American Public Library Research Articles

American public libraries in the mill stones of neo-liberalism and neo-fascism

American public libraries in the mill stones of neo-liberalism and neo-fascism

Public Librarianship and the US Food System: Results from a 2022 National Survey

ABSTRACT Food systems are the sum of actors and interactions along the food chain. A growing number of public libraries are partnering in the food system, but little research has sought to understand what that looks like. To understand this topic, in Spring 2022 the researchers circulated a survey to members of the American public library profession. Survey results (n = 401) found a majority had displays related to food, and food programs offered through partnerships. Respondents showed an interest in learning more about this topic. After presenting and discussing results, the article concludes with a call to more deeply understand this topic.

Dateline 1977: The LHRT as Connective Tissue

Dateline 1977: The LHRT as Connective Tissue

Нейминг публичных библиотек США

The article considered the development of branding and naming in the marketing of library and information activities in Russia and in the USA. It is noted that in the professional literature of the USA, the problem of the library naming is not covered in detail but general branding issues. The names of the leading branches of American public library systems are analyzed in accordance with the author’s classification of naming (personalized, conceptual and toponymic). It is noted that most public libraries in the USA have a toponymic version of the name. A comparative analysis of the names of the New York Public Library branches was carried out for a comprehensive understanding of the features of American library naming. The prevalence of toponymic naming, when the name contains a direct reference to the location of the cultural institution, is proved by the example of New York libraries. In the process of comparative analysis, single indication of conceptual naming was identified (the name is associated with the reflection of the priority direction of the cultural institution activity, or has a special associative way at its basis). The author showed that a distinctive feature of personalized naming in the USA is the prevalence of libraries with the names of their founders or major patrons. It is concluded that attention to naming will increase as part of the overall marketing strategy of US cultural institutions.

“Halls Which Are Everywhere Denied Us”: Using Archival Research to Recover African American Feminist Media Activism

ABSTRACT This article investigates the public activism of TheWoman’s Era newspaper (1894–97), which was one of the first African American feminist periodicals to derive national circulation in the United States in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Considering TheWoman’s Era’s coverage of activist efforts to build African American public reading rooms and libraries, this article suggests that African American feminist writers and editors, such as Florida R. Ridley and Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, sought to revise the concept of the public sphere by broadening who had access to public space and altering how blackness was represented within these spaces. This article draws from archival work derived from Emory University’s Emory Women Writers Resource Project in collaboration with the Lewis H. Beck Center at Woodruff Library and the Virtual Library Project, which offers transcribed reproductions of TheWoman’s Era and includes downloadable images of individual pages and advertisements. Given the scope of such research, which attempts to read African American women’s public writing through a rhetorical and close-textual lens, Emory University’s digital archives provide a valuable frame of reference for charting the currency of specific terms, such as “public space,” “public interest,” “public opinion,” and “public good.” The goal of this project is to offer a discursive interpretation of how appeals to “the public” as both a material and a conceptual space denoting citizen rights and resources was used and deployed by African American feminist activists for the purposes of uplifting minority communities and developing African American women’s voices.

The relationship between the development level of American public libraries and the output of science and engineering publications

This paper explores the exact relationship between the development level of American public libraries and the output of science and engineering publications. We use the sample data from 1996 to 2019 to build a time series model, and analyze the long-term equilibrium, short-term correlation and Granger causality relationships between them with stationarity test, cointegration test, Granger causality test, and impulse response function. The results suggest that there are a long-term equilibrium relationship and a bidirectional Granger causality between them. The two interact and promote each other. The impact of the development level of American public libraries on the output of science and engineering publications can be seen in fewer time periods, while the impact of the output of science and engineering publications on the development level of American public libraries take more time periods to show.

The New Public Library: Design Innovation for the Twenty-First Century

The New Public Library: Design Innovation for the Twenty-First Century

Book Borrowing in the Biblioteca Nacional de los Estados Unidos de Colombia: Using a Circulation Ledger as a Window into Readers’ Interests and Practices, 1870–1874

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the oldest book circulation ledger preserved by the Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia, the post-independence name of the Real Biblioteca Pública de Santa Fe, the first Latin American public library. The information available in this source—compiled between 1870 and 1874—enriches traditional historiography, which commonly depicts this institution as secluded and visited mainly by newspaper readers and specialists in history. The dataset formed from the ledger’s contents offers nuances to these conclusions and helps scholars understand book circulation during Colombia’s “Golden Age of Radical Liberalism.” Quantitative methods allow us to perceive a dynamic institution attended by readers from diverse socio-professional backgrounds, mostly students at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. The article delves into the most popular titles and authors and proposes a more refined study of local reading trends and practices. The study is also a call for historians and librarians in Latin America to include book-charging ledgers as primary sources when studying readers and their habits.

Bookending a Pandemic and Its Impact on Public Libraries: Policy and Announcement Information Provided by Libraries Throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response

ABSTRACT This study serves as a follow-up on a 2020 study by Wang and Lund that examined the policy changes and announcement information provided by American public libraries during the early weeks of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, using the same list of libraries as the 2020 study to examine how the COVID response evolved over the past two years. Seven types of information were collected from the public libraries’ websites, with the help of the Internet Archive to collect specific dates: frequency of announcement updates, date of start curbside/pickup services, date of reopening libraries, dates of posting vaccine-related information, dates of removal of COVID-19 related information, and dates of reopening face-to-face programs. The findings indicate that the timing of COVID response updates varied based on factors including the size of the municipality in which the public library is located and the political leaning of the municipality’s voters.

USING CLOZE PASSAGES TO ESTIMATE READABILITY FOR RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: PRELIMINARY STUDY

This preliminary study examines the relationships between each of six first language (L1) readability indexes and the cloze passage mean performances of Russian EFL students. The cloze passages were created by randomly selecting 50 text passages from an American public library and deleting every 12th word in each passage to create a 30-item cloze procedure. The participants were 5170 EFL students from 38 universities in theRussian Federation. Each student was randomly assigned to take one of the 30-item cloze passages. The L1 readability indexes calculated for each of the 50 passages were the Flesch, Flesch-Kincaid, Fry, Gunning, Fog, and modified Gunning-Fog indexes. The preliminary results indicate that the L1 readability indexes were moderately to highly correlated with each other, but only somewhat correlated with the mean performances of Russian university students on cloze versions of those same passages. These results are discussed in terms of why the L1 readability indexes are moderately to highly correlated with each other but only somewhat correlated to the Russian EFL means. The authors also explain what they are planning in terms of further linguistic analyses (e.g., of variables like average word length, percent of function words, number of syllables per sentence, number of words per paragraph, frequencies of words in the passages, and so forth) and statistical analyses (including at least factor analysis, multiple regression analyses, and structural equation modeling) of these data.

Teaching the History and Organization of Libraries: The Coronavirus Pandemic as an Opportunity to Study Public Library Reopenings

Teaching the History and Organization of Libraries: The Coronavirus Pandemic as an Opportunity to Study Public Library Reopenings

Spreading the Gospel of Books: Essae M. Culver and the Genesis of Louisiana Parish Libraries

Louisiana native, archivist, and historian Florence M. Jumonville is singularly qualified to write this work. Her understanding of the culture and politics of Louisiana gives her a particular insight into the complexities of the story she tells and allows her to provide a local flavor to the story.The book's title is somewhat misleading, as the actual content of the book ranges far beyond Miss Culver and the beginnings of Parish Libraries in Louisiana. A prologue provides a concise summary of Louisiana library history from 1805 to 1925, focusing in particular on the role of women's clubs and the Louisiana traveling library. It contextualizes this history within the larger American public library history, as well as Louisiana history, a practice that will be continued throughout the work.The first chapter includes a biographical sketch of Culver's early life as well as a brief overview of her work first as a public librarian in Salem, Oregon, and then as a county librarian in California under Milton J. Ferguson. The body of the work covers Culver's administration as state librarian from 1925 to 1962 and that of Sallie Ferrell from 1962 to 1975.Utilizing Culver's personal and professional journals and papers, as well as manuscript materials found in multiple archival collections at the state library and other repositories, Jumonville describes in detail the social, political, and legal challenges that Culver faced throughout those forty years. Not only was she charged with establishing parish libraries in rural areas that had never had library service, but also, before she could begin, she had to craft the legislation that would make such libraries even possible and convince a populace hostile to the concept of publicly funded services to vote for increased taxes. Later, she was be called on to meet the new demands of the Great Depression, World War II, and the civil rights era.Jumonville does not shy away from addressing racial issues, including both segregation and desegregation of public and school libraries. The Rosenwald Demonstration Library established in Webster Parish in 1929 to serve both the white and black populations, albeit with segregated branches, receives detailed treatment, as do the protests that led to the desegregation of public libraries in 1964. Nor does she restrict herself to events with which Culver was directly involved, but includes relevant events of the time. The history of Angola Prison and other libraries serving the incarcerated is included, as well as the beginnings of education for librarianship and the establishment of the LSU School of Library Science, for instance. Politicians and other leaders who were instrumental in promoting the cause of public libraries—or opposing it—appear throughout the work.The book includes numerous contemporary photographs of people and places, including many that illustrate the unique culture of Louisiana, with its bookmobiles serving patrons who arrive by pirogue on the banks of the bayou. It is easy to read, written in a conversational style, and of interest to anyone interested in the history of libraries and librarianship in the United States.

Turn Trash into Treasure Recycling Children's Books

Children’s books disposed from the libraries can be trash, but in great varieties, once they are recycled properly, they will be treasure. There are thousands of children’s books disposed from the public libraries in the US due to different kind of reasons, through these years with careful handling, they become useful collections for the children of countries, where English is a major foreign language. They also have become valuable learning materials in schools and in the public libraries in Taiwan.In 1999, an earthquake stroke Taiwan and caused severe damages in the Central part of Taiwan. Many schools suffered from the damages. This tragedy brought in much concerns and donations from all over the world. North America Taiwan Women Association (NATWA) visited the damaged area and found that school libraries were in extreme need of help. In addition to monetary donation, NATWA realized the spiritual healing is as important as reconstruction process, therefore in 2004 NATWA launched “Turn Trash into Treasure Recycling Children’s Books” program mainly collecting off-shelf children’s books from American public libraries and shipped books to Taiwan, where the books are mostly in need. Geographically the recycling children’s books are mostly collected from about 45 public libraries in the Northern New Jersey area.This paper presents how the project was initiated and promoted, so as programs were designed to make maximum utilization of the recycled children’s books. Summarize statistical status of the project as well as cooperative process during the past four years.

An analysis of American public libraries’ policies on patron use of Internet pornography

AbstractDrawing on and expanding previous graduate course research, this paper investigated and analyzed public libraries’ policies regarding patron use of legal, visual Internet pornography on public computers. Pornographic imagery that falls within legal boundaries is protected by the First Amendment. Incidents of, and library responses to, pornography viewing are not a new issue and have caused turmoil across the field of library and information science. In an attempt to understand the problem, the research question asks: how do public libraries respond to patrons viewing legal Internet pornography, while upholding First Amendment rights as well as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and other legal requirements? Libraries tread a fine line to protect First Amendment rights, respect community laws, and uphold CIPA. Research indicated that responding to Internet pornography use in public libraries is heavily dependent on individual, community and library values. Policies are more likely to prohibit patrons from accessing Internet pornography, and most libraries have at least some Internet filtering software restricting what content may be accessed on public use computers. However, evidence also suggests that regardless of policy or filters, library staff will at some point encounter a patron accessing Internet pornography.

Free and for all? A comparative study of programs with user fees in North American and Danish public libraries

PurposeAs a research topic within the field of LIS, programs in public libraries are underexplored, and the question of user fees for programs has not previously been addressed.Design/methodology/approachThis article compares data collected from two individually conducted studies of public library programs in North America and Denmark to enrich our understanding of user fees in relation to programs.FindingsThe comparative analysis shows both similarities and deviations regarding the levying of fees for library programs. While paying a fee to attend a program is rather normal in Denmark, it is more of a fringe idea in North America.Research limitations/implicationsBy exploring a previously understudied facet of contemporary public librarianship, this article opens up new avenues for inquiry regarding how the relative accessibility and availability of programs relate to theoretical discussions about programs as public library services.Practical implicationsThis article provides library managers with needed information about how to conceptualize the roles of programs as public library services.Social implicationsAs programming surges to the fore in contemporary public librarianship, the levying of user fees has social implications in terms of social equity and the public library ethos of free and equal access for all.Originality/valueThis article is the first study of user fees for public library programs, as well as among the first cross-national comparisons of programming as a dimension of public librarianship.

Advocacy for Multiculturalism and Immigrants' Rights: The Effect of U. S. Immigration Legislation on American Public Libraries: 1876-2020

The American Library Association (ALA), founded in 1876, demonstrated its advocacy for immigrants' rights and multiculturalism in adult library services, from 1918 to 1948 in the Committee on Work with the Foreign Born (CWFB), which served as a clearinghouse for Americanization (assimilation) services within a philosophical framework of cultural pluralism, now known as multiculturalism. The ALA CWFB throughout its existence depended on grants from the Carnegie Corporation from 1911 to 1961 through the American Association for Adult Education (1915-41), and the Ford Foundation, through its Fund for Adult Education (1951-61). Beginning in 1956 with the Library Services Act, the federal government began to fund libraries, including programs for immigrants, African Americans, Native Americans, and adult illiterates. Since 1972, the Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) has provided literacy training for foreign- and native-born adult illiterates; and the Public Library Association (PLA) has supported programs to prepare New Americans for citizenship. Since 1983, the ALA Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) has encouraged access to multicultural publications and collaborates with ALA affiliates for various ethnic and minority groups. The ALA advocates for the rights of DACA recipients and supports the need for a DREAMER (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act.

From Storehouse to Laboratory: Trends and Ideals in Academic Librarianship Reflected in C&RL, 1946–1968

Dee Garrison’s classic history of American public libraries, Apostles of Culture , vividly describes the idealism that drove and shaped the work of American public libraries through the turn of the 20th century. The book seems to lead naturally to questions of what ideals have shaped American libraries in more recent periods. Specifically, as an academic librarian, I have long wondered what happened to our profession’s ideals in the midst of the social and political transformations that followed World War II.

„Wojnę domową śpiewam więc i głoszę” − wojnę na księgi, indeksy i katalogi. O rząd młodych dusz

The development of education, which in the 18th century was available not only to boys, but also girls from wealthy bourgeois families, as well as the development of publishing houses and specialised bookstores with books for children (the first of them was founded by John Newbery) caused the phenomenon of children and teenagers’ ‘eager reading’. The introduction of free access for children to library collections at the American public library in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (1877), turned out to be the ‘Copernican revolution’. The idea was introduced to many American and European libraries. From that time on, children and teenage readers had a real influence not only on the selection of their own readings, but also on the profile, subjects and nature of newly-created books. At the same time, the opposite phenomenon intensified: adult writers and educators tried to control the readings of younger generation. The catalogues of books for children and adolescents created during nearly half a century (1884–1929), evaluated the didactic values of readings, but ignored their literary qualities.

Resource Description and Access Adoption and Implementation in Public Libraries in the United States

This study surveyed the current state of knowledge about, and application or use of, Resource Description and Access (RDA) among American public library catalogers. In 2017, an online survey request was e-mailed to four thousand libraries for the person or persons most responsible for cataloging to complete the questionnaire. More than three hundred libraries responded. The data expose serious concerns with RDA adoption within the public library sector. While a majority of catalogers know about RDA, their working knowledge about it differs substantially depending on whether they work in rural or urban library settings. Regardless, 22 percent of respondants still had not heard of the RDA standard until completing this survey. While further training and educational opportunities (along with funds) for catalogers nationwide would help minimize this disparity, LIS schools also can play a role by educating more thoroughly the next generations of catalogers in this newer descriptive standard. Coming on the brink of a shift in the theoretical framework of the RDA standard, from the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) model to the IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM), public library catalogers risk falling even farther behind in their knowledge and competency with the RDA standard.

“Lots of Questions about ‘Fake News’”: How Public Libraries Have Addressed Media Literacy, 2016–2018

ABSTRACTThis exploratory research investigates how American public libraries have addressed the issue of media literacy in their communities from 2016 to 2018, including programs, partnerships, and other initiatives. The authors selected this period because events, such as the 2016 U.S. presidential election, contributed to an increased national concern about media literacy. This study fills a research gap by providing a broader assessment of public library responses to this issue, as most of the published literature thus far stems from academic libraries. An electronic survey solicited data from both a stratified purposive sample and a self-selecting sample of public libraries throughout the United States (U.S.). Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from sixty-five public libraries revealed several key themes related to media literacy initiatives, including types of initiatives developed, initiatives deemed most successful by staff, community response to initiatives, and reasons for not pursuing initiatives. Findings denote the current state of how public libraries address media literacy and offer practical guidance for those developing media literacy initiatives. Key findings are as follows: lack of staff time is the reason most often cited for not engaging in media literacy initiatives; more effective measurements are needed to assess both community needs and outcomes of library initiatives; “fake news” is a topic of interest in the community and among library staff; and there appears to be a relationship between staff interest in the topic and perceived interest on the part of the public, which may impact efforts to address the issue. Implications for practice resulting from those findings include engaging in initiatives that maximize service while minimizing staff time involvement; measuring and assessing community interests as well as outcomes of initiatives; using trending topics such as “fake news” to increase interest in library services; and continuing to increase staff awareness of and training in issues deemed important by the library community.