One assignment in this semester's IST605 is that each of the students visit four libraries (they could be anywhere, but not imaginary) and write a review for each of the libraries. There is a limited scope of the reviews, but basically you can write anything about the "librariness" of the libraries.
You can read
my writing online, however, I am not particularly proud of mine. One of the most important reasons is that, compared to my initial enthusiasm, I didn't have a lot of time to actually do the tours, especially given my obsession with routine to do the same thing every day.
However, even just chose a number of really easy targets, I still learnt something about US libraries. As I mentioned before, I had some imaginations of what libraries in the US were like when I was in China. For example, I always imagined US libraries were, highly professional, well-managed, quite noisy, more bookless, etc, most of which are just the opposite to what's happening in China. Well, after the library tours, I realize that something are real for sure, but something are just my imagination.
Maybe the deepest impression I have is that, the libraries are really not that "bookless"; all the libraries I have visited in the US are still somewhat book-centered. Like I
mentioned before, I am not saying that book-centered libraries are not good, but I am disappointed to see there are so many books in the libraries, which occupy the spaces that can be used in a more meaningful way otherwise. So it makes me thinking that reinventing a library is never easy, but it is extremely interesting.
In last week's 605, Jill asked an interesting question, what would you include in your library if you were designing/redesigning it? There were a lot of reasonable questions. However, I was thinking that there were so many factors to consider that we can never give the answer so easily. Especially when a library is renovated, one has a whole infrastructure based on which the new library will be constructed. For example, it's almost impossible to change the stacks of Carnegie Library. So what would you do?
Moreover, what the library will look like is highly dependent on what it looks like and how the community perceives the library at present. In short, one actually needs so much more information to make an informed decision. Even though I hope that I am not overstating the value of assessment, because sometimes, grabbing a random idea and try it is something worth trying.
The last impression I have during the tours is that libraries are having totally different policies in terms of noise.
On the one hand, Bird Library is the noisiest library I have ever visited. This is an especially strong cultural shock for someone coming from China, because there is a huge pressure for everyone not to speak nearly in all Chinese libraries. Libraries are supposed to be quiet there. As a result, it's interesting that the percentage of Chinese students in Bird Library's quiet zone is actually much higher than other areas. For myself, I am bothered by all the noises as a library member; however, I think it's good as a library student.
It's equally interesting to see all the signs in Onondaga County Public Library telling people not to make phone calls (or eat and drink) in the library. Actually I am more surprised to see cases like this than those mentioned above, especially when there are so many excellent examples of how libraries divide zones to separate people with different needs, like
University of Houston Library. Bird Library does an decent job, but I don't think the policy is implemented well enough. Maybe it's impossible to stop people from talking in the quiet zone if you give them the right to talk in other areas in the library. So I am actually very interested to know more examples about the consequences of such policies.
Just like what Jill said in class, getting familiar with all the libraries is important for all librarians. Library tour should be an habit all librarians have.
Off the topic, Robert Dawson, a photographer, and his son, Walker, have been visiting public libraries across the US since 1994.
Their blog is a must read if you want to know more about what libraries are like across the country.
