Transcripts For CSPAN3 Discussion Focuses On The Future Of L

Of traditional libraries. Hosted by zocalo public square. This is about an hour and ten minutes. Thank you. [ applause ] i feel like i should behave somehow. There is a slight stigma. Ill try to behave. You havent so far. [ laughter ] part of why were here is to celebrate this library and this is coinciding with that. I wanted to start sort of soft and fuzzy before i really try to go antilibrary on these people. You what . I told them i warned them, beforehand i hate libraries and so one of the striking things ive been talking to people for weeks preparing for this, people have really wonderful memory, childhood memories of libraries in particular and when they first got the favorite moments. Could we start i have to introduce you, my goodness. To my left, susan hill dredge is the former director of the institute of museum and library services. A president alley appointed Senate Confirmed position. Shes currently a professor of practice at the university of Washington Information School and treasury of the American Library association. To her left is the director of the center for the future of libraries and initiative of the American Library association examining innovation and libraries and the communities they serve. And finally, susan parker, who is the Deputy University library at ucla where she leads Building Design and serves as the librarys chief final officer. Let me start with you, susan parker, Favorite Library moment or and or what do you like about libraries . Arent you sick of them . If you work in a fast food joint, you stop eating it, do you still likely braers. There are a place obviously that i feel very comfortable. I likely braers and thats one of the things that tracted me to libraries and kept me coming back is its a place where i was always welcome even as a small child so you develop affection for people who treat you kindly and more so they lure you in with bigger and better books and you get excited about reading and thinking and looking things up. Is there a moment in your childhood that you said this is the coolest place . Well, probably the first time that i ever went in to was cincinnati, ohio, the west side, the Public Library over there and the first time that i went in there i was like this is the coolest thing. Id seen books before but not that many books. Very good. Miguel, whats your fondest Library Memory and or why do you like them . I think a lot of people have fond memories of libraries because they are welcoming places. I still remember you phoenix Public Library used to be a yellow card but it was laminated. It felt so adult. Your licensed to do lots of Different Things. Its this tangible expression of sign of growth and opportunity and responsibility that it opens things to you. Its a predrivers license of sort. Oh, my goodness. Susan, favorite childhood moment in a library. I was an only child and i moved a lot as a child, so i would usually move after school got out and i would hit a new community and i would have no friends and what would i be doing in the summer, i would go to that library, so it was my second home. It was very special to me, welcoming to me and really the libraries and books were my friends and i think they really helped me early on decide to become a libraryen because i found many years ago a paper from junior high where i said i want to do this so it made me feel good when i was very young. Do you recall the reason why you wanted to do that in that paper . Frankly, because all though this doesnt work today. I didnt want to be a teacher. Librarians have to want to teach today, i didnt want to be a nurse, im old enough that there wouldnt be that much choices and i knew i could have find a job anywhere in the u. S. Did you want to leave your hometown . I wanted to be mobile. It wasnt so necessarily that i wanted to runway, i was growing up in the time where people got out of college and they left home. They didnt go back home. Thats what i wanted to do. That was a dig. Weve dispensed with the warm and fuzzy part and again talking to people about the bad things about libraries and the first thing and no disrespect to anybody was homeless and porn. Last week they advertised that it was so hot everybody could go to the library. Is that what library as cooling center. Library has porn distribution. That irks a lot of people. People dont understand it. So can we just one of you say lets hit it head on. Lets talk about homelessness, porn at the library. What do you do about that . Is it a problem . Maybe it isnt. Having worked in many urban Public Libraries in my career, dealing with all kinds of customers and populations is challenging and we are one of the only free opportunities for people to come out of the cold, the heat, whatever and i think in terms of dealing with people who are homeless, we really want to make sure that were trying to help them in their struggle. So for instance, the San Francisco Public Library as well as many other libraries have social workers on duties to do some intervention. Libraries have very thought out rules of conduct because we expect every one to behave so we have a safe, comfortable environment. Thats how we deal with people with all different kinds of vagueries and also that has to do with issue of pornography and whos looking at inappropriate information. Our codes of conduct really address that and as i have to say that ive said in previous interviews in terms of the porn, sorry folks but people have been looking at porn and masturbating in Public Libraries for a long time. Weve had to deal with this for a long time, so honestly, its not its just in a different container as we say about all our information. Theres a visual. You grim asat that. I can tell you that you may think that a person is homeless by the way that they look but you dont know that. And i think that again libraries are a place where were trying not ton judgmentmental on those levels. When we had a budget crisis a few years back at ucla and we decide we had to rollback the 24 7 library at the undergraduate library, we heard from the Student Association right away that we had some homeless students at ucla, news to me, opened my eyes and they were depending on the library as part of their support system at night. So i think that since it was a lot of us were surprised to learn this, because you dont necessarily know by looking at people what the situation is that theyre dealing with and so libraries traditionally are about helping people in a private way. I dont know the identity of everybody and i think that privacy in the library is a key element. You mentioned that the introduction of a social worker in San Francisco. Before i get to miguel, what year was that . Do you recall . Well, you know we began working with the department of social services when i was working there so that was probably 2004 and i believe they now have a full time social worker on staff and its been for several years and its addressing issues in helping our population. So, again, miguel, at some point does that pobably dilute to the purpose of is it some way making librarians responsible for social illinos t all of us should be attending to . Are you guys so generous that youre going to help is there a limit to what you can do in that library . Unfortunately we exist in a system where a lot of the normal services that would support Mental Health issues, poverty issues, et cetera have been stripped away whether because of the economy or other political decisions. So because the libraries among the few civic assets that is still relatively opened to lots of different people, that is inhe have tab taably what happens. The best libraries realize they can be part of a solution so they engage with our Community Partners whether its Public Health worker, tucson Public Library has a nurse on staff, social workers on staff, relationships with public showers or public facilities, food banks other types of things. The library can be a fundamentally platform for lots of players in the community to come together, were a wonderful Distribution Channel not only for information in book format or Database Format but also just general civic information. So to all of you at no point does attending to social ills make your jobs your primary jobs which is presumably distributing archiving and distributing information to the broader public, does it ever come into conflict with your aspects of injure jobs. Were responsible for providing information whether thats Health Information or whether thats where you can go get a meal. Were responsible for providing information. The one thing that i will say about the pornography, though, is it always comes back to that. If you have any available access to free information, it will be used towards some of its more negative ends. Case in point, new york city introduced their link nyc key os beings, this past week they announced they would be disabling internet on them because individuals were using them for pornography. They couldve asked librarians about this ahead of time but it isnt the nature of libraries. Its just the nature of information. Or its the nature of a free public place. Correct. So this Pugh Research Center Survey it was very interesting, 2016 most recent on libraries, 69 of respondents say their local libraries contribute a lot of libraries provide a safe place for people to spend their time. 58 think they contribute a lot toward creating Educational Opportunities for people of all ages. So the notion of safe space actually had more respondents saying yes than the notion of creating Educational Opportunities. Does that surprise you . It actually doesnt. I cannot read your face very well because you look slightly surprised. Oh, well, no. It doesnt surprise me because i think that people do safe space especially in our contemporary society is more and more valuable. Neutral space and so i think the people are seeking that. As much those numbers are pretty close. As much as theyre seeking educational opportunity. You wont say that come november 9th at 69 and 58 are close. 11 so when did libraries become start to play that role of safe space . Does anybody know . Weve always played the role of safe space in our communities. I think thats a very consistent role and valued by our communities on our behalf. Just in terms of that educational statistic, i think that, you know, there are many people many people who may not use libraries or not be as aware of libraries. They dont understand the role that libraries play in educating all ages, all levels in our community. Libraries brand as books and many folks still think as libraries as book warehouses. Weve gone far beyond that. Depending on who pugh was surveying i dont think that everyone understands we are part of the educational ecosystem in our communities, all filling gaps every school, weekends so that educational role is crit critical but i dont think its as recognized as i would like it to be. I talk about it constantly. Our society is squha chipped. But increasing were starting to recognize how important peer to peer learning is, facilitated learning. Those have things that have always happened in a library. There may be a delay in recognizing that what we do is of educational value. It has always helped people grow as individuals. I find it odd that you say the link is not really caught because thats the number one link to me is that thats where you find books for education any way. So none of you think its odd that safe space comes before learning. No. I find a branding issue. The what is light braer for . You all say its for all of these things. Its a hard thing in america when you cant say in this day and age when you say what somethings principal reason for being is and i dont get from any of you what the principal reason is. So far its everything. What wont you do . This thing about safe space is maybe more important today. If you asked that question to an audience ten years ago, it might not have resonated the safe way. Another Important Library moment for me as a child is being able to have the privacy in a library to go and look up information that was maybe kept from me at home. And if you have young people who are gay or transor any number of situations that its a safe space for people to find out about themselves. Thats really interesting. Its say safe space intellectually as well. Yes, absolutely. And that i would say maybe the libraries best brand because people want to contest whats contained in a library because they care very much about what messages people have access to. Our value for intellectual freedom is still fundamentally to the work we do. One of the classic arguments for the necessity of libraries has been that they exist to nurture and enlighten and electorate. Ill let that lie. Im obsessed. Im sorry. Is that true . Is that still true . Youre all going to say yes, it is. Im not going to the library to look up Opinion Pieces and polls in florida today, im going on the web. One of the challenges that were now facing is that there are multiple spaces where people are segmenting themselves into you so we have private health clubs, and we have starbucks or any coffee house and so we dont have the opportunity to mix any more. The Public Library hopefully remains one of those civic spaces where you encounter people from different perspectives where youre on a level playing field, where it isnt necessarily a Program Space where you have to do certain things. Youre only allowed to engage with things. Our society is tending to move towards a state where spending less time together. Privatized space. If we can continue to play that role, i think that if city support libraries and Community Support libraries that the way they should and can, then we can move towards that. You mentioned starbucks and the starbucks they seek to be a place where people convene and read even. All sorts of cafe culture. Does that in any way diminish the popularity or compete with libraries at all for that role . So i think its funny as i look not only at coffee houses, theyre trying to become more neutral spaces where your sole transaction is not the menu item. They want you to come in and work and socialize with friends and do lots of Different Things. But i worry that that always comes at a cost. Its funny that theyre stealing a lot of the elements that have made libraries what they are. Weve always allowed you to do any one of a number of things. You selfdirect in the library. You can come in here and be who you are. I get to be a little worried i dont know if theyre intentionally doing it but theyre certainly taking some of the elements away from libraries. This is interesting. So i would think when you said theres more corporation seeking to create civic space and third places and at a cost. You have to pay for the latte, but you think it you see it as a threat, potential threat . I think it could be a potential threat. I think it should also be taking as a compliment to certain extent. Weve been doing things the right way for a long time. We hope people become aware that theres you pay for that freedom in those spaces with your user data, by signing into their Wifi Networks by any one of a number of things. Are there efforts in libraries across the country to create new ways to convene people, to i definitely think there are many ways. Weve had a convening role in our history, but for instance, many Public Libraries have embarked on make your spaces which are really great opportunities to allow kids and families to be creative together. Many ways were engaging people, teen spaces, all different kinds of things. But in terms of your question about democracy and how are we supporting democracy, i think that libraries have a great opportunity to really take on a significant role as a community facilitator. Theres so much i think dissension in some of our communities as we have segmented groups and the library can play the role of bringing those controversial groups together. Now, when we do that and i think we see this in some areas, it could be clashing somewhat with our very much respected role of neutrality. So neutrality is a huge value for libraries and if we do get into the space of bringing different differing points of view together thats a huge service for our community. We can also support informational resources to understand those discussions but we also have to make sure were very trained to do that effectively because we dont want to lose that concept of being a neutral place. So the function of enlightenning the electoralate with come from Something Like this more than providing information. Right, yes. Do you have any thoughts on that . I do think so. At ucla for example, we provide a lot of public programming in the library thats opened to anyone not just the University Community but on a range of topics, sometimes its designed to highlight collections that we have especially if they relate particularly to los angeles so depending on the library and the focus, they may be able to convene even curate audiences that are defined in ways like you want to hear about art from this one art expert and look at the paintings that are on display next door. So theres different combinations to do that, but libraries definitely are very forward in looking at programming and trying to convene different kinds of interactions. So more on third spaces, miguel. Do you envision evolution of this . Are there any as this competition occurs as you see it, what are how are libraries will convening be a larger function in 20 years than it is now in a library . I think we see libraries arranging their space iz so we make available