A recent article on Pittsburgh Live, a Pennsylvania-based news network, highlighted the idea that libraries are becoming less about "SHHHHH!" and more about interaction, activity and fun. The article got me thinking...
Recently, the Abrahams Branch of the Omaha Public Library was renovated and improvements included walls and ceiling that were built to absorb sound. More technology is included also and that probably means more interactivity will take place, especially among teens and students. This is a good sign (if you wish to see more technology and interaction).
Carol Erkens, a librarian at the Benson Branch of OPL, read the article for me and made some comments. Carol is a fun librarian who seemed to be in favor of this kind of shift and less about the library simply being a totally quiet building where people do research and read biographies, so I immediately thought of her.
Erkens got here masters in Library Science from the University of Alabama and has been working as a librarian at Omaha Public Library for 16 years. Half of her time at OPL has been spent as a web developer, but she's now back "in the branches" working with kids.
"I love tech. I love teens. Putting them together would be an awesome dream come true," she told me.
Erkens has tried to get her "teen space" enclosed in the Benson Branch so students could have a private place to study, play and learn. She's indicated that hasn't happened yet, but she's still trying.
Erkens uses technology that is available to her and especially likes when her little learners play Nintendo Wii for kinetic education and other technology for learning. She doesn't have everything she envisions a great technology place for kids having, but she is always trying to make it better.
Funding is a big issue, she says. Many of the environments the Pittsburgh article speaks of are schools, she told me, and schools have more funding, hence, more technology and interaction. The library is on a budget that seems to be constantly strapped and technology seems to be one place where money is not often spent. An example, which was met with a lot of pushback, was the recent literature database for OPL and its disappearance. The database has returned, but the incident reinforced the idea that cutting-edge technology is not the top priority for the library system.
Libraries often hold movies nights and some have game consoles like Wii, but little else is typically offered for kids as far as technology and interaction. With more funding, the libraries here in Omaha may start to look more like the environments seen in the Pittsburgh Live article. Fingers are crossed!
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