LIBE 477: Inquiry Blog #4 - The Many Ways the Library Helps and Evolves

Meena Rakhra                     The Many Ways the Library Helps
Inquiry Blog #4                                            and Evolves

“A school library is like the Bat Cave: it’s a safe fortress in a chaotic world, a source of knowledge and the lair of a superhero.” - Tom Angleberger

School libraries, public libraries, mobile libraries, and libraries in rural developing nations all function for the same goals: to foster literacy, to create healthy communities, to provide resources and to provide a public space that is safe and welcoming.   

School libraries can be a source of support, safety, resources and perhaps even be an advocate for students in stress.  It can be a place for students to escape into a good book and capture events and experiences which are fun, exciting, joyful and happy.  It is a source of learning new activities and ways of thinking, collaboration with teachers, students and the community.  It can be the hub of a school.

‘Public libraries have always been more than just books, we are a physical shelter, a classroom, a safe haven, a lunch room, a resource hub and yes even a lifeline’ (Kowalski, 2018). Chera Kowalski (2018) made this statement regarding the opioid crisis in the MacPherson neighbourhood in Philadelphia.  It is a powerful indication of the role a library can play in a community.  Although the scenario Kowalski speaks about may not be a common occurrence, it still illustrates what the role of a library and the people that work within its walls can mean to those who are struggling.

The critical role librarians play in the opioid crisis.

Mobile libraries can be the source of inspiration as it was for Storm Reyes in this video.  The Bookmobile motivated Storm Reyes to deviate from the life she was living to seek something different.  Mobile libraries can be sources of literacy, resources, and safety.

The Bookmobile

They can offer environments for students to just exist safely and peacefully, protected from the elements.  The mobile bus set up by Freshta Karim gives Afghan kids a refuge for reading.  ‘They drive them around Kabul so that Afghanistan's youngest citizens can develop and foster a love for critical thought and reading.’

Source: The library bus in Afghanistan

Small, rural libraries like the one in Zhurbash, Kyrgystan act as a cultural hub of the town.  ‘It is free, accessible to everyone and open all day’ (CABAR, 2023).  However, the selection is limited and there are not enough books.  This is where having internet access would be beneficial.  ‘If we had the internet, we could print out colouring books for children, find interesting information for students, download e-books and disseminate them among children’.  According to UNESCO’s, Reading in the Mobile Era, illiteracy can be attributed to reading material not getting to places that need it the most.  However, in a survey study conducted by UNESCO in the countries of Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda and Zimbabwe they found these trends:

• large numbers of people (one third of study participants) read stories to children from mobile phones;

• females read far more on mobile devices than males (almost six times as much according to the study);

• both men and women read more cumulatively when they start reading on a mobile device;

• many neo- and semi-literate people use their mobile phones to search for text that is appropriate to their reading ability. (UNESCO)

Even though books may be scarce, mobile devices are common, and the advent of mobile devices in today’s society has the potential to close the literacy gap around the world.

Source: UNESCO

‘countries where illiteracy rates are high and physical text is scarce, large numbers of people read full-length books and stories on rudimentary small screen devices’ (UNESCO).

Libraries have the unique opportunity to provide information to underdeveloped, rural communities through internet access and access to resources.  They can allow farmers to connect to new markets, entrepreneurs to seek capital to start businesses, health workers to access research to provide up to date care to patients (Gaurdian, 2013).

In developed countries like Canada and the US, educators are faced with overuse of mobile devices by students and there is a necessity for a ‘no-phones’ rule.  However, due to limited school budgets, digital content and resources are becoming more prevalent than physical resources, like encyclopedias and atlases, maybe the rule can be adapted.  Digital content will require the use of digital technology so instead of closing the door on mobile devices we should embrace it.   Instead of creating barriers to access to information such as databases, ebooks, digitals textbooks etc., it is important to provide students with experience using different mediums so they have the skills necessary to evolve with technology (Miller & Bass, 2019).  However, this also requires educators to teach students information, digital and media literacy so that students can effectively navigate the digital world.

References 

CABAR The Central Asian Bureau for Analytical Reporting is a project of IWPR. (2023, May 25). A world in 30 metres: Kyrgyzstan’s rural libraries. Institute for War and Peace Reporting. https://iwpr.net/global-voices/world-30-metres-kyrgyzstans-rural-libraries 

Guardian News and Media. (2013, March 12). Stamping out poverty as well as books? how libraries can support development. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/mar/12/libraries-power-global-development#:~:text=There%20are%20over%20320%2C000%20public,their%20economic%20and%20social%20wellbeing. 

Kowalski, Chera.  (June 26, 2018). "The critical role librarians play in the opioid crisis." TED. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/1w3NXBXdY5c

Miller, S., & Bass, W. (2019).  Leading from the Library: Help your School Community Thrive in the Digital Age. International Society for Technology in Education.

Reading in the Mobile Era - World. ReliefWeb. (2014, April 24). https://reliefweb.int/report/world/reading-mobile-era#:~:text=Drawing%20on%20the%20analysis%20of,according%20to%20the%20study)%3B 

The National. (July 13, 2019). "The library bus in Afghanistan that is driving change- in pictures." Retrieved from: https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/the-library-bus-in-afghanistan-that-is-driving-change-in-pictures-1.885652

Zammarchi, Julie. (April 13, 2016). "The Bookmobile." StoryCorps.  Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/11OvHcgh-E4