Library Trends

The Problem

IFLA's Global Vision indicates that, in addition to their traditional role as places of access to information and the transmission of knowledge, libraries also increasingly serve as important social infrastructures that contribute to improving society (Melik and Hazeleger 2023). Libraries can help address systemic challenges, such as digital inclusion (e.g., Gustafsson and Wihlborg 2021), social inclusion, and lifelong learning. However, the crucial capacity of libraries as a social infrastructure does not evolve "naturally" but must be actively carried out by librarians together with a network of stakeholders. Librarians require strong institutional support to undertake such initiatives, relying on collaboration with community partners who share similar interests and goals. [End Page 580]

The first issue is that the definition of community is fluid. There has been a change of perspective from the late 1970s to the present day, where libraries have opened up to society, rather than just attracting passive users to the library (Dalrymple 2001). Libraries are an integral part of society. The user-centered library vision and philosophy is referenced by a large body of library and information science (LIS) that may be related to the work of Douglas Zweizig and Brenda Dervin. Libraries cannot survive and thrive as alien bodies nor, to use the language of systems theory, as closed systems with impermeable boundaries (Stillwell, Bats, and Lor 2016). It should, therefore, come as no surprise that libraries are directly and indirectly affected, if not contradicted, by societal trends and perturbations. Considering the community-based library service approach, Black and Muddiman (2017) suggest that superficial claims about the centrality of the community hide a complex and problematic relationship between a traditional public service bureaucracy and its users. The resulting uncertainty of purpose, they argue, explains much of the current "crisis" of the public library movement. Conversely, Hendry (1999) regrets that traditional public librarianship, as reflected in the policies of many library authorities, from the late 1960s through the mid-1990s, was based on maximizing the number of books published, to the detriment, even exclusion, of everything else. As a result of this limited view of librarianship, libraries have been continuously downgraded, undervalued, and under-resourced.

Recently, active participation of the community in the creation and management of services (community-led services) has gained priority, but this makes it more difficult to articulate library strategy and understand what this commitment means in practice for heritage institutions and individual libraries. Similarly, there is almost no consensus on what effect participation should have on the communities—and even more, what effect participation outcomes should have on institutions (Pateman and Williment 2016; Andresen, Huvila, and Stokstad 2020; Huvila 2020). The terms community outreach, community engagement, and community-led services are used interchangeably and refer to the different levels of participation that are granted to communities. The communities are those of the marginalized, those who are usually excluded from library services. The values of social justice and active citizenship guide community librarianship.

The second issue is that vocational training and LIS education do not often support the skills required by the social role and by these new relationships with communities. Many continuing professional development and LIS education experiences are based on the utility of experiential learning as a vehicle for democratic civic engagement in LIS programs (Poole et al. 2022; Mehra 2004; Mehra and Elder 2018). Poole et al. (2022) argue for the utility of experiential learning as a tool for democratic civic engagement in North American LIS programs. First, they define [End Page 581] and trace the evolution of experiential learning from service learning to community-based learning and highlight how this approach in its epistemology and practice transcends the traditional service-learning model. Finally, they explore iSchool's LIS curriculum for community-based learning, specifically embracing data science and design thinking in three courses: Design Thinking for Digital Community Services, Data Analytics for Community-Based Data, and Community Based Services.

Mehra (2004) documents existing trends in teaching community librarianship as practiced in LIS schools in the United States through the findings of two studies. The first study shares highlights from a question-based survey that elicited responses from faculty at a leading LIS school in the United States on service-learning activities incorporated into courses taught during the year 2002. The second study presents the key aspects of content analysis of websites of the top ten ranked LIS schools in the United States. Based on the findings of the two studies, this paper calls for conscious efforts on the part of LIS schools to train future students to engage in participatory action research-related activities in service learning and to establish a community informatics pathway in their master's programs. Efforts to connect the three constructs of LIS education will help support social equity and the empowerment of marginalized populations.

Mehra and Elder (2018) focus on the efforts of community-embedded training librarians who represented a practical, low-cost solution for information agencies' collection development to overcome circumstances that prevented them from creating or managing adequately balanced collections. The community-embeddedness helped the librarians-in-training to develop contextually situated collections that reflected the richness and realities of experiences in the information agency and its stakeholder communities.

Although these studies are limited to North America, they provide evidence that the extension of formal LIS education programs to the improvement of society is one of the most visible indicators of community librarianship. LIS education is expected to foster social progress through four different but interconnected purposes: individual, through the development of collective values to their full extent; social, through the enhancement of society and active participation in a democratic society; economic, providing individuals with intellectual and practical skills that make them productive and improve their living conditions and those of society; and through the promotion of equity and social justice.

In This Issue

The authors represented in this special issue bring with them a rich variety of experiences, backgrounds, geographic regions, cultures, and libraries and institutions. They share a passion for library education and [End Page 282] approaches that meet the needs of library professionals and their communities.

Three meta-themes related to the LIS curriculum were foreseen—libraries in the process of digital inclusion and lifelong learning, which define the educational role of libraries; libraries as sites for social inclusion in situations of political and social conflict; and finally, the experiential learning of practitioners and LIS students—but these themes converge and intersect at many points, so that it is difficult to group them. Other themes have emerged, including libraries and democracy and support for programs, such as the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the preface, "Libraries, Community Empowerment, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: A Symbiotic Transformation," IFLA President Barbara Lison highlights how the current role of libraries has transformed and is mainly to act as dynamic centers of learning, innovation, and community and citizen involvement. In the difficult current and global context of the challenges faced through the UN SDGs, libraries demonstrate that they can offer an essential role in supporting communities, by collaborating to achieve the UN's goals.

David Lankes, in "Don't Call it Apprenticeships: Teaching Libraries in Library Science Education," lists the necessary changes to library education brought about by a transition to centralizing the library in the community. He presents a series of examples to highlight the need to learn in LIS education, which extends beyond LIS to an approach that is participatory, action-oriented, constructivist, and innovative. Finally, he presents two models for future LIS education: the hybrid classroom with students and field professionals working together and the medical education-based teaching library.

In "Enhancing Library Communities through Field-Based Projects," Elizabeth Burns illustrates the internship experience that is a key aspect of the LIS master's program in Old Dominion University and creates a connection with libraries and those who work there. Each MLIS student works on an independent project based on personal interests and the needs of the library. Each student is independent and guided through the action research process to understand the expectations and needs of the communities.

Sarah Evans, Lance Michael Simpson, Lacy Molina, and Christy Stanley, in "Concentric Learning Communities: Educating Rural Library Staff in Principles of Collaborative Family Learning," describe the project Raise Up Radio Libraries. Educators and librarians working in rural areas are keenly aware of the instability, low quality, and high cost of internet access for rural populations. Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Raise Up Radio Libraries (RURL) project combines [End Page 583] radio and podcasts, engaging families and building community both locally and within librarianship. Families and public library staff collaborate to create a series of podcasts on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics of local interest, using best practices for equitable engagement in learning.

In Europe, the transformation toward a "community library" is underway, trying to innovate the traditional vision of libraries, linked to books, and expanding their services to promote social inclusion and lifelong learning. This phase of library transformation is particularly important because, after the pandemic, libraries are at the center of renewed interest on the part of politicians and administrators, who consider them important infrastructures for democracy.

Mia Høj Mathiasson offers a comparative history of libraries supporting their communities with her article, "Studying Community Librarianship through Historical Writings on Public Library Programming Activities: American, British, and Anglo-Scandinavian Perspectives." Based on Mathiasson's doctoral research, this piece examines differences in terminology and conceptual differences in library programming for communities. Importantly, Mathiasson notes the central role of librarians in libraries' community services.

In "Librarianship and Participatory Practices: Something Old, Something Borrowed, and Something New," Raphaëlle Bats focuses on participatory practices. The development of participatory practices means that librarians must share with communities the tasks that are usually part of their unique practices and that are the hallmark of their professional competence: for example, building collections, creating cultural programs, and communicating with communities. Furthermore, librarians are invited to share an expertise that is compared with the knowledge mobilized by the participants. In such a context, mastery of traditional library science knowledge may not be sufficient to implement participatory projects successfully. Bats discusses the skills that need to be mobilized and consequently taught in LIS education in Europe.

Anna Maria Tammaro, with the collaboration of the Project Team, in "NEWCOMER: Best Practices on Community Librarianship in Europe," illustrates the NEWCOMER project findings. "Newcomers" are the marginalized and disadvantaged communities who are actively engaged in the community library. Project partners discuss the profile of the community librarian and the appropriate curriculum for training and continuous professional development, including recruitment criteria. Project partners share good practices and seek to create a network of community-centered libraries in Europe.

In "Swedish Library Policy and Community Librarianship," Kerstin Rydbeck explores the Swedish national library policy, which has had a profound impact over time on community librarianship and its central tenets, [End Page 584] such as community building, diversification of activities, and the library's role as a place. Rydbeck finds that education remains an area for further exploration to support this important social role of libraries.

Sophia V. Adeyeye, in "Bridging the Digital Divide: Librarians' Role in Empowering Nigerian Communities through Digital Competencies and Advocacy," highlights the role of librarians in bridging the digital divide in Nigerian communities. She explores how librarians provide services to their community to foster growth and skills development. She finds that public libraries in southwestern Nigeria deliver programs moderately capable of providing their users with digital skills. However, several challenges abound, most of which center on the lack of adequate digital infrastructure, along with minimal skills among librarians.

Ina Fourie et al.'s "From Tradition to Fast Pacing 4IR and Society 5.0, to Embracing Community Librarianship: An Evolutionary Approach on How to Prepare Students" brings together multiple ways of thinking about community librarianship and education to support community librarianship. The authors offer a model that brings together education for emerging library professionals and the fast-changing technological context for community librarianship.