Category Archives: Musings & Updates

We are going to Harvest Hollow, North Carolina!

Posted on by

Salutations!

In my ongoing efforts to offer recent and relevant recommendations during readers’ advisory sessions about adult fiction, I’ve stumbled across the world of contemporary clean romance that excludes the faith aspects found in Christian fiction. Personally speaking, I am a low-to-no spice reader of romance and appreciate a nicely closed door and/or fade to black when character relationships dip into the… um… intimate territory of FMC with MMC [female main character with male main character].

To totally fit the bill, there is a 3-series grouping of books written by some of the genre’s top authors that I have affectionally dubbed the “Harvest Hollow” books! I started a book list at the public library where I work to help patrons navigate the fictional world, which I will tweak a tad to reflect that flair of RLGing that I’m sure folks appreciate before posting here (and update since there’s been a surprise seventh novel in one of the sub-series recently published!).

Stay tuned for all things Harvest Hollow! I think you’re going to want to move figuratively to this small fictional town that feels like a modern Mayberry!

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

Library Memes

Posted on by

Salutations!

As part of my INFO 5410 Integrated Technologies in Libraries course during Spring 2023, I was tasked with creating memes by utilizing one of the platforms discussed in the textbook, so I went to Canva and made the following three memes.

The one below is my favorite (and current desktop background) because I personally identify with the different librarian-ish aspects of the pictures. All of the films/TV show librarians depicted are favorites of mine. Can you list them all?

I had way too much fun making all these. Hopefully they will make you giggle!

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

Books About Women During World War II: A Library Collection Selection Project

Posted on by

Salutations!

During my INFO 5040: Developing Library Collections during Summer 2023, I was tasked with selecting a non-fiction topic and analyzing what resources should be added to a library, based on what titles were available at two different academic libraries. It was fantastic to work on the book selection process from topic identification to title compilation, with the result being a 40-title list.

Project Topic: Women in World War II

Reason: One of my recent favorite books on the topic of women during World War II is Code Girls: The Untold Story of The American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy. The depth of research woven into narrative prose is quite appealing for a non-fiction book, and I have a few other books about the diverse ways women served during the historical period; these books from my personal collection became the foundation for this project. I found the specific Library of Congress (n.d.) Subject Heading for this category of information to be “World War, 1939-1945–Participation, Female” (p. W-255).

Reflection: From combing the internet for title suggestions, I learned to be more open-minded to reviews from unexpected yet valid sources; rather than relying on NoveList alone, I branched out to inventory available online from the bookstore of the National World War II Museum and even took a recommendation from NPR. One aspect I did not consider to be of great importance was the publication dates of the titles I chose. Given I was dealing with history, I assumed the date of publication was not as vitally important as it would be for science and technology titles, so publication dates were not included on my 40-book list. Depending on the topic, I realize publication dates might have more of a bearing on title selection. In a future position involving collection development, I also might need to provide at least an acknowledgement of having read reviews about the titles I select, a fact I discovered when working with NoveList entries that provide access to reviews from publications such as Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Kirkus as available depending on the title. These compiled reviews might prove useful in supporting a selection decision when submitting title lists to different groups of library constituents.

Goodreads Book List: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/39464934-sarah-hope?shelf=women-in-ww2

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

Reference

Library of Congress. (n.d.). Library of congress subject headings beginning with w [PDF]. https://www.loc.gov/aba/publications/FreeLCSH/W.pdf

The Goal of Collection Development

Posted on by

Salutations!

Rather than the goals of collection development having changed drastically since the early days, the difference between collection development of then versus now lies in the process, materials, and formats having changed (Howard, 2011, p. 10). The first of these linked statements has truth woven in it, even when taking into account the historical views of quality compared to quantity of the collection and whether the librarian was acting in a predominately educational role for the community by offering “good” books (Huynh, 2004, p. 20-21). Regardless of philosophical views, the overarching goal of collection development is “building a coherently connected selection of appropriate items intended to serve an easily identifiable body of users” (Disher, 2014, p. 2). The ultimate goal of almost every library collection can well be said “to check out its material” (Disher, p. 94)!

The process, materials, and formats have changed. It is true that the materials and formats have shifted to include a wider variety than librarians dealt with in previous decades. Since collection development encompasses “all the steps from preparing a budget to eventually placing the book or material in the collection” (Howard, p. 10), the process has remained virtually unchanged, based on what I see in the literature. Materials and formats have definitely expanded over time. Libraries, once only dealing with print books, experience shelves holding audiovisual materials, including DVDs, audio books, and compact discs (Disher, p. 58), and links in OPACs to various electronic versions of items on the shelves for circulation. Within the non-book materials available, my public library offers kits patrons can borrow from the Teen collection, such as a waffle iron, popcorn machine, ukulele, and crochet hooks, akin to the “American Girl dolls” available for circulation in “Washington,” “fishing equipment in Minnesota,” and the “bicycles in Ohio,” all of which are contributing to the growing “library of things” movement across the United States (Mead & Dankowski, 2017). Formats of books and audiovisual materials have also changed over time, with print books morphing into eBooks, books on cassette moving to CDs then streaming, and VHS tapes becoming DVDs becoming Blu-rays and streaming.

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

PS. This was originally written in INFO 5040: Developing Library Collections during Summer 2023.

References

Disher, W. (2014). Crash course in collection development. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.

Howard, J. K. (2011). Basic selection tools: 21st-century style. School Library Monthly, 28(3), 9–11.

Huynh, A. (2004). Background essay on collection development, evaluation, and management for public libraries. Current Studies in Librarianship, 28(1/2), 19–37.

Mead, B., & Dankowski, T. (2017). the LIBRARY of THINGS. American Libraries, 48(6), 48–51.

The Purpose of Collection Development

Posted on by

Salutations!

When one stops and think about it, the purpose of the library and collection development are tightly intertwined. If a library is located in a botanical garden, for instance, with its purpose being research on botany, then its collection development strategies will focus on botanical materials in different formats and ignore information regarding other topics, such as Shakespeare’s sonnets. Similarly on a smaller scale, Disher (2014) stated “books on the library’s shelves…share a common purpose,” so the role of the collection developer, “therefore, is to collect items that illustrate to the community that a unifying purpose or goal prevails” (p. 1). The community’s needs and interests fuel the purpose of the library, since “public libraries exist for the communities they serve” (Disher, p. 4), which resultantly informs the work of collection developers.

Huynh did a fantastic job providing an overview tracing the history of book selection from the early 1900s to what we now know today as collection development. I found the comparisons of such categories as philosophy, selection, and evaluation to be quite helpful in seeing the shift in thinking over the years. One particular statement struck me as corroborative of my views on the linking of library purpose with collection development, in that Huynh (2004) declares that “the collection development philosophy is heavily dependent upon the purpose of the libraries” (p. 31), so it follows that what items are purchased and made available fluctuate while the purpose “has swung like a pendulum, from educating to entertaining or ‘edutaining’ the public” throughout the decades (as cited in Huynh, p. 31). The current trend regarding collections and services for public libraries “heavily leans towards public demand” (Huynh, p. 19), evident in Woodward’s goal for libraries to morph into bookstores, driven by evaluating circulation rates and responding to customer demands (as cited in Huynh, p. 36-37). As Huynh points out this customer-driven model illustrates how quickly perspective of what is important enough to last beyond popular culture fads and “raison d’être” (p. 31), that is “reason or justification for existence” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.), can be lost. Without a balance of reason coming from clearly delineated purpose, as well as collection development policies and procedures, libraries will not be able to handle the stressful expectations society places on them. “Instead of being many things to all, should public libraries strive to be a few things to some?”  (Huynh, p. 31).

 

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

PS. This was originally written in INFO 5040: Developing Library Collections during Summer 2023.

References

Disher, W. (2014). Crash course in collection development. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.

Huynh, A. (2004). Background essay on collection development, evaluation, and management for public libraries. Current Studies in Librarianship, 28(1/2), 19–37.

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Raison d’être. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved May 11, 2023, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raison%20d%27%C3%AAtre

 

Sense of Purpose, Peace, and Professionalism

Posted on by

Salutations!

Among the myriad of important things I gleaned from INFO 5000: Introduction to Information Professions in Fall 2022, the top 3 things are as follows. I really felt like I had grown so much both academically and and professionally in my understanding of LIS during this course.

  1. I found a sense of purpose in Rubin and Rubin’s (2020) detailed discussion of the library’s basic organizational structure (p. 71), since it highlights the vastness of the profession I’ve chosen to enter. The organization, broken into three categories of User services, Technical services, and Support services (Rubin & Rubin, p. 71) which, regardless of type of library being analyzed, provide numerous employment opportunities for many different individuals, whether or not they are in the field of librarianship, such as IT, HR, and personnel facilities maintenance, and security (pp. 76-77). Libraries can be highly important in the communities they serve, beyond merely the patrons and librarians who interact around materials.
  2. I found a sense of peace on all the different types of libraries expounded upon in the textbook, since it helped me over some of my guilty feelings from my choice to switch decidedly from the role of school library media specialist to anything else library-related when beginning this MSLIS program this past January [of 2022]. I now see more clearly and firmly that the switch has nothing to do with my supposed “failure” in one realm of library, as I wrongly thought; rather, it is my adventurous nature and the ability to see all the open doors this degree will offer that I want to try out in my professional life; there are so many different types of libraries and different roles within those organizations that it will become merely a question of what do I want to do for the present season, not “here’s what I am duty-bound to do for the rest of my career, whether I love it or not.”
  3. I found a sense of professionalism through the coursework that helped me grow in my evaluative skills when it comes to scholarly sources and forced me to think about aspects of librarianship as a profession that I had previously considered; before this class, neither I had considered what impact one important LIS figure can have on today’s practices, nor had I even thought about the various men and women responsible for great strides in our profession, often by merely doing their jobs to the best of their abilities and becoming famous in the process inadvertently. As Shakespeare (1601/1988) penned in Twelfth Night, “ ‘Be not afraid of greatness’– ’twas well writ. / ‘Some are born great’ – /  ‘Some achieve greatness’ – / ‘And some have greatness thrust upon them.’ ” (3.4.37, 39, 41, 43).

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

References:

Rubin, R. E. & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.

Shakespeare, W. (1601/1988). Twelfth night, or what you will. (S. Wells & G. Taylor, Eds.). (Compact Edition). (Original work published 1601)

Stereotypes: What do The Pagemaster, Dr. Abigail Chase, and Larry Daly all have in common?

Posted on by

Salutations!

Most are likely well aware of the pervading “librarian stereotype,” — middle-aged female with graying hair in a tidy (or messy) bun wearing glasses and cardigan who owns cats — and I, for one, feel completely at home embracing and embodying most of the perception of the LIS profession nowadays, with the exception of “crazy cat lady” being a synonym of “librarian” since I’m a dog kind of gal. Glasses used to be part of my “librarian” persona complete with neck chain and hair in a bun; cardigans will forever be my superhero cape.

To my knowledge, there is not a stereotype for “information scientist” that has to do with gender, physical appearance, personality, and habits. The first mental picture that comes to mind when I think of the term “information scientist” is a combo deal of Doc Brown from the Back to the Future trilogy in the 1980s and Mr. Dewey the librarian-turned-pagemaster from The Pagemaster movie in the 1990s. Great Scott! I just keep seeing Christopher Lloyd in my mind’s eye. It seems ironic to me that gender roles in librarianship began as male-dominated where “bookmen” worked in sophisticated academic institutions “because they were scholars, not custodians” (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, 2020, p. 272) in the middle of the nineteenth century and completely morphed into a profession dominated by females, so much so that Garrison was quoted as referring to nineteenth-century librarians as “tender technicians,” because “women occupied professions distinguished by their nurturing characteristics… librarianship among them” (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, p. 541). I think Garrison must have been alluding to the late nineteenth-century or even the twentieth-century, due to the fact Rubin and Rubin point out, that by 1919, out of the fifteen library education programs in the country, ten had been founded by women (p. 278), with the majority of students in such programs at the time being women. 

I also find it interestingly doubtful that Stauffer’s masculine model in LIS schools is discussed as still existing today, having roots in the dominant cultural view of Dewey’s day, notably “a distinct separation between the appropriate work for males (leadership, administration, bibliography) and females (routine clerical duties and nurturing functions such as children’s work)” (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, p. 276). The gender pay gap specifically does not seem to play a role in the librarian and information scientist stereotypes; Rubin and Rubin reported on a 2014 Library Journal salary survey which declared “women made 89 cents for every dollar made by men” generally in different positions across library types (p. 310), while “data from 2017 showed that women were paid less in systems, web development, and programmer positions but had a slight advantage in digital acquisitions and digital curatorial positions” (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, p. 310).

The stereotypes regarding archivists and museum workers that spring to mind also come from the entertainment industry; they are either highly intelligent and sophisticated consistently like historian-cryptologist Dr. Benjamin Gates and archivist Dr. Abigail Chase in the National Treasure movies or extremely bumbling and inept, at least at the onset, like the night watchman Larry Daley in the Night at the Museum movies. Honestly, I think I watch too many bookish or library-themed movies and absorb them way too easily; I find myself actually adding bits of different characters I admire or connect with on some level into my personality and modus operandi, sometimes even my speech pattern, which one of my work-friends finds hilarious. I’m totally going to make a librarian meme someday with solely film/TV librarian images that are important to me in the style of the “What My Friends Think I Do” memes.

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

Reference: Rubin, R. E. & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.

Musings on Intellectual Freedom in Libraries

Posted on by

“A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.” ~ Mary Jo Godwin

Salutations!

The above quotation is commonly attributed to Mary Jo Godwin, a former Wilson Library Bulletin editor, and the passage regardless of origin featured prominently in a discussion on intellectual freedom during my INFO 5000 Introduction to Information Professions in Fall 2022; during one week’s assignments, we were asked to describe any experiences we had with censorship, a task which really made me look at my own actions under a microscope.

During my last year of elementary teaching, one of our K-12 library department meetings focused on the reconsideration policy our district had in place since a highly conservative parents’ group had challenged a handful of books in our middle and high school collections due to explicit language (both anatomical vocabulary and profanity) and thematic elements involving… um… shall we say politely “teen physical relations?” The librarians at the schools influenced by this news were told by our department head (one of the high school librarians) to keep the items on the circulating shelves without alluding to the current issues some individuals and families were having to those specific titles. In their initial complaint, the group provided a completely copied and pasted document of all the “spicy” bits of the books with page number citations taken completely out of context, sometimes even a single sentence pulled into the compilation that had one mildly profane word. Per our district policies, the representative of the complaint was provided with a printed packet by our department head containing the board-approved reconsideration request form to be completed and returned, our district’s reconsideration and collection development policies, the ALA Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read Statement, the Code of Ethics, which was never completed and submitted back to the library media specialist of the school where the complaint was originally filed. If it had, a committee would have been assembled of librarians, teachers, and administrators at the building and district levels to read the materials in question and decide whether they needed to be restricted in open access or removed from the collections. Interestingly, all of these documents my old distinct included were listed as essential to public library packets for patrons lodging formal complaints with library materials, displays, or programs in a recent presentation on library challenges at a recent all-staff development day at my present library, given only when requested by a patron from our director.

One of my other schools, by their traditionally-expected addition of Accelerated Reader information on each book via shelf-ready materials purchased from specific vendors, essentially demanded I engage in an ALA-frowned-upon labeling system, which was an instance of my school theoretically “[assuming] that the library [media center I was managing had] the institutional wisdom to decide what [was] appropriate or not appropriate for users to access; such decisions should [have been] placed in the [student users,] not the library” (Rubin & Rubin, 2020, p. 525). Rubin and Rubin cite ALA’s interpretation of the First Amendment to include specifically “ ‘organizing collections by reading management program level, ability, grade, or age level is another example of restricted access’ and fails to consider the reading abilities of many library users” (p. 518). I can’t remember the multiple times a child was denied a book I encouraged him or her to borrow by the classroom teacher because it was above or below the child’s current AR level! Those level/quiz information sticks on the covers and the color dots on the sides where the ban of my existence. I would book talk titles of interest to some kiddos only to be faced with them saying “but it’s not a blue dot” or “it’s not my level.”

Thus far in my 6+ years actively in school library media centers and my current employment public library, I have not been personally offended or made uncomfortable by specific materials or programming to the point of filing any formal complaints, as I feel I adequately exercise my ability to separate my professional responsibilities from my personal beliefs on potentially controversial topics. Admittedly though, I have requested my Children’s department supervisor move the majority of the Anne of Green Gables series by L. M. Montgomery, especially the fifth book Anne’s House of Dreams to the Teen collection upstairs, since the series grows up with Anne into her late adulthood and being the mother of 6 children, just like one would expect of the first installment being published in 1908 (L. M. Montgomery Online, 2022a) intended ultimately, I believe, for a readership that would age along with the young literary heroine until the last novel published in 1921, featuring Anne’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Rilla, in the eighth book (L. M. Montgomery Online, 2022b). In Anne’s House of Dreams, particularly, I am well-acquainted with the situation that is extremely sad and perplexing on many levels from at least two reads of the series, which I won’t divulge, lest I spoil the plot arch for Anne fans who haven’t got that far in the series. This did not come from a place of offense or wanting to restrict individuals’ access to one of my most beloved series; I was merely uncomfortable about a sensitive child or multi-age family reading together flying through the series enamored of fourteen-year-old Anne, as I was in early high school when I was first introduced to her, and being potentially (in worst case scenario) traumatized by what happens to Anne and her baby. Having never read the series, my supervisor, completely unaware of the potentially troubling plot intricacies after Anne married, agreed with me on their transfer, yet the copies were still listed as being in the Children’s department on our OPAC and have seemed to disappear from our shelves without a trace before reaching the Teen shelves upstairs when I last checked several months ago. I now see my request might actually, and unwittingly on my part, fall under the umbrella of a challenge with my expected outcome being the transference of the books to another department within the library (K. Chisum, personal communication, November 9, 2022), yet no one has corroborated my suspicion or taken me to task for the so-called incident.

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

References: L. M. Montgomery Online. (2022a, January 22). Anne of green gables. https://lmmonline.org/anne-of-green-gables/

L. M. Montgomery Online. (2022b, October 31). Rilla of ingleside. https://lmmonline.org/rilla-of-ingleside/

Rubin, R. E. & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.

Why am I in LIS?

Posted on by

Salutations!

One of the discussion board prompts for my INFO 5000 Introduction to Information Professions in Fall 2022 asked the question: Why am I in LIS [library and information science]? The answer was massaged from some of what I wrote in my reader autobiography for another class, which has been linked in a previous post. Below is the “readers’ digest” version, if you will.

Out of all the possible occupations/vocations in all the world, I had to walk into library information science [LIS]. Yes, I totally turned that first sentence into a nod to Casablanca, one of my dad’s favorite classic films. As some might remember from reading my introductory post, I chose Clarion’s online MSLIS program because my first master’s program in library media education was not ALA-accredited. Having spent 6 years as an elementary library media specialist, I find I am so much happier, so much more peaceful, and honestly have much better emotional well-being, in my present part-time position at my local public library. 

How I came to be interested in LIS can be traced all the way back to my baby-hood. I jokingly affirm with confidence that Syd Hoff’s character “Danny” discovered a dinosaur in 1958 and an infant librarian in the 1990s. My mom likes to tell the following “Danny” story during family “remember when” gabfests as a humorous “should’ve known she’d be a librarian” kind of tale, shaking her head with a fond smile at me. I’d request Syd Hoff’s Danny and the Dinosaur be read aloud to me by my parents, grandparents, and any of our family and friends who came to visit so much that Mom told me they took to hiding it around the house to get me interested in other stories and activities. Inevitably, Danny and the Dinosaur would resurface to be lovingly read…again. I have a dim recollection of finding it under a cushion of the family room couch or at least I remember that bit of the family tale.

Deep down, even when I couldn’t articulate it, I have always believed God blessed me with my love of books to share with others. He gave me a curiosity about famous people and faraway places, worlds within well-written novels, a thirst for information typically quenched by well-researched answers, and a respect for how books can be little puzzle pieces from bygone times by illuminating tidbits of history. “Librarian” checks those boxes quite well when trying to find an occupation that fits all my interests and talents. After completing this MSLIS, I look forward to all the different positions in different avenues of library and information science that will be available to me in different places all over the country and in some of my favorite international countries.

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

Bits and Bobs of Library History

Posted on by

Salutations!

Going back through some old discussion board posts, I found that my INFO 5000 Introduction of Information Professions in Fall 2022 really opened my eyes to all that is within this varied world of library-ness. Below are the highlights from a historical examination of libraries that were quite interesting or unknown to me at the time. There were so many intriguing bits and bobs highlighted by Rubin and Rubin (2020) in Foundations of Library and Information Science that I am tempted to make an outline or two for some historical fiction I want to write someday centered on female librarians throughout history, such as what it must have been like to work in a special library in the 1920s learning to use microfilm as new technology (p. 41). My Top 3 new-to-me, curious, and/or surprising things from Chapter 2 are the Alexandrian Library in Egypt, the illuminated manuscripts of Scriptures in the Middle Ages, and the social libraries that went West.

I was first intrigued that the Alexandrian seems to be the historically and scholastically agreed-upon “first institution to embody the idea of systematically organized, collaborative, encyclopedic research” (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, p. 26). Honestly, I was floored to learn that the Library in Alexandria, Egypt — that iconic, legendary library, of which memes exist in droves it seems — was actually the brainchild of Greek military leaders wanting Alexandria to be the cultural hub for their empire. Previously, I had always assumed one Egyptian dynasty came up with the idea as a means by which to record the history of the world power known as Egypt and their daily life routines and belief systems up to that current reign with subsequent rulers merely adding to the growing body of knowledge. I also appreciated the fact that the Museum/Library as a combined institution housed together was focused on bringing to light all the world’s knowledge at the time into one physical place, so it would ambitiously “be a ‘universal’ library that promoted Greek language” while also including “Near Eastern traditions, including some of the great works of the Jews” (Rubin & Rubin, p. 27). However, I do not approve of the aggressive collection methods which saw fit to confiscate original on incoming trade ships for the purposes of copying them, only to return the copies back to their owners! I found the inclusion of systematic author and subject cataloging within the acquisition and processing details given by Rubin and Rubin’s citation of Wilson’s 1980 work to be interesting, and I especially enjoyed the mention of their ongoing conservation program (pp. 26-27). 

Secondly, not exactly having to do with the roles or functions of libraries as used by people per say, I relished the inclusion of illuminated manuscripts produced during the Middle Ages in monastic libraries. Any illuminated manuscripts of Scriptures have always fascinated me, especially those I saw during my visit to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. last year. When thinking about the monks pouring over pages and ink for hours to result in these works of art, I definitely see the reverential intention to “reveal the beauty of God,” since I am a devout Christian myself, and understand that the mostly meticulous work “reflected the copyist’s realization that he was representing sacred words from Scripture” (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, p. 33). I found it amusing and encouraging that Clanchy’s 1979 work is quoted as mentioning the fact that visible use and display of these illuminated manuscripts “might have also been  inspirational to the laity and might have even served as an early incentive for literacy” (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, p. 33). Sometimes, seeing someone else with the book you want to understand is all it takes for you to do whatever you have to so you can access what that book has to offer.

Thirdly, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Westward Expansion period, thanks to a happy childhood reveling in the works and world of Laura Ingalls Wilder, so I perked up a bit when reading migrants West “took the social library model with them, which resulted in a wide variety of libraries — YMCA libraries, agricultural libraries, ‘ladies’ club,’ mechanics’ and mercantile libraries — all developed to meet the special interests of their particular constituencies” (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, p. 39). The entire concept of the social library was completely new to me. Previously, I had always considered all libraries, even if it was merely a physical location where small, select groups of people seemingly swapped purchased books routinely, would be free to any individual who wished to use the materials offered within said library spaces. If I have connected the dots properly regarding the progression, I understand social libraries to be an interesting precursor to circulating libraries, which, in turn, fostered public libraries as we know them today. I enjoyed the directory of various social libraries established after settlers moved into the wilds of the West, especially the ladies’ club libraries and the mercantile libraries. Who knew shopkeepers and general store owners needed their own specialized little libraries in territories past the Mississippi River and Rockies Mountains? I hadn’t considered it before, and similarly found, in the previous section documenting the types of 1876 libraries, the inclusion of saloon reading rooms, sewing circle libraries, and railroad libraries (as cited in Rubin & Rubin, p. 38) to all be amusing and thought-provoking from an author’s standpoint. For example, were the railroad libraries about railroads and equipment maintenance or was it for travelers to “take a book, leave a book” from stop to stop when riding the rails? Did sewing circle libraries branch out topically to include knitting? What items were available and used in the saloon reading rooms?

RLGing,

Sarah Hope

Reference: Rubin, R. E. & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.