Against the Grain
Volume 20 | Issue 1 Article 16
February 2008 Enriching Communities -- A Shared Interest for Academic and Public Libraries Anne Carr-Wiggin University of Alberta Libraries, [email protected]
Louise Reimer Edmonton Public Libraries, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atg Part of the Library and Information Science Commons
Recommended Citation Carr-Wiggin, Anne and Reimer, Louise (2008) "Enriching Communities -- A Shared Interest for Academic and Public Libraries," Against the Grain: Vol. 20: Iss. 1, Article 16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.2698
This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Enriching Communities – A Shared Interest for Academic and Public Libraries by Anne Carr-Wiggin (University of Alberta Libraries, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2J8, Canada; Phone: 780-492-7907)
Building Bridges the fact that, in the ongoing evolution of the these digital collections to community mem- The City of Edmonton is the capital of academy, attention is being paid to “break[ing] bers. This initiative, named for a beloved Lieu- the Province of Alberta (Canada), and boasts down the classic stereotype of the university tenant Governor, brings a rich array of licensed a growing population of over one million as an ‘ivory tower’ — a refuge from the con- digital resources and digitization initiatives to people. Designated the 2007 Cultural Capital cerns of the real world” (Samarasekara qtd. the community. The LHCADL was funded by of Canada, Edmonton is home to a world-class in “Bailey”). Richard Florida, author of The the provincial government, as a result of con- University and a vibrant public library system. Rise of the Creative Class, emphasizes the certed advocacy efforts by university library Edmonton is also a city of bridges, as the city central role that universities play in establish- and public library leaders. is physically bisected by the majestic North ing cities as creative centers: [U]niversities In Edmonton the university and public li- Saskatchewan River. On the south bank of help to establish the broader quality of place braries enjoy a particularly close relationship, the River sits the University of Alberta, one of the communities in which they are located” involving shared servers for their integrated of Canada’s foremost universities and home of (Florida 292). library systems established as part of a joint the second largest academic research library in This shared interest in enriching commu- migration to Sirsi Unicorn in 2002. This Canada. Almost directly across the river, on nity, and the strong conviction of both institu- sharing of hardware provides a robust tech- the north side, is found the Stanley A. Milner tions — the Edmonton Public Library and the nology infrastructure which ensures access to (Main) Library of the Edmonton Public University of Alberta Libraries — represent the catalogue and ILS functions if one server Library (a large urban library system with a challenge to explore creative opportunities in is unavailable. 16 service locations). While separated by the which a university library system and a public Staff expertise is readily shared between river, the two institutions are building bridges library system can collaborate as agents for the two libraries, most notably at staff learning of their own in terms of collaborative initia- addressing community challenges and building and development events. Edmonton Public tives to serve the entire city and to enrich the a better community. Library’s first Professional Development broader community. Provincial and Local Collaboration Day (2006) included an address on disaster A Shared Interest in Community planning, by University of Alberta Librar- In Alberta the provincial library climate ies Associate Director, Merrill Distad. Ed- Public libraries are grounded in the corner- contributes to this collaboration. The Alberta monton Public Library’s Chief Executive stone belief that they are central to the quality Library (TAL), a province-wide consortium, Officer, Linda C. Cook, was recently the of life in their communities, working within a enables initiatives that bring academic and keynote speaker at the annual conference of framework of community partnerships. The public libraries together to enhance service to NEOS, a library consortium spearheaded by Edmonton Public Library’s Strategic Direc- Albertans. Academic and public libraries wel- the University of Alberta. tions, for instance, commit the Library to being come each others’ clients with walk-in access to The latest collaborative initiative between a “participant and an active initiator in com- their collections through The Alberta Library the two libraries is a proposed public library munity dialogue and development” (Edmonton Card, a provincial reciprocal borrowing pro- service venue in the university library and Public Library 9) gram established in 1999 and now involving public library cards for students. This community focus is echoed at the over 300 libraries. Albertans can find materials This community focus, supported by the University of Alberta. U of A President, In- at all Alberta libraries via TAL Online, which culture of our organizations, enriches (and chal- dira Samarasekara, articulates a vision for a enables combined searching of most library lenges) our library service. Our libraries open university with a mandate to “include the entire catalogues in Alberta. Another TAL initiative, their doors to each others’ clients, who indeed community in our learning enterprise” (Sama- The Lois Hole Campus Alberta Digital Li- may be the same individuals at different stages rasekara qtd. brary (LHCADL), in their lives. There are certainly issues that in “The Other requires participat- arise for an academic library, such as sharing Home City”). ing academic libraries limited technology resources among students She points to to provide access to and community members, and dealing with the entire range of individuals in the community. However the contribution of the academy to the About the Authors learning needs of the community is crucial to Anne Carr-Wiggin and Louise Reimer are librarians who have led peripatetic ca- the development of an information-rich society. reers in public, academic, special and consortial libraries. Anne first thought of working Ideally we would like to see our clients move in libraries while sheltering from the cold in the local library soon after moving to Canada seamlessly between our institutions throughout from England. She has worked in public, college and university libraries, as well as for their lives, as each library plays to its strengths two library consortia. After a childhood spent haunting her local public library branch, in connecting people with information and Louise decided to spend her adult years as well in libraries, and has worked in virtually building community. every facet of library operations — cataloguing, children’s services, reference services, For more information: and management — with careers at the Toronto Public Library, the Edmonton Public www.epl.ca Library, and the University of Alberta Libraries. Anne and Louise share an interest www.library.ualberta.ca in exploring new avenues to foster quality service, and have most recently collaborated www.lhcadl.ca on the development of an integrated, single service desk in the Humanities and Social www.thealbertalibrary.ca Sciences Library at the University of Alberta. They share a belief that public and www.talonline.ca academic libraries have more commonalities than differences. They also share ideas www.neoslibraries.ca on living with teenagers. Both authors have Facebook pages. please see references, page 34
32 Against the Grain / February 2008
I’ve lived in Centre County in Pennsylvania tion Board. Agreeing to work together, they Why did this collaboration between the for twenty-six months and one of the first things jointly made the motion for the 2007 confer- public and the university research library I noticed was the collaborative relationship ence to be held in State College. The motion surprise me? Because, I have not seen it between the Penn State University Libraries was passed by the Board. elsewhere, though I’ve worked in libraries in and Schlow Centre Region Library. I’ve two other states. Electing a Conference Chair worked at libraries in two other states and Why did this work so well? I believe have never seen any collaborative effort quite In 2006, a librarian from Schlow and a it worked well for several reasons. First, like this between the public and the university librarian from Penn State were the two candi- there was tremendous administrative sup- research library. dates for 2nd Vice President Conference Chair port from both the Dean of University of the Pennsylvania Library Association. Fostered by Library Leadership Libraries and Scholarly Communication, They agreed to work together on the confer- Nancy Eaton, and from Betsy Allen, the This collaboration is fostered by the lead- ence, regardless of the election outcome Director at Schlow. Second, the librarians ership of both libraries and permeates both Betsy Allen, the Director Schlow Centre at both libraries assumed leadership roles organizations. The two Associate Deans at Region Library, was elected. She and Jack on committees and wherever else they were Penn State University Libraries, both long- Sulzer, one of the Associate Deans at Penn needed. The commitment to host a success- time residents of State College, have been State and her opponent, became the leadership ful conference was shared by employees of champions of Schlow in roles of board member for planning the conference. The planning both libraries. Many other librarians both and fundraiser. The Administration and other committee was composed of a good mix of from the region and outside the area were librarians at the Schlow Library are very ac- public and academic librarians in the region integral partners in areas such as fundraising tive, as are many Penn State Librarians, in and began meeting in the winter of 2006/2007 and program planning. And finally there was the Pennsylvania Library Association. It to plan and organize the conference. It was a great deal of support by the Association was the collaboration and enthusiasm of these an extremely collegial working group, with headquarters staff. leaders that served as the catalyst for an aca- enthusiastic people who were excited about Preliminary reports indicate that the con- demic/public library partnership to assume the hosting the conference. Fundraising, program responsibility for facilitating the 2007 Penn- ference was a success and that people would planning, local events, publicity and like to add State College sylvania Library Association Conference to other committees began working be held in State College. to the regular rotation of in earnest to plan the conference. conference sites. Though The planning for this conference began Each subcommittee worked on its it took 106 years for the back in 2004/2005. The timing was perfect tasks through the spring and sum- Pennsylvania Library As- for a suggestion to hold the conference in State mer of 2007. The subcommittee sociation to be held in State College to move forward. The President of the chairs met with the conference College, it will not take another Pennsylvania Library Association was the chairs each month to make sure 106 years before it returns to what parent of two Penn State students — and so the planning was moving for- is known as “Happy Valley.” followed events at Penn State more closely ward. The conference was than might be expected. Librarians from both held on October 14-17, 2007 State College residents are very Schlow and Penn State University Libraries at the Penn Stater Confer- fortunate to have two such marvel- were on the Pennsylvania Library Associa- ence Center Hotel. ous libraries in their town.
Enriching Communities ... Public Libraries for College Students! from page 32 by Gretchen L. Freeman (Associate Director for Technology, Salt Lake County Library Services, 2197 E. Fort Union Boulevard, Salt Lake City, UT 84121; Endnotes Phone: 801-944-7527)
34 Against the Grain / February 2008