Libraries and Communities

by Jana Hausburg and Michael Owens

Chicago's awesome mass transit system made it easy to get from hotel to conference center. Still, it was a bit of a challenge maneuvering around 2 million Blackhawks fans celebrating their Stanley Cup win! You couldn't go 10 feet without running into a red-shirted hockey fan who either wanted to give you a high five, hug you, or punch you in the face (depending on their level of alcohol consumption).

Our colleagues have provided great coverage about the wide variety of sessions offered at the 2013 ALA Conference. This write-up focuses on one of our favorite session and ties it together with a recent article from Public Libraries Online.

Each library in our system is dedicated to being a welcoming place. We offer materials, programs, and services to people from all walks of life, ages, and political and religious spectrums. The Promise of Libraries: Transforming Communities session focused on ways to lead community engagement and innovation: by hosting conversations on issues that are important to our communities, we can encourage people to come together to discover common ground. By providing a neutral public space, we can engage our people in a conversation that moves communities forward.

It sounds daunting. Yet taking on this kind of leadership roles is a natural progression. We already do this in many ways. In the same way we help an entrepreneur who wants information on starting a small business, we can assist local leaders in educating themselves and the public about better understanding their communities. The presenters emphasized that the library can be part of restoring the belief in the idea that "We can get things done, together." Former mayor Richard Daley put it best, "Unless you are out there changing neighborhoods, you are not completing the work you are to do."

Libraries bring value to their communities. We see it every day, as customers come in to explore their interests and interact with others. As such, we strengthen neighborhoods. We wear many hats: community center, the "people's university," a center for the arts, champion of the underserved. We build citizens.

The transformative power of the library can be viewed through its cultural and social impact on the community it serves. If you peruse the article, you come to understand we offer so much more than the items housed in the four walls of our buildings. We offer hope, civil engagement, and community building, and we fulfill the basic human need of simply belonging. A thriving library staff understands that our customers have become part of our professional family- - a sort of community family, where local problems and concerns can be addressed with civility. Beyond offering access to technology, we provide space for the exchange of social capital, thereby enriching the lives of those involved and revitalizing the connectivity of our communities. Moving forward, we must strive to be the pulse of our community, deeply ingrained in the lives of the people we serve.

At the Capitol Hill Library, one of the things we've been focusing on is literacy, especially in our elementary school children. Reading Help has been so popular because of the input we've received from parents and teachers who are desperate to see that their children succeed in school. At Ralph Ellison Library, one of our concerns is community building. People make up the community, and we are committed to giving voice to those who feel powerless.

Our libraries offer so many great opportunities for self-expression and artistic discovery, and a gateway to a world unknown. Who knows? We might be at the core of alleviating the ills of tomorrow. For more information on ALA's libraries-as-change-agents initiative, visit http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/libraries-transforming-communities.