Libraries As the Spaces Between Us Recognizing and Valuing the Third Space

Feature Libraries as the Spaces Between us Recognizing and Valuing the Third Space James k. elmborg Much has been written recently about the services can no longer be conceived “library as place.” This essay approaches the in traditional twentieth-century terms. James K. Elmborg is Associate question of library space philosophically, ar- Libraries, with their historical ethos of Professor, School of Library and guing that developing commercial attitudes free access for all, struggle to justify Information Science, The University toward space leads us away from more pro- their existence in a world of 24/7 access of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Submitted ductive ways of conceiving libraries. A con- increasingly evaluated by profit-based, for review April 30, 2010; accepted cept called Third Space is introduced, and commercial metrics. As we think about for publication July 8, 2010. its relevance to libraries and librarianship what library space and librarians should is explored. Third Space is defined and ap- be and become, we need to think broad- plied to various library concepts, especially ly and creatively about our options. We information literacy. The article contends have barely begun to develop sophisti- that thinking about Third Space can help cated frameworks for thinking about the libraries and librarians develop ways of future of the library as physical space. working with increasingly diverse popula- Libraries are complex institutions, and tions in increasingly dynamic contexts. they need to respond to the demands of the present by adapting in a variety “Question: What is the first thing of ways. No doubt we need to justify that you think of when you think our existence to our various funding of a library? agencies, which will involve economic arguments, but we also need to develop Answer: a place of mild climate theories about library space that go be- where I can find adventures”1 yond marketing services and managing buildings. We need to think about s Charles Osburn notes, intentionally producing unique library “there has been a decided spaces. I believe we must be conscious surge of interest in our pro- and ambitious about developing guiding fessional literature about ‘the theories and that a critical concept called Alibrary as place.’”2 This interest reflects Third Space can help us to do so. various trends and emphases in librar- Reference & User Services Quarterly, ies, especially the transformative social THe ConVersation in vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 338–50 and technological changes that have de- © 2011 American Library Association. Practice All rights reserved. manded increasingly innovative think- Permission granted to reproduce for ing about what a library and a librarian When we talk about library space, we nonprofit, educational use. should be. Collections, technology, and are usually talking about buildings. 338 Reference & User Services Quarterly Libraries as the Spaces Between Us Library buildings give form to the collections of Because of technology, the old measures of libraries by providing appropriate space specifi- service quality no longer apply. If libraries cally designed to house and provide access to the are to succeed, they must see themselves holdings. They also provide other more “mythic” in competition with other institutions and functions by intentionally symbolizing through sources of information—especially the architecture and design the values that libraries es- Web—and make customers feel welcome pouse. A number of converging forces have inten- and valued. [The authors] integrate the use sified recent questions of library space. Changing of technology into the customer experience. technologies have forced reconsideration of how They offer solid, practical ideas for develop- buildings accommodate the new machines that ing a customer service plan that meets the provide service to modern libraries. Along with library’s customer-focused mission, vision, technical imperatives have come a series of human and goals, challenging librarians to think questions about the impact of new technologies about customer service in new ways.6 on our ways of teaching, learning, and thinking. An entirely new vocabulary has emerged around Another author makes the point that “The In- learning spaces and how to conceptualize and ternet, coffee shops, restaurants and even homes create them. As Brown and Lippincott note, “New are all invading the territory once exclusive to conceptions of the classroom are being driven by libraries. Bookstores are consciously attempting the emergence of new methods of teaching and to recreate the library atmosphere, encouraging learning, made possible by the rapid evolution and customers to linger. As a result, patrons are adoption of information technology.”3 We have abandoning libraries for more favorable environ- come to think of learning as a constructive pro- ments. Library users are choosing plush recliners cess, which has encouraged us to redesign schools and the aroma of coffee over the squeaking of and libraries to foster collaborative learning and wooden tables and buzzing of fluorescent lights.”7 active learning, and we are exploring digital en- We should note the level of threat implied in these vironments as spaces we structure and design for comments. Librarians are “challenged” to think learning, as well.4 about customer service. Other competitors are Much of the energy behind these new con- “invading” library territory. They are “consciously” ceptualizations has been fueled by fundamental imitating libraries. Patrons are “abandoning” us. questions of library legitimacy. The digital world Anyone following the library literature recognizes is replacing libraries, this narrative argues. If we such anxious claims, which have been with us for intend to remain relevant (or exist at all) we must at least the past decade. adapt quickly to the technological challenges to li- In responding to these threats, The Denver brary legitimacy. This adaptation demands that we Public Library decided to become a “destination compete with various entities that provide desired library.” To do so, they decided to implement goods and services in our market. These entities “best ideas and practices in consumer merchandis- include Google, which has claimed the informa- ing and marketing and apply these to the library tion market, and also the bookstores and coffee space.” Behaving more like a business meant that shops that have capitalized on the market for “new multiple copies of best sellers and media comfortable physical space to interact with books. would be available quickly, displayed more like Space is therefore conceived as both physical and the local bookstore. Comfortable seating would virtual, and libraries face competition in both be available, perhaps with a cafe nearby. The goal realms. Consequently, during the past decade, would be a popular customer-driven collection much has been written about how libraries can in an appealing space that would encourage vis- respond to questions of space. Woven throughout its.”8 Journals and conferences are infused with the discussion we find a common anxiety about this perspective as we focus on marketing services the changing nature of library space and what will with campaigns like @yourlibrary. Again, this idea happen as we continue to develop and deploy new of treating libraries like businesses is not new. The technologies that displace or transform traditional managerial segment of the profession has been libraries, demanding that we justify our steward- borrowing techniques from business manage- ship and management of it. ment for years. However, the idea that we need to In response to our challenges, we are regularly market library space as a product that will attract told that we need to run libraries more like busi- library users seems new. In pointing to this phe- nesses.5 ALA Editions’ advertisement for Hernon nomenon, my goal is not to raise the question of and Altman’s Assessing Service Quality reflects the whether libraries should behave like businesses. concerns outlined above: Rather, I want to suggest that when we do, we volume 50, issue 4 | Summer 2011 339 Feature create a specific kind of space. When we aim to an attractive destination for teens. She suggests compete with businesses, we infuse the building seeking input through a teen advisory board, not- with advertising and the upbeat signage that “cus- ing that “it’s crucial to make room for youngsters’ tomers” know and recognize. In effect, rather than ideas in everything from creating an advisory manage employees or collections or the physical board to planning a design team.”14 She suggests plant, we are managing ambience, trying to create “finding that ambiguous teen style.”15 Ultimately, a place that feels familiar and good to the consum- Bolan declares, “we’re in the midst of a teen revo- ers of library services. lution design-wise, that is.”16 Indeed, as libraries A large part of this effort goes into the aesthet- continue to market their services to young people, ics of library space. Demas and Sherer note that we see intense focus on the issues played out more “after a generation of intense focus on building the generally in the library literature competition with virtual library, librarians have reawakened to the bookstores and coffeehouses, design with the aes- place-making role of the library building.” These thetics of the customer in mind, and the general authors advocate what they call “esprit de space.” need to hold on to the library users of the future. They suggest that libraries should pursue “the The stakes are high. timeless design goal of creating transcendent and transportive spaces: transcendent, in the sense of Toward Critical ConCeptions buildings that delimit physicality through imagina- of Space tive understanding and application of virtues; and transportive, in design that uplifts the patron and Two recent publications have approached space enhances the unique experience of sensing past, philosophically, and they have established a foun- present, and future simultaneously. It is this tran- dation for looking at libraries in the context of scendent/transportive co-existence, with particular critical theories of space.

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