The community lounge room

I haven’t posted on the blog for about a year – long story. But I’d like to welcome a guest presenter to the page – the wonderful “J” of I & J Management Services … Jacqui Phillips, with a fresh look at what happens in a modern library.

I often get asked what I do for a living, and when I reply that I work with public libraries there is a mixed response. Many people say that they love their library and would be lost without it. However, there are others who tell me that public libraries are no longer relevant, that people no longer use them because everything is available elsewhere. Given Ian has been flat out and hasn’t had the chance to blog for a while I thought I would take the chance to jump on and give you my eyes on a modern library. Not the library of the 1960s or the 1980s. Not your school or university library. But today’s library – the modern library that is available to all.

At this very moment I am sitting in a library in suburban Melbourne. It is a relatively large library, with ample books across all genres from new ‘Hot Reads’ to popular fiction, magazines and a wide selection of non-fiction books. There is an extensive Young Adult selection (and let me tell you if you haven’t read any YA you really should as I think they write some incredibly thought provoking material). The children’s area is packed with board books, picture books, early readers, junior fiction, and non-fiction. There is space dedicated to magazines which cover a breadth of topics from sustainability, fashion, cars, investment and gaming. There are shelves packed full of DVDs – movies and TV series. This library has music CDs that cover contemporary pop, world music, jazz and more. There are audiobooks on CD as well, which some would say is old technology but for those who are no longer able to read, or for those that travel long distances for work (truckies – I see you), they are a valuable source of reading material.

This library has a large collection. It is well used. There is an entire set of shelves dedicated to books that library users have requested, waiting to be collected, the slip of paper bearing each user’s name waving gently in the air-conditioned space. The collection though is only one component of a modern library. A collection is important in a library but it only serves one group of library users.

Today, as I sit here glancing around, I see many others using this space. Desk and work space is at a premium. University students are spaced out around the tables, laptops at the ready, desks spread with books and writing paper. As more and more universities move to online lectures and off-siting of their programs, tertiary students are looking for a place to study. Some stay for an hour while others are clearly here for the day, focused on their study with earphones in allowing them to watch their lecture, take their notes and complete assessment tasks.

Today I spy people like me. Working offsite, out of the office, looking for a place away from home where there is desk space and the internet is available. Some, again like me, have multiple devices. They step out of the library for phone calls, they are responding to emails, they are writing reports. With more and more workplaces allowing ‘work from home’ as a result of COVID there are workers looking for a place where they can focus, away from home because sometimes home is not conducive to a productive work day. But the library can provide that space.

Mid-afternoon a group of women arrive to participate in a scheduled book chat. It is not a book group where everyone reads the same book. It is an informal chat where you have the chance to share a book you have loved (or loathed). Where you get the chance to find a new author or genre. They sit and share their books. They debate. They agree and disagree. After the books have been shared though, they sit and chatter for another half an hour. Stories of grandchildren and holidays pepper their conversation. For some in this group this may be their only chance to chat with someone today. Social isolation is significant. The latest ABS census tells us that 24% of the Australian population live alone and this number is increasing. The library is a safe space for people to be, either alone (we call it ‘alone with others’) or actively participating in an activity in the library.

There is a group of young mums (and a dad), sitting cross legged on the floor in the children’s area. Their children are playing with the toys provided in the library. There are ample books to be read, browsed and explored. The parents are sharing a space where they can relax, are not expected to buy anything, and can swap stories with each other about parenting. On another day, this group of parents, along with grandparents and carers, could participate in a Story Time or Baby Rhyme Time session run by the library to enhance early years literacy.

At 3.30pm the day takes a shift as the after-school arrivals begin. First are the primary aged children, arriving with parents to pick up new books, be that picture books, early readers or junior fiction. Some children gravitate to the shelves, others sit with their friends and chat, whilst some jump on a computer to search out new books on the library catalogue. Later, after they have had a chance to grab their smoothie or fast food snack, the secondary students begin to drift in. Carrying their large weighted backpacks they gather together at the tables in the study area. Students from different schools sit together and have a quick chat before the bags are unzipped and the books are deposited on the tables. Study begins, interjected by laughter and stories. They stay until the library begins to close or their parents pick them up, and they know they have a good jump start on their homework.

Today, in this suburban library, we are also able to participate in an African Drumming class as part of Cultural Diversity Week. Sitting in a sunlit atrium our drum leader provides us with a short concert before leading the group, who sit in a horseshoe facing the leader, in a drumming lesson. The group is diverse. We have some who are retired, looking for things to do in their day. We have mums with primary school children eagerly banging away on their drums. We have teenagers looking for a chance to let out some built-up tension. The drumming is loud, it is rhythmic, it is fun. Those working elsewhere in the library pop earphones in or simply bop along with the music. It is infectious, it is delightful and dynamic.

And finally, as I take a last wander through the library, I see people sitting quietly in a comfy chair or on a couch, book in hand (or piles of books beside them). I see people flicking the daily newspapers the library provides. I see staff assisting library customers to find a new author, log on to a computer to check their emails, navigate the ever-increasing world of online forms and websites. There are babies, children, teenagers, young people, parents, workers and retirees. There are all ethnicities. The posters throughout the library remind us all that everyone is welcome. No one has been shushed. This is the community’s lounge room. It is a space for everyone.

If you haven’t visited your local library recently – give it a go. I think you will be surprised.