The Social Commons in a Public Library

An implementation of a “third place.”

Andy Barnett, McMillan Memorial Library

Declining AV circulation (format extinction)

Declining print usage

More online services = fewer reasons for in-person use of library

Self-service = less time in library

High tech AND high touch

Questions about the future and necessity of public libraries

Time to create our future

Document value of online services

Display oriented library

Reshaping collections to new reality

Programming, esp. creatorspaces

More explicitly educational

More interactive

Outward facing (Harwood Institute)

Commons

Grows out of Information Commons

Based on Third Place concept

Public library mashup◦ Remix of these with new elements

◦ Government, library tradition, educational, lifelong and voluntary

A commons

Separate from home and the workplace

In The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement and establishing a sense of place

Robert Putnam discuss third places in Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital

Free or inexpensive (no monetary barrier)

Food and drink, while not essential, are important

Highly accessible: proximate for many

Involve regulars

Hospitable

Both new friends and old should be found there

Rapidly disappearing

Neutral ground

Leveler

Conversation is a main activity

Accessibility and accommodation

The regulars

The mood can be playful

A home away from home

Somehow, they didn’t think of libraries

Part of larger trend

Important piece of development

Sense of place / destination / brand

User friendly / stickiness

Community focus

Zoning of space

Builds user base at all ages

Guided by our mission - Strengthening our community through lifelong learning

Outgrowth of Ron McCabe’s book Civic Librarianship

An internal expansion project, converting former storage space

Opened in 2005

Zoning (matching purpose/ design/ ruleset)◦ Adult (collections)

◦ Technology (quiet, privacy)

◦ Youth Services (collections, social, programs)

◦ Meeting rooms (programs, social)

◦ Commons (social, collections)

Commons visibly different from other zones -décor and furniture

High use (AV) or high browse (magazines / newspapers) collections

Mixed use at all times, but with differing mixes depending upon time of day.

Beverages allowed in most of facility, food allowed in Commons and main meeting room

Ties to hospitality, programming, community focus, stickiness

Coffeehouse

Iterations

Supervising the space – esp. after school

Finding balance in rulesets

Coffeehouse failed as a commercial venture, but succeeded as a staffed service

High level food with low level prep

Need to expand coffeehouse for dual use

Shift to more wireless users

Change of main entrance required rethinking

Presentation online at slideshare.net

McMillan Memorial Library

Andy Barnett, Director

[email protected]