats of knowledge we have to share, and the fact that there are many. What do you think?
And my parting thought, will be the same as Kenney’s in this same article. Kenney stated how, “a stack of books in the corner of a classroom is not a library.” (2016). As an elementary school librarian, I completely agree. Please support libraries in every school, even at the elementary level.
Addendum: I have just read the Stuck in the past section in The Heart of Librarianship (Stephens, 2011)… and I feel so validated.
Brian K. (2014). The User Is (Still) Not Broken. Publishers Weekly, 261(4), 19–.
Brian K. (2016). Three Ways Publishers and Libraries Can Work Better Together. Publishers Weekly, 263(7), 19–.
Stephens, M. (2016). The Heart of Librarianship : Attentive, Positive, and Purposeful Change. ALA Editions.
NOTE: Originally published in my SJSU iSchool blog, Every Library for Everyone
