Listen to our teens! They want a space to call their own in their libraries.
We all need a space to call our own. Places and spaces for us to come together face to face, outside of our cyberworlds, are becoming ever more necessary for our sanity, emotional development and survival.
Think of the importance of a city square where thousands co-operate to bring about the first steps toward democracy to a county.
Think of a hotel lobby with foor lamps and really cozy arm chairs where two people lay aside their books to discuss both sides of the political views on universal health care.
Think about how your library provides this essential 'spacial opportunity' that you provide for people of all ages in your community. We call it the commons.
(seating, teen space - Clifton Halfmoon Library, NY)
In our strategic planning sessions with library staff and communities we always hear about the need for a library to provide a space - a common area - for people to simply be in the presence of other humans. Strategic Planning for Results, Sandra Nelson for the Public Library Association
Today I found a link to this book. One part of the synopsis reads:
"Filled with practical solutions for today's economic, political, and cultural issues, it's a much-needed and thoroughly accessible field guide to the new world of the commons. Including success stories from communities across the country and around the world, this book is for anyone seeking new ways of thinking about our shared values."
All That We Share
How to Save the Economy, the Environment, the Internet, Democracy, Our Communities, and Everything Else That Belongs to All of Us
Jay Walljasper and On the Commons
paperback - $18.95 USD
A very old idea has once more morphed into a very currrent and modern solution for our inter-isolated, globally-intertwined lives. Libraries are the core of the much larger concept of 'the commons' discussed in this book.
At PLAN22 we think libraries are an essential and integral piece of a communty's commons. Look around you, listen to your neighbours, observe the growing popularity of this concept that is once more becoming a respected ideal in our modern world.
