Seattle Public Library as Place Community Building Impact
Seattle Public Library as "Place": Community Building & Impact Dr. Karen E. Fisher Associate Professor & Chair, MLIS Program The Information School University of Washington
The Outcome Challenge
http: //ibec. ischool. washington. edu
Outcome Toolkit • Real methods for real situations • Effectiveness • Context-based, holistic • Using what you have
Development & Test Sites • Queens Borough PL (New York) • New Americans & Adult Learner programs • Austin PL (Texas) & Flint PL (Michigan) • After-school community tech programs • Peninsula Library System (California) • Community Info program for local non-profits • King County Library System (Washington) • “Voices from the Rim” special, cultural program ~Tested with 10 libraries across U. S.
What’s Going On? • Is the [X] working? • Who is the [X] affecting and how? • What are we accomplishing via [X] that’s unique in our community? • How could the [X] be improved? • Should the [X] be discontinued?
Outcomes ID’d via the Toolkit • • • Attitude/perception changes Increased access to info Personal efficacy Skill levels Learning and knowledge gains Progress toward a goal Social capital, social networks Status changes Decreased transaction costs
Seattle Public Library as “Place”: Community Building o Library Quarterly o Special Issue: Library as Place o Fisher, K. E. , Saxton, M. L. , Edwards, P. M. , & Mai, J-E. (2007). Seattle Public Library as place: Reconceptualizing space, community, and information at the central library. In G. J. Leckie & J. Buschman (Eds. ). Library as Place: History, community and culture (pp. 135 -160). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
New Seattle Public Library Central Building • May 2004 • $152 million • Rem Koolhaas, Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam • New Oslo library
SPL Grand Opening • 11 -floors, 362, 987 square feet • "Books Spiral" displays entire non-fiction collection in continuous run over 4 floors • 50 foot, towering glass "living room“ • Diamond-shaped exterior skin of glass and steel • Mixing Chamber – 100+ public access computers – Reference collection – Librarians use GPS-enabled Vocera wireless communication devices
Ray Oldenburg’s 3 rd Place Public places where we can be found when we are not at home or work • Personal and social benefits • e. g. , cafes and hair salons • 8 characteristics What’s Yours?
Is the New Central Library a Third Place?
Research Question What does the SPL Central Library mean as a • Physical Place • Social Place, and • Informational Place to its users and passers-by?
Methodology • Oct 8 – Nov 7, 2004 • MLIS graduate student assistants • 226 interviews • 151 users in varied library locations • 75 passers-by • 30 open and closed questions • Word association • Starbucks coupon
The Interviewees • 52% Male • 18 to 82 in age • 67% White, 12% Asian, 7. 5% Black • 3% English not spoken at home
SPL as Physical Place: Structure & Architecture “I’m a warm and cozy person, so when I first saw it, it seemed cold. But now that we’re here, we’ve made it our own place. ” • Most “loved it” • Strong sense of ownership of new space • Recognized as “their” library
Place, Cont’ • Civic pride, iconic • Modernity, visionary • Openness “One of the greatest additions to Seattle that I’ve seen in a long time. Sometimes, I purposely walk by just to pass it. ” “I like the transparency between the inside and the outside. Still feels like it’s part of the city even though it’s a huge building. ” “It’s a change from how people think of libraries. ” “You can go up 9 to 10 levels and look down over the rail. You know how you get that stomach feeling, when it lurches? I love that!”
SPL as Social Place “To come here is a social event for me, but it’s not like I come here to find dates. Not yet, at least. ” • • 54% users come with other people Varied reasons, for themselves and others – “I have an invalid friend and I get CDs for her” – “My sister’s in jail because of her manic depression condition. I want to help her get treatment and want to learn about what it’s like for her” – “I used the computers to produce a newsletter for my volunteer position” – “I look at Arab books for my woman” • Social interaction, community building
Books are Our Friends… • Meet them at the library, you can take them home “Anything you want is in a book except human contact, and even then if you’re engrossed in the story that is a form of contact. ”
Librarians as Social Type • Nice, kind, friendly, helpful, educated, knowledgeable, quiet women, who wear glasses and provide people with advice and aid in searching • “They know everything! If I say, “I read this book once and it had this girl in it, ” they’re like “I know that book, it’s right over there. ” • “Too overzealous. Every time I go to have a smoke I have to hide books or they stash them in a back room for a couple of days. ”
Free Speech • “What libraries are for” • “Relates to library policy of nondiscrimination” • “Literature of different opinions” • “I think it’s terrific they don’t give out patrons’ records” • “It’s good, [the library is] protected, records are destroyed”
Speaking Freely… I yelled at a librarian the other day. I couldn’t get logged in and he said that the computer was reserved. I said I only wanted it for 5 minutes and he said “okay, ” but by that time someone else had taken it and there were no others for me. So I yelled at him. I didn’t get kicked out, so I guess that‘s free speech.
SPL as Informational Place • Gateway • Catalyst • No Boundaries “I can get anything I want if I have the time” “A place for seeking and understanding”
Book Spiral “It threw me off at first, but it's really kind of nice that the books are continuous. ” “I didn't really understand what the numbers on the floor were about. I thought it had to do with which floor I was on. ” “Just another way of naming floors, except getting to them is ‘spirally’. ”
How Would you Find a Book without Asking a Librarian or Using a Computer? • Wander • Look around • Walk up and down spiral “I would start at the top and walk down through the spiral. Walk through the sections and figure them out. ”
They Call it a Bargain… “Everyone can have a membership. ” “A society without public libraries is going nowhere. ” “I spend more on lattes each week. ”
SPL as 3 rd Place? Areas of Agreement ü Neutral ground: people come and go, no required host, all feel comfortable ü Leveler: inclusive place, accessible to the general public, no membership criteria ü Home away from home: provides psychological comfort and support
SPL as 3 rd Place? Areas of Disagreement ü Conversation is NOT main activity though occurs freely and facilitated by 3 rd floor living room, etc ü NOT always assured of finding an acquaintance, especially given size and complexity of building ü NO “regulars” or “fellow customers” to specially welcome newcomers
SPL as 3 rd Place? Areas of Disagreement ü Physical structure is NOT low and unimpressive; visitor experiences building as well as its resources; ü NOT a playground: setting is fun, but users are serious about work and learning
SPL: A Third Place in Spirit Personal benefits: novelty, perspective, spiritual tonic, and friendship via its collection, staff, services and clientele. Societal good: political role, habit of association, recreational spirit, and importance “in securing the public domain for the use and enjoyment of decent people. ” No negative 3 rd place characteristics of segregation, isolation or hostility
Social Capital • SPL facilitates human relationships via trust and understanding and hence nurtures community • Supports bonding and bridging social capital – links together people of similar ilk – promotes diversity by assembling people of different types • Echoes Putnam & Feldstein’s observations of the Chicago Public Library’s Near North Branch
Future Research • Deeper analysis of how people use the book spiral • Interview SPL staff • Applicability of 3 rd place framework to branch libraries
New View o Social Capital People Factors o 3 rd Place People + Place o Info Grounds People + Place + Info Challenge for libraries: make social interaction a by-product of info flow
Info Grounds People-Place-Information Trichotomy Information • Significance • Frequency Discussed • How Created/Shared • Topics People • Membership Size • Membership Type • Familiarity • Actor Roles • Motivation Place • Focal Activities • Conviviality • Creature Comfort • Location & Permanence • Privacy • Ambient Noise
Theories of Information Behavior (2005) Fisher, Erdelez & Mc. Kechnie (Eds)
Current IBEC Projects o Info Grounds (Online-Mo. So, places of worship, workplace, disaster sites) o Mobile technology for women shoppers o Lay Mediaries & online consumer health info seeking o Impact of community technology centers o Neighborhood orgs and use of Hartford PL o Interpersonal info-seeking: stay-at-home moms, and preteens o “ 211” and its impact on communities
Helping Maximize the Impact of Info in Communities HVALA! ibec. ischool. washington. edu fisher@u. washington. edu
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