SAY IT WITH PICTURES: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AMERICA'S LIBRARIES
by Marylaine Block
Librarians often wonder why it is that the musty, forbidding image of libraries so persists in the American imagination. After all, the skyrocketing usage numbers for America's libraries -- not just circulation, but computer use, program attendance, ESL and internet classes, storytime attendance, homework help, and more -- would suggest that most Americans KNOW what libraries really do, and appreciate it.
After reading a lot about how the human mind works, I'm coming to the conclusion that images dominate our thinking. Which means that when long-standing, widely-accepted images conflict with reality, the pictures may trump reality.
If I'm right about that, we may be fighting this battle the wrong way, using words when we should be using pictures. What we need to do is REPLACE those old mental images with accurate, up-to-date pictures of vital, exciting libraries.
I don't mean just our buildings, either, though virtual tours of the Southfield (MI) Public Library <http://www.sfldlib.org/virtual/tourhome.html> and the Cerritos Public Library <http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/library/photos/library.html> show the world that a library building can amaze, enchant, and take your breath away.
What I mean is images of libraries AS THEY ARE USED by our public. You know, after a year of research for my forthcoming book about thriving libraries, I consider myself the world's foremost authority on nifty things libraries are doing, and, better yet, all the nifty things our users are able to do in them as a result. So I know what images we could be showing off to the world. [You can see some of them in my conference presentation called Change on the Cheap, <http://marylaine.com/cheap.html>.]
I'm talking about teen poetry slams and open mic nights and Dungeons and Dragons games. I'm talking about knitting classes and scrapbooking classes. I'm talking about Harry Potter look-alike contests, sidewalk drawing competitions, puppet shows, Quidditch matches, and Teddy Bear picnics.
I'm talking about low rider shows, battles of the bands, and frisbee golf tournaments, about Dia de los Niños/dia de los Libros celebrations and Read Across America, about citizenship classes and parent-teen book discussions.
I'm talking about mothers and babies doing finger plays and moving to the music, about children reading aloud to therapy dogs, listening to stories in the library's Butterfly Garden, or crawling through the mousehole-style entrance to the children's room in the Iowa City Public Library.
I'm talking about old men playing chess by a library window and boys playing chess in a library tournament, about seniors learning to use the internet, and tutors working one-on-one with ESL learners. I'm talking about the mayor chatting with constituents by the library's fireside, people hanging out in the teen lounge or cybercafe, people with laptops using the wi-fi connection while basking in the sun on the library plaza.
I'm talking about librarians delivering "Books for Babies" packets to new mothers in maternity wards, and library mascots (and even the Stinky Cheese Man) traveling to daycare centers and schools to read to children (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcasey/34936045 and http://www.bettendorflibrary.com/services/childrens.htm).
I'm talking about teens taking part in a Willy Wonka Design a Candybar contest, or a build-something-useful-out-of-duct-tape event. I'm talking about kite-flying contests, weird costumes competitions and teen lock-ins after hours at the library.
I'm talking about people enjoying our galleries and displays: of quilts, student art work, model railroads, illuminated manuscripts, historical photos and maps, antique board games, ceramics, radio-controlled planes, whatever.
I'm talking about people making libraries part of their intimate lives, using our buildings, gallerias, gardens and plazas for anniversary parties, banquets, weddings and other important family celebrations.
And I'm talking about the normal, everyday life of our libraries: people reading in cozy chairs by the fireplace, working their way through a stack of books at a table, leafing through magazines, using the computers, checking out the new books and DVDs, talking to the reference librarians, chatting with friends, listening to music. I'm talking about little kids pulling picture books from bins and looking through them, about big kids studying together, flirting, goofing off, and about grown-ups in the library meeting rooms, learning how to invest their money, understand Medicare Part D, or construct a family tree.
How do we get these images out there, and into the public consciousness?
For one thing, we could be putting them on our web sites and displaying them on Flickr <http://www.flickr.com/>. Instead of sending out press releases, we could be sending out picture and video packages.
But it occurs to me that we could also put together a coffee table book of photos, A Day in the Life of America's Libraries. There have been similar photo books, like A Day in the Life of America, and A Day in the Life of the U.S. Armed Forces, but as best I can tell from searching WorldCat, Amazon and Google, there doesn't seem to have been one devoted to libraries.
Think about the promotional possibilities for a minute. First of all, a book like this begins as a stunt: Libraries across the country have to agree on a specific date, on which they'll shoot pictures, and promote the event. We create a web site for the project, and libraries post their best pictures on this site. We could even do it American Idol style and invite the public to vote on their favorite pictures.
The stunt itself is a media event. Librarians could let their local media know beforehand that they'll be participating in the event, and send some of the resulting shots to the media after the event as well. And the book is a media opportunity as well: libraries whose photos are selected for the book could get coverage from their local media at the time they're selected, and again when the book is published.
To top it off, we could even make some money doing this. Our Friends groups could sell the books in our library bookstores. Come to think of it, why limit the photos to a book? We could put them in calendars, on notecards, on postcards, and sell those as well.
I'm not about to do this myself, you understand. I'm an idea person, not an organizer; I leave the harder job of making my ideas work to more ambitious people and organizations. In fact, to me, this sounds like a project for ALA or PLA to undertake, with ALA publishing the book. If you agree, contact your councilors, talk it up on listservs, and see if you can get this movement started.
I may not be doing it myself, but if you do it, count on me to cheer you on and promote the project.
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COOL QUOTE:
I think it’s a debate in the wider library world as well: are we (and you) using our resources and technology to disseminate information? Or are we (and you) using our information-dissemination capabilities to build communities?
Put another way, does your library, and your library’s web site, create the impression that there are people there (like Yahoo)? Or does it give you the impression that there are vast resources available to you (like Google)?
Joe Anderson, at BlogJunction, February 6, 2006, http://webjunction.lishost.org/?p=161
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