07.08.07
Library lite?
I’m reserving opinion on this, but am sharing this so you can form your own.
A story from the Houston Press on moving their Houston Public Library’s Frank Neighborhood Library from the current “traditional” library to an HPL Express location.
[snip]The library system was planning a renovation of the Frank branch, which has foundation problems. They discovered, unfortunately, that new studies now place the building squarely within the 100-year flood plain.
[snip]
There wasn’t enough money to build a completely new similarly sized branch, so the neighborhood is getting what the Houston Public Library System is calling “an exciting concept” known as “HPL Express.”
What’s an HPL Express? It’s a rented storefront that holds about half the 90,000 items that the Frank branch currently has.
[snip]
Future HPL Expresses — including one in the similarly troubled Gulftonneighborhood — might offer only a “very small collection” of books.
Future sites might be entirely book-free. But those sites will be in addition to existing libraries, not replacing full facilities like the Frank branch.
Ah, what the hell — it’s not like kids today are reading anyway. Maybe HPL should just set up a Facebook page and be done with it.
The concept has sparked a debate amongst librarians on what they’re calling a “mclibrary” and “library lite.” A comment posted at a librarian blog argues:
This is something to be concerned about. We might call this HPL Express a Library Lite or a Fast Food Library. It appears it will function in a similar way that fast food functions to real food. I don’t need to remind people on this list that customers love fast food, unfortunately it is not good for their health. And a library without intelligent books is not good for democracy.This is a good illustration of a library getting out of the knowledge and education venue and moving to solely focus on entertaining (pacifying?) their “customers” with only popular works (known in some circles as crap or fluff). In theory, this HPL Express will feed the mind but it is really only full of empty calories. It will look like a library, but will most likely have none of those awkward resources that might actual assist a person in becoming an engaged citizen. I am betting that they will be sure to order a copy of Paris Hilton’s autobiography as soon as it is published.
And:
There was money enough in HPL’s budget to utterly renovate the downtown main Branch library (still ongoing as of this writing)…but the Main Branch library is in the heart of the downtown Business district, and has a not inconsiderable business clientelle, with a considerable ECON/BUSINESS section taking up most of the entire 2nd floor. So there are race and class issues that intersect here as well. The “either/or” choice posited is utterly false & misleading.I suppose it would be also impertinent to ask if there is any Gates Foundation seed money propping up McLibrary projects like HPL Express storefronts, etc, since they will have “plenty of computers”. Inquiring minds want to know.
Of course, this I can respond to from previous Houston Chronicle stories, the renovation of the Central Library was funded with Bond money passed back in 2001. Back in 2001, and they just got to do it in 2006.
I’m not a librarian, so I can’t comment on the academics of librarianship. I can speak as a PR person, and I know that change is difficult. Not always bad, not always good, but always difficult.
Resources:
- Houston Public Library, energy policy, Houston Chronicle, blogging, from the Houston Press
- Crisis in Public Librarianship - some local stories, at Aggie Librarian
- Staffers fear library’s too pop-fixated, reported by sacbee.com
