A library aims to be in tune with their community’s information needs to connect through outreach programs and services. However, an overlooked element to building social capital is a library collection, which is built to attract community members and respond to their ever increasing needs. Their goal is ultimately to encourage positive interactions and make a difference in their community. The results of these positive interactions and relationships in a community generates social capital. The more durable the connections and the more resources that can be accessed in a community, the higher the chances the community has of escaping poverty and achieving better outcomes (Manza, 2006).
A library is a great place for communities to exchange ideas, learn about jobs, and learn about whatever their hearts and minds desire. Preer (2001) addressed community trends that also affect libraries such as the decline of people reading the newspaper, the television’s negative impact on readership, the decrease in volunteerism, the increase of latchkey kids, and the movement to online communities. Libraries are part of the solution to increase social capital by reaching out to the community, providing activities and programs, creating partnerships with other community organizations, and helping various groups “preserve their heritage through collections and programs” (P. 61). Libraries are built to cultivate educational experiences, lifelong learning, and provide a home for curious minds.
A library is a vital public space (Leckie, 2004) and has the best vantage point to facilitate opportunities to access the wealth of resources and feel welcome in a neutral environment. May (2007) emphasized the valuable role libraries play in Nova Scotian communities in her assessment of libraries as public spaces. She found that “within their communities, public libraries are first and foremost physical spaces that exist to be used by communities and to fill community needs” (p. 116). Libraries provide economic benefits, lifelong learning, and a neutral, welcoming place for community members. Giving people the opportunity to freely go into the library to touch and interact with books while also interacting with other community members is highly valued. Resource sharing is a central role of a library in the community (Fisher, 2007), particularly as a learning place where community members have free access to materials and other resources.
A library’s collection is an integral community resource just as much as a library’s programs and services (i.e. youth programs, outreach services, etc.) (Bourke, 2004; Bourke, 2005; Preer, 2001; Varheim, 2007) and as library as a public space (May, 2007). A library’s collection tells a story about their community as long as it reflects the community’s needs and desires. They include local content, books specifically for special interest groups (i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer groups, etc.) (Rothbauer, 2007), children’s, youth, and a vaste array of reference books (i.e. encyclopaedias, atlases, etc.) The collections reflect programs and services such as young adult (YA) and children’s programs and reading clubs.
A library’s collection also encourages the connection between the community and a library. Community members come into a library, interact with the collections, and them become members of a library to access the collections (see Figure 3). Library membership increases social engagement and bonds with the community. Collections are a common ground that brings people together in one common place where people have the opportunity get to know their neighbours and community better. These interactions increase trust and interaction between individuals, developing the community’s social capital.
A library should flaunt its collection; remember that “a library book continues to open doors” (Maxwell, 2006, p. 55) while the same interaction with books also provokes “powerful emotional responses” (p. 129). What better way to increase a community’s social capital by bringing people together through a library’s collection, opening up opportunities to community members to learn, foster opportunities to meet their neighbours through common interests, and become engaged citizens by checking out materials from their library's collection.
Bibliography
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