The new Halifax Central Library and some musings about the role of libraries

A few weeks ago the new Halifax Central Library opened its doors to the public for the first time.  According to news media, the event was a great success, with over 10 000 people visiting the library that day:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-central-library-opens-to-the-public-1.2872107

The response was overwhelmingly positive, from all the news items I’ve read, and I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be.  This building represents some of the best aspects of the modern library.  It is a blend of the traditional and the innovative, with all the books, journals, and media one would expect from a library (with the possible exception of Bexar County’s digital library), as well as a performance space, a cafe, a rooftop terrace, a video game station, a recording studio, even a photo and video studio that includes a green screen.  There is a kids’ play area, covered booths that offer a bit of quiet privacy, computer stations, iPod stations.

Some people have raised their eyebrows at the $56.7 million price tag, funded by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, but most seem to believe that it’s money well spent.  As I have often repeated in this blog (not quite ad nauseam but getting close), public libraries are very often the cultural centres of their communities.  In an era where public squares are getting scarce, and those that remain are becoming ever more restricted, commercialized, and plastered with advertisements, libraries provide an open space for people to congregate and exchange ideas; to gain knowledge; to become exposed to new music, movies, theatre, books; and all in a socially level environment.  Libraries strive to grant all members of society, regardless of income, social status, ethnicity, age, gender, or sexual orientation, equal access to the public library.  All the information contained in the library (and all the information available online through the library’s computers) is available to all.  Libraries can be, potentially, one of the embodiments of liberal democratic values.

That may sound a bit over the top, but think about the values that democratic societies espouse: freedom, equality, justice, fairness, to name a few.  When you apply these values in a more concrete way you get things like: free access to education (up to a point), fair and open elections, publicly funded infrastructure, and a social safety net to protect the most vulnerable.  To make sure sure these values continue to thrive, we need institutions whose purpose is to directly protect or enforce them (such as the justice system – we can debate the effectiveness of the aforementioned later) or, in the case of libraries, institutions that embody these values, that act as shrines to the societal ideals we are trying to live by.  Open democratic societies thrive on information.  Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, and by making information available to all, society invests power in its citizens, and thus trusts its citizens to make informed decisions .  What is the first thing that despotic governments do?  They restrict access to information.  They censor, they block internet access, they close or restrict libraries.

So hooray Haligonians for single-handedly saving us from the foul clutches of tyranny!

Like I said, a bit over the top, but in all seriousness, I do stand by these words. I chose to become a librarian not because I love books (although I do love books), nor because I like discovering new information and sharing it with others (although again this is something that I love doing), but because I truly believe what I wrote in the previous paragraph.  Libraries are fun, interesting places that can be dynamic and innovative, and that is good to have in society.  Libraries are also important institutions that make information available to everyone, that provide a space for people to come together in a spirit of openness.  And that is very good for society.  And judging from the people’s enthusiastic response to the new Halifax library building, a lot of people agree with me.

Libraries in flux

My wife recently sent me a link to an article in our local paper about the big changes coming to the university library where I work (as an IT guy, not as a librarian).  The interim director, a person I admire and respect a great deal, announced to the world (well, to Montreal anyway), that big big changes are coming: renovations, expansion, new technologies, the works.

I couldn’t be more chuffed.

I love Briticisms, and this one is one of my favourites.

Libraries were declared dead not too long ago.  The advent of digital information, almost unlimited amounts of it available at any time from a growing number of devices, seemed to spell the end of bricks-and-mortar libraries, with their quaint old-fashioned “books” and their bespectacled, hair-bun-and-sensible-shoes “librarians.”  “Remember card catalogues?” one would ask.  “What a silly way to find stuff.  I can find the answer to anything on Google in, like, 10 seconds.”

Maybe I’m dating myself with the card catalogue reference.  I grew up in a small town in the 70s and 80s, and our tiny little public library had a card catalogue.  My even tinier school library too.  But the point is, even OPACs are starting to seem limited and out-of-date these days.  And books?  Don’t talk to me about books.  Cutting edge 15th century technology, pretty much unchanged for the last 500 years.  So what’s relevant about libraries anymore?

Apparently quite a lot. If you stop thinking about them as a place to borrow books.

Libraries are becoming information centers.  Curated information, targeted information, relevant information, authoritative information; in short, information with value added. In an age of information glut, making sense of information, finding the juicy bits, is important.  Wikipedia is a great resource, but what if you need some really specific information with some scholarly authority? You can go to Amazon and get access to millions of books, but which one to choose?  I personally have never had anything good recommended to me on the Amazon site based on my previous purchases.  And Google? A search on Google will get you the most popular results, not the most relevant, not the most accurate, not the most authoritative.  If you’re looking up the title of latest Bond movie, Google is probably good enough.  In fact, Google, Wikipedia, and the like are probably good enough 90% of the time.  But when you really need that extra value added to your information, come to the library.

Academic libraries in particular are experiencing a kind of revival in the last few years, despite the fact that reference requests and borrowing have both declined.  Universities are getting on the “information commons” bandwagon, and most are starting to realize that their libraries are probably the best equipped to run them.  Students love to have space to study, work on group projects, to socialize and exchange ideas.  A library is well-placed, therefore, to become the centerpiece of the university, the place everyone goes to at some point or another.  Our university has embraced this idea.  Our library is frequently overcrowded, underfunded, lagging in some (but not all) of the technological innovations that could really enhance student learning.  So big changes are coming, and I, as I said before, am chuffed at the idea.  Not everyone is, but the divide between old school librarians and new school librarians will have to wait for another episode.