Library as Social Hubs

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by Ying-Chun Wang  

         

            Libraries have always been centers of knowledge where scholars gather and think together. Unsurprisingly, socializing was often achieved through these gatherings. I remember when my friends and I were in college, we liked to hang out in the school library studying and talking. Years later, I found out that it wasn’t only us, but many people also like to gather at public libraries. For instance, parents and kids come to libraries for story time, and have social time with each other before or after the stories. As a matter of fact, social functions have already integrated into the libraries’ systems for years and libraries have been offering more and more activities related to social events. In 2006, for example, two thirds of programs hosting by the Seattle Central Library were dedicated to social functions according to Joshua Prince- Ramus in his TEDx Talk "Behind the design of Seattle's library”    

Nowadays, as more digital resources emerge, libraries are becoming even more like social hubs. While libraries still maintain their missions of providing information and encouraging lifelong learning, many of them are starting to adapt its space to emphasize on sociability and collaboration. Therefore, libraries can better serve its community by offering “a warm, welcoming and friendly space” as mentioned in the article “The present and future of libraries” on Pew Internet Project.