L EARNING FROM THE P AST What Bookmobile History Can Teach Us
about the Future of Outreach Derek Attig, PhD bookmobility.org |
@bookmobility Slide 2 Slide 3 Slide 4 New Technology + Emerging
Networks + Expanded Access Slide 5 PRINCIPLES FOR OUTREACH MOBILITY
Libraries should extend their reach to include new people and
spaces FLEXIBILITY Libraries should respond quickly and effectively
to changing circumstances ACCESSIBILITY Libraries should work to
guarantee that their resources are available to all INTERACTIVITY
Libraries should promote interaction and participation among
patrons Slide 6 WHY LOOK TO THE PAST? Slide 7 MOBILITY Slide 8
REACH adequate public library service within easy reach of everyone
(ALA Committee on Library Extension, 1929) Slide 9 GEOGRAPHY Slide
10 RISKS Fewer immediately available resources No fixed, permanent
library space supplant seven small branch libraries (1948) Slide 11
MOBILITY TODAY New kinds of mobility (for people/info) Geography
still an issue Slide 12 LESSONS FOR MOBILITY Slide 13 GO TO PIECES
(CAREFULLY) Break the library upbut keep the whole in mind Slide 14
PARTNER UNCONVENTIONALLY Where does your audience spend its time?
How can you be there? What other institutions have interest? Slide
15 FLEXIBILITY When were on the road, its different every day.
(Danielle Duvall, 2015) Slide 16 SHELVES Modular design was key
Slide 17 CHANGES You can change a bookmobile faster than a branch
Slide 18 RISKS Unpredictability Infrastructure, mechanical issues,
gas prices, resource availability Flexibility could require more
flexibility OPEC Oil Crisis & El Paso Public Library (1974)
Slide 19 FLEXIBILITY TODAY New uses for old spaces and tools
Built-in flexibility / service flexibility Bookmobile flexibility
in library buildings Queens Library laptops Slide 20 LESSONS FOR
FLEXIBILITY Slide 21 PLAN TO CHANGE Think ahead but dont lock
yourself in PAUSE AND PONDER Dont change for the sake of change
Purposeful strategic planning and testing Often a signature of
bookmobiles because of the need for more frequent shifts Slide 22
ACCESSIBILITY Slide 23 GEOGRAPHY So scattered are the families and
so great the distance between communities that branch libraries are
frequently impractical. The bookmobile is the answer. (New Orleans
Times-Picayune, 1948) Slide 24 ABILITY crippled with arthritis[who
hasnt] moved from [her] chair in twenty years; butgo[es]
adventuring through books (Books and Beaux, 1958) Slide 25
SOCIOECONOMICS To people imprisoned by limited income in a small
world of home and neighborhood, books offer escape into the big
world and universe. (Dallas Morning News, 1968) Slide 26 RISKS
Delay changes to whole library system Reinforce separation Mistake
access to books for access to library Slide 27 ACCESSIBILITY TODAY
35% of Americans lack home broadband Libraries more important than
ever in ensuring equal access to information 62% of libraries are
only broadband source Cyber-navigators, classes, etc. Wi-fi on
bookmobiles Risks: continuing to reinforce inaccessibility
Nook/Kindle programs Slide 28 LESSONS FOR ACCESSIBILITY Slide 29
INSTITUTIONALIZE ACCESSIBILITY Commitments to accessibility in
acquisition policies E-books, vehicles, etc. Slide 30 THINK
DEMOGRAPHICALLY Where is your community headed demographically? How
will those changes transform your services? Age, language, etc.
Slide 31 INTERACTIVITY Slide 32 BUILDING COMMUNITIES The
bookmobiles novelty and unique usefulness attracted people to
gatherings as nothing had done before. (Taos County Project, 1940s)
Slide 33 ENGAGING INFORMATION Bookmobiles enhanced and expanded
patrons engagement with information And new sources of information
Slide 34 RISKS Would the relationships last after the bookmobile
left? Buy-in Slide 35 ACCESSIBILITY TODAY What are libraries for in
a world where books are supposedly less important? Interactive
spaces in libraries/on the road Makerspaces, media studios, etc.
Gee Whiz! Virtual connections Slide 36 LESSONS FOR INTERACTIVITY
Slide 37 GET PHYSICAL Value in-person engagement Bring physical and
digital together Classes, collaborative spaces, etc. Slide 38 MIX
MEDIA New doesnt mean old doesnt matter Experiment with combining
different kinds of engagement Town hall with questions from Twitter
Incorporate in-library resources for media production into digital
book club for teens Slide 39 CONCLUSIONS Slide 40 MORE CHANGE IS
COMING There is no sign that anything approaching stability is in
the offing. (Library Trends, 1961) Slide 41 BOOKMOBILES HAVE
ANSWERS Mobility Flexibility Accessibility Interactivity Slide 42
BOOKMOBILES HAVE ANSWERS Adaptation to new technology isnt new
Bookmobile librarians are experts at it Over a century of
experience managing and responding to rapid change Connect the dots
to draw on that experience Slide 43 a large part of your public
thinks youre the most wonderful thing that ever rode on four
wheels. (Nancy Runs the Bookmobile, 1958) Slide 44 read more about
information in motion at bookmobility.org and on twitter
@bookmobility Slide 45 Slide 46 Slide 47 Slide 48 Slide 49 Slide 50
Slide 51 Slide 52 We hardly can wait to get inside, Until we get
in, we frown But then Mrs. Biwer comes in, And smiles to let us
know, When the lower grades find their books, The higher grades may
go. We hand our books to the driver, Who puts them on the shelf,
Wouldnt you rather have him put them there, Than to put them their
[sic] yourself? Slide 53 Slide 54 Slide 55 Slide 56 Slide 57 Slide
58 Slide 59 Slide 60 Slide 61 Slide 62
