Libraries play a key role in this digital age where the force and direction of change are knowledge and information.
📚 They are the helpers during an economic downturn, providing millions with free and low-cost resources, job-seeking programs chief among them. They helped thwart misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and have long served as unofficial day shelters for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
In fact, the Brainsfeed research strategy takes huge inspiration from the Library pathfinders, which help library users get started on research for any topic. So, let's take a deep dive into the world of libraries this week. 🙂
PS - The book most often stolen from public libraries? - The Guinness Book of World Records.
Image: Interior of Bibliotecha Alexandrina
Image: Interior of Bibliotecha Alexandrina, a research library created in commemoration of The Great Library of Alexandria, one of the largest libraries in the world. Books were acquired for the library through purchases, copying; and through confiscation. Whenever a ship arrived at the harbor in Alexandria, government officials went aboard and brought the books they found to the library for inspection. These books were either returned immediately, or confiscated and replaced with a copy made by the library scribes.
❓History and Evolution
In earliest times there was no distinction between a record room (or archive) and a library, and in this sense libraries can be said to have existed for almost as long as records have been kept.
A temple in the Babylonian town of Nippur, dating from the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, was found to have a number of rooms filled with clay tablets, suggesting a well-stocked archive or library.
As ancient civilizations developed techniques for producing paper, grand libraries were built to house the great collections of scrolls that governments and individuals began to develop.
These great ancient libraries included the Library of Alexandria and the Chinese Imperial Libraries created during the Han Dynasty. While these libraries were open to the public, they were not easy to browse. Scholars who intended to read specific texts or authors had to ask librarians to fetch specific scrolls for them (Krasner-Khait).
To survive in the digital age and stay relevant, libraries are being innovative, embracing both the physical and virtual. People still turn to libraries to connect them to the correct online tools they need to conduct their research.
The availability of free computers and internet access now rivals book lending and reference expertise as a vital service of libraries.
The British museum was recently in the news when it decided to conduct story-time events for children hosted by a drag queen to provide 'queer role models'.
When the burning is widespread and systematic, destruction of books and media can become a significant component of cultural genocide.
Image: ‘Lala library’ at the Google office in London has a vast collection of books including fiction, Reality, Spiritual, Work, Science, and many more.
🔎 Types Of Libraries
Many institutions make a distinction between a circulating or lending library, where materials are expected and intended to be loaned to patrons, institutions, or other libraries, and a reference library where material is not lent out. Modern libraries are often a mixture of both, containing a general collection for circulation, and a reference collection which is restricted to the library premises.
Academic libraries( school libraries, college libraries and university libraries) serve the students, research scholars, teachers and staff of the academic institution so that they may be fully educated in their respective level. Eg -Magdalen College Old Library at Oxford University.
Public libraries are accessible by the public and are generally funded from public sources (such as tax money) and may be operated by the civil servants. Eg - New York Public Library.
National libraries- are established by the government of a country to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant works. Eg - Library Of Congress.
Special libraries are in specialized environments, such as hospitals, corporations, museums, the military, private business, and the government. They serve a particular group of people, such as the employees of a firm of government department, or the staff and members of a professional or research organization. For eg- The libraries within the MET and the Art Institute of Chicago, both art museums, focus on art and its history.
Bookless libraries ( public, academic and school libraries that do not have any printed books) are also in vogue these days. They offer all-digital collections of literary works, reading material and scientific and academic research material and use the space that would have once been used for books to offer public computers, e-readers and other technology used to consume and produce digital media.
😷 Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Most libraries remained closed because of health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 crisis.
But these building are a free safe place for people of all ages to gather for hours on end with neighbors, as well as to access resources and technology, especially during natural disasters and emergencies.
In San Francisco, for instance, libraries and other public facilities have been repurposed as “emergency care facilities for children of parents on the front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak and low-income families.
When Hurricane Harvey damaged some library branches, staff members set up temporary locations for what they called “the heart of the community.” They also spoke of forming relationships with community members, sometimes literally being a shoulder to cry on for those who had suffered loss because of the storm.
To offer people something different in these uncertain times, libraries are coming up with creative ideas like forgiving item return dates and library card expirations.
Some libraries have started offering even more robust online offerings, from upping the allotment of streaming media rentals to hosting online reading sessions.
On March 24, the Internet Archive announced it was creating a "National Emergency Library" by suspending wait lists for the 1.4 million books in its digital lending library.
Card holders can take advantage of ebook loans and streaming programs offered by their local libraries.
Some librarians are making the effort to call their regular patrons, especially those over 70 to help them feel less isolated, and check whether they have enough food and medical supplies, or need other support.
In Suffolk, a new online advice service has been launched to provide information people can trust because in this age of misinformation even the most internet-savvy people are worried about what to trust, and librarians are trained for this.
United Nations Library - A major service for the long-term preservation of the Organization’s collective memory, incorporating the latest relevant international standards.
The European Database Of Libraries - The Database contains 30,000 prominent academic, industrial, commercial, government and major public reference libraries throughout UK and continental Europe.
Ginny Steel, Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Greg Eow, President, Center for Research Libraries
Build a Customized List with Brainsfeed
Brainsfeed helps clients generate significant value and save precious time by making ready to use, customized lists, on-demand. Contact us at ask@brainsfeed.com with your specific research needs.
A list of different measures that have been adopted by companies to measure and analyze Impact finance.
A list of major breakthroughs or inventions in the last 100 years.
A list of patents orbiting around scuba diving masks.
