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6
Patron, Community, and Government
Former ALA president Michael Gorman has argued for a direct link between the values of libraries and the trust the public has for libraries, stating that one important mission for ensuring the survival of libraries and librarian- ship is “assuring the bond of trust between the library and the society we serve by demonstrating our stewardship and commitment, thus strengthening the mutuality of the interests of librarians and the broader community” (2000, 66).
Further, a 2006 study conducted by Public Agenda found that “public librar- ies seem almost immune to the distrust that is associated with so many other institutions” (Public Agenda 2006, 11).
In specific terms of the Internet, the public library “is a trusted community- based entity to which individuals turn for help in their online activities—even if they have computers and Internet access at home or elsewhere” (Bertot, Jae- ger, et al. 2006a). In the large-scale national Public Agenda survey (2006), 64%
of respondents, including both users and nonusers of public libraries, asserted that providing public access to the Internet should be one of the highest priori- ties for public libraries. Thus, trust in public libraries seems to carry over from other library ser vices to provision of Internet access and training, reinforc- ing the expectation that access and assistance are always available in libraries.
That users who have other access to the Internet still rely on public libraries for access and assistance is indicative of the depth of social expectations of Inter- net access in public libraries.
In fact, the combination of Internet access, availability of help, trust of the library, and clear successes of libraries in helping communities recover from disasters has resulted in expectations from patrons and communities in which the Internet has a central function, if not the central function, of public librar- ies. For most patrons, walking into a library and finding no Internet access would be as disconcerting as finding no print materials (Jaeger and Burnett 2005). This attitude has also carried over to federal, state, and local govern- ment agencies that now count on public libraries to ensure computer, Internet, and e-government access for citizens. For example, government agencies are quick to recommend to their clients that they use the public library resources to engage in e-government ser vices (McClure, Jaeger, and Bertot 2007):
Recovery Times,
• a FEMA publication, suggests residents who need to get help from FEMA “visit a public library to use a computer free of charge” (www.fema.gov/pdf/rt/rt_1609_120605.pdf).
The Federal Code of Regulation from the Department of Labor (Title
• 20, Vol. 3, Part 655, Subpart H, Sec. 655.720) states that the filing and processing of labor condition applications must be done online, unless documentation can be provided that Internet access is not available through the employer and “there is no publicly available Internet access, at public libraries or elsewhere, within a reasonable distance of the employer” (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/10apr20061500/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2006/aprqtr/pdf/20cfr655.720.pdf).
The first step in the
• 10 Steps to Help You Fill Your Grocery Bag through the Food Stamp Program is the use of the Internet Tool. Stated under the
Internet Tool is “your local library usually has computers you can use”
(www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/applicant_recipients/10steps.pdf).
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection released a memo
• involving the use of the People First System for the posting of job vacancies, which states, “Since this system is Internet based, employees can apply for vacancies from any computer, such as a home computer, public library computer, or computers at the Agency for Workforce’s Workforce Centers” (www.dep.state.fl.us/admin/forms/Personnel_
Forms/DEP_54-804.doc)
There are other examples, and all clearly demonstrate the expectation among federal, state, and local government agencies that public libraries will meet the nation’s needs for the provision of, access to, and assistance with e-government ser vices. Ultimately, public libraries have been so successful in providing Internet access and assistance that the social expectation of these ser vices now extends from individual patrons to entire communities to govern- ment agencies.
Several studies validate the findings from the 2007 Public Libraries and the Internet study summarized above. Focus groups conducted by the ALA in 2006–7 identify a range of public expectations for Internet-enabled library ser vices (American Library Association and Information Institute, 2007), including
•
job applications and professional resources
•
homework and education-related ser vices
•
e-commerce—being able to conduct personal business electronically
•
social networking applications such as MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr
•
e-government
•
downloading software, media, and other applications/programs
•
accessing complex databases or other electronic resources
•
These do not include a range of specific examples of expectations such as solving personal medical issues with current online information, using an Ask- a-Librarian online ser vice, or youth uses of gaming software. Of interest is the finding that users of the public library now expect to find these and other Inter- net-related ser vices and applications in the library, to not have to wait to access these ser vices, to have adequate time to use the workstation and not be “timed out,” to have ser vices of adequate bandwidth, and to have available trained and knowledgeable staff to assist them—both on-site and remotely.
Another interesting user expectation documented in various studies is the growing expectation for free public wireless connectivity (Weingarten et al.
2007). As data presented earlier show, the extent of wireless connections being provided by public libraries has increased considerably. Indeed, data clearly show that community members often expect wireless connections from the public library as they sit in a nearby parking area—so they do not actually have to come into the library. Thus, the expectation now is that the public library
can provide free public access as some commercial coffee shops and other orga nizations do. More important, perhaps, is the expectation that the public library will provide current, easy to use, and accessible information technology, making some public librarians Internet/technology managers—with skills and knowledge not needed in 1987.
The current values of libraries and of the profession of librarianship have also clearly been shaped by the increasing importance of the Internet in library ser vices. Gorman (1997, 2000, 2005) has written extensively about what he sees as the library values that demonstrate the core and enduring values of the profession. According to Gorman, values should provide a foundation for inter- action and mutual understanding among members of a profession. But he also believes that values should not be viewed as immutable. Instead, they should act as flexible ideals that evolve in line with the changing times. Gorman sees eight central values of librarianship as particularly salient at present: steward- ship, ser vice, intellectual freedom, rationalism, literacy and learning, equity of access to recorded knowledge and information, privacy, and democracy. Many of these values are tied closely to the Internet.
Frances Groen (2007) has echoed Gorman’s sentiments, arguing that one of the major limitations of LIS programs is their lack of attention to values. She argues that LIS programs place the vast majority of their educational emphasis on what librarians do and how they do it, virtually ignoring the reasons why they do what they do and why such activities are important to individuals, com- munities, and society in general. Groen identifies three fundamental library values—access to information, universal literacy, and preservation of cultural heritage—all of which, she argues, are also characteristics of liberal democratic societies. This argument parallels the observation that increases in information access within a society are essential to increasing the inclusiveness of the dem- ocratic process in that society (Smith 1995). All of these values are enhanced by the Internet-enabled library.
Library historian Toni Samek (2001) has focused on another aspect of library values that is no longer as strongly emphasized—attempts to achieve
“neutrality” in libraries. Neutrality was often advocated as a cherished value, in the sense of providing equal access to all information and sources. Libraries were, however, more likely to emphasize mainstream information sources and thus privilege them over alternative sources. Not only has the value of neutral- ity been problematic in terms of how it has been implemented and mobilized in public libraries in the 1960s and 1970s, but also it is indeed perhaps impos- sible to ever achieve in reality (Scott, Richards, and Martin 1990). The fact that neither Gorman nor Groen includes neutrality in their listings of fundamen- tal library values demonstrates how library values have continued to evolve as public libraries have developed as social institutions.
As library values have developed, they have also affected the ser vice roles of and expectations for public libraries in their communities. The values of librari- anship have been encoded in the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights, which strongly asserts the values of equal access and ser vice for all patrons, nondiscrimina- tion, diversity of viewpoint, and resistance to censorship and other abridg-
ments of freedom of expression. The study of the role of values in libraries is essential, especially given the increasing role of technology in public libraries (Fleischmann 2007). Current library values are another aspect that must be considered in understanding the current social roles of and expectations for public libraries. The rise of the importance of the Internet in library roles and expectations helps shape library values, while, in turn, libraries’ values help establish what roles libraries attempt to employ the Internet for.
The data and ideas presented in this chapter suggest that the expectations for library ser vices from community members, library users, remote users, and federal, state, and local governments have changed significantly since the 1987 publication of eight social roles for public libraries. Simultaneously, the values of librarianship have evolved to keep pace with the changes in expectations and in technology. The extent to which the Internet and the range of digital ser vices and resources made available through the public library have evolved since 1987 is truly expansive. Yet the social roles and the ser vice responses articulated by the PLA have changed little.
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