Library as place…
Library by JanneM, via Flickr
I believe in library as community.
In a public context, I think that this is quite an obvious one. My experience of this was when I was little, my mom taking me to a reading group for moms & tots at our local branch. I loved it. I remember my mom sitting with me (awesome!). I remember the books we read (awesome!). I remember the other kids I met (awesome!). This is how community is built. Bringing people together to share in experience.
In an academic context, I believe the library is the heart of a campus. Sometimes this idea of it being the heart can even be seen. During my undergrad at York it certainly felt that way. York’s Keele Campus gives the impression that the library was always the centre of the campus (historically, this isn’t true, but it feels this way). Everything seems to be built off of the main library.
At the University of Toronto, at least at the Faculty of Information, the library (the Inforum) was (is? is.) the place to go. It’s a hub. The heart of the Faculty. I continue to use the collection as an alum. But again, this is what Library does; bringing together people like-minded in passion and knowledge.
Even in the context that I have been working for close to the past year – special libraries – the library is used. The library is community building; just in a different capacity. And again, it was illustrated to me that this is what Library does; bringing together people like-minded in research and goals.
It’s the space. It’s the people. It’s the collection.
So. I was recently presented with, well, essentially, this question. Or, at least, I should say that something got me thinking about this question:
Is a library still a library with no physical collection?
I believe in library as community. But as digital resources become more and more, the norm. Where do books live in this idea? Is a library still a library with no books?
Discuss.
Kim Stymest 
I think a library can definitely still be a library without a physical collection. Why not have story time with an iPad, or a computer monitor? As long as there’s a person reading the book, and children listening, I don’t think it matters what the book is made of. And as academic libraries move more towards electronic resources, I don’t think any of the traditional functions, such as reference services or collaboration space are diminished.
I would say the bigger question is whether a library is still a library without a physical space. At the moment, the only true virtual libraries I know of are special libraries, where a librarian serves clients strictly online. In this case you would probably lose the community aspect, and then it might be fair to say it’s no longer a library. But even then, it might be possible to have some kind of community engagement through message boards and live chatting – story time via Skype wouldn’t be quite the same, but it could be more interesting for a child than simply reading a book by herself. Perhaps over time our concept of “space” will broaden to include virtual space as well as physical space.
But why is a raven like a writing desk?
I think this comes to mind, because despite how I feel about libraries and the community that they inspire, there possibly is no real answer to my question. You’ve raised some interesting points, Graham. I just wonder whether we can sort out access issues with copyright with ownership etc etc to be able to get there, and how long the sorting out will take.
In my example of the Inforum still being a space that I use, I am using it in the only way available to me. Alumni are permitted borrowing cards, but for the physical collection only (I can’t use the computers, the study rooms, the labs, the electronic resources, not even the wifi – please don’t misunderstand, I completely understand the reasoning behind these). But I can still borrow the books.
It’s true that there are still plenty of issues that need to be ironed out in terms of access. At McGill we didn’t have anything equivalent to the Inforum, but anyone can walk into the McGill Library off the street and either browse the physical stacks or access about 95% of the electronic books, journals, and databases (the only exceptions are some very specialized and expensive databases). Members of the public can’t book group study rooms or use the WiFi, but they can log into almost any computer as a guest and access almost any McGill-subscribed resource. And even alumni must pay to take books out of the library.
My point here is just that it’s possible to have a model where electronic resources are as accessible as physical resources. But you’re right: this isn’t the case in many libraries, and I’m sure in the future many copyright holders will fight to keep non-students from using the electronic collections of university libraries.
I think you’ve answered your own question Kim, and that is of course libraries can exist without physically collections. Because your emphasis is on the community and bringing of people together, not the physical collections. Bringing people together with like minded research goals or learning goals – however you want to view that depending on the library you’re working in. It has nothing to do with a physical collection, it is about access to information. And increasingly that just happens to be digital. Collections are a vital component to a library – but whether or not they are physical or digital does not matter, in my opinion. Books are never going to disappear totally – I believe there will be far less of them, but I don’t’ believe they will ever completely disappear.
I think Graham’s question is best – is a library still a library without physical space? And this is where I would argue the answer is no. As a public librarian the physical space of the library is absolutely vital. It is truly the only “public” space our communities have got left. I would challenge anyone to suggest otherwise. And while I do believe there is value in online communities, it does not and never will be able to replace the meeting people in the flesh.