Public libraries will avoid being relegated to the scrap heap of history in a digital age as long as they continue to serve as platforms for learning, creativity, and innovation that strengthen their communities.
That’s the conclusion of a new report “Rising to the Challenge: Re-envisioning Public Libraries,” which the Aspen Institute has produced in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
There are nearly 9,000 public library systems and 17,000 branches and outlets across the U.S. Nearly seven in 10 Americans say they have at least “medium” levels of engagement with their public libraries. And nearly a quarter of U.S. adults use their local libraries for Internet access.
“The public library is a key partner in sustaining the educational, economic and civic health of the community during a time of dramatic change, [and] there is already a significant physical presence and infrastructure to leverage for long-term success,” the report states.
As important, the library "is a core civil society institution, democracy’s 'maker space,'" the report asserts.
But as public libraries shift from being repositories for materials to platforms for learning and participation, their ability to provide access to vast amounts of content in all formats will be vital. “Libraries face two immediate major challenges in providing access to content in all forms,” the report says. “Being able to procure and share e-books and other digital content on the same basis as physical versions, and having affordable, universal broadband technologies that deliver and help create content.”
A 21st-century library will remain relevant only if it is built on three key assets: people, place, and platform. The report observes that libraries are “shifting from building collections to building human capital, relationships, and knowledge networks in the community.”
While a library is both a physical and virtual place, the report believes its physical presence “anchors it most firmly in the community.” But the library as a learning center is also becoming more of a destination, “a way station on the learning journey.” In that capacity the library in a digital age should also be “a virtual space accessible from anywhere 24/7.”
A library’s goal, says the report, should be to enable individuals and communities “to create their own learning and knowledge.” So a library “platform” needs to be adaptable to the individual’s needs. “The library as platform radically reshapes [its] daily activities, shifting away from the old model of organizing and ‘lending’ the world’s knowledge toward a new vision of the library as a central hub for learning and community connections.”
To be successful in a digital age, libraries, says the report, will require a different kind of access and distribution infrastructure, more sophisticated analytics “that will enable the library itself to become a “learning organization,” and the ability to scale themselves to facilitate innovation and competition.
The report recommends four strategic opportunities for action to guide libraries’ transformation: aligning their service to support community goals, providing access to content in all formats, ensuring the long-term sustainability of public libraries through greater attention to potential financial resources, and cultivating “leadership.”
But library professionals face several leadership challenges, such as taking advantage of digital tools; building the library’s capacity, which might benefit from exploring best practices outside the U.S.; thinking harder about succession planning; including trustee and “friend” groups in leadership development activities; and developing strategies that can keep pace with larger disruptive changes.
Libraries and their communities must also be watchful, and be prepared to respond to, several important developments and trends, including new technologies and their impact on a global information economy, online education, the boundaries of privacy and data protection, and “hyperconnected” societies.
Related Stories
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
| Sep 9, 2014
Ranked: Top religious sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Brasfield & Gorrie, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest religious sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 9, 2014
Take a look at the hardhat of the future
A Los Angeles-based startup added augmented reality technology to a hardhat, creating a smart helmet.
| Sep 9, 2014
Frank Lloyd Wright's Annie Pfeiffer Chapel brought back to life using 3D printing
Restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed chapel was made possible (and affordable) thanks to 3D printing.
| Sep 8, 2014
First Look: Foster + Partners, Fernando Romero win competition for Mexico City's newest international airport
Designed to be the world’s most sustainable airport, the plan uses a single, compact terminal scheme in lieu of a cluster of buildings, offering shorter walking distances and fewer level changes, and eliminating the need for trains and tunnels.
| Sep 8, 2014
Trimble acquires Gehry Technologies, aims to create tools for linking office and job site
Trimble and Frank Gehry announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance to collaborate to transform the construction industry by further connecting the office to on-site construction technologies. As part of the alliance, Trimble has acquired Gehry Technologies.
| Sep 7, 2014
Ranked: Top state government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
PCL Construction, Stantec, and AECOM head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest state government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 7, 2014
Hybrid healthcare: Revamping inefficient inpatient units to revenue-producing outpatient care
It's happening at community hospitals all over America: leadership teams are looking for ways to maintain margins by managing underutilized and non-revenue producing space. GS&P's David Magner explores nontraditional healthcare models.
| Sep 7, 2014
USGBC + American Chemistry Council: Unlikely partners in green building
In this new partnership, LEED will benefit from the materials expertise of ACC and its member companies. We believe this has the potential to be transformational, writes Skanska USA's President and CEO Michael McNally.
| Sep 7, 2014
Behind the scenes of integrated project delivery — successful tools and applications
The underlying variables and tools used to manage collaboration between teams is ultimately the driving for success with IPD, writes CBRE Healthcare's Megan Donham.