![\"Shelf](\"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/roman-kraft-X1exjxxBho4-unsplash-1-1024x768.jpg\")
Libraries are also \u201csocially rich\u201d \u2014 users can connect with other patrons and librarians via library websites and social media (Manness, 2006). For example, the Denton Public Library\u2019s online catalog allows users to track what books or materials they use and create recommendation lists that can be shared with other users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Libraries are \u201ccommunally innovative\u201d \u2014 as communities change, library services adapt their services to be facilitators of these new resources, and in recent years, these resources have primarily been digital resources and educational services to train patrons on how to use them (Manness, 2006). Libraries today aim to provide accessible resources to all users and patrons despite income, background, education, etc. through diversity initiatives that focus on providing services to people or populations that have been previously underserved. The Spark is a great example of this initiative \u2014 the technology they have available to students, and the classes they host to educate students about that technology, is a bridge to accessible technological resources and equipment for students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, some of the high-level services and information available to library users within libraries isn\u2019t accessible to all people, including the \u201cinformation poor\u201d subclass, as described by Jain and Saraf (2013, p. 51) and Cancro (2016, p. 59), due to a discrepancy in the levels of library knowledge among patrons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the plethora of digital resources available to library patrons, groups of higher socioeconomic status are able to access these resources faster and easier, creating the \u201cinformation-rich\u201d, and on the opposite end of the spectrum lies the \u201cinformation-poor\u201d who cannot afford access to those resources or are not knowledgeable of how to access them (Cancro, 2016, p. 59). Many library patrons, especially students at UNT, solely use the library for these digital resources, computers, or printers. Libraries, particularly public and academic libraries, often exist as \u201caccess points\u201d for these technologies, but patrons might lack sufficient training to utilize those resources (Cancro, 2016, p. 59). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Librarians and other information professionals, especially public librarians, carry the responsibility of being both the facilitator and educator on technology in the library. Librarians act as the middleman between the information and the user, or the technology and the user, and it is the library\u2019s job to facilitate that access to information by \u201crecruiting people from a variety of backgrounds to the profession; implementing a hiring process that will be most likely to result in the appointment of diverse librarians; and finally, committing to retaining a diverse team of employees once they are hired\u201d (Cruz, 2019, p. 229). In addition to introducing and following through with diversity initiatives, librarians must make the effort to get ahead of needs changes and have the willingness to adapt (Hirsh, 2016). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the abundance of information that is available to us and our patrons, access to that information should be a right. Librarians exist to be the middleman between the information searcher and the information, easing access to that information by knowing where and how to find it, and by \u201cbridging information access gaps\u201d (Jain & Saraf, 2013, p. 51). The \u201cfree flow of information can reduce the digital divide\/information divide among the citizens,\u201d and libraries and librarians have the power to close that divide (Jain & Saraf, 2013, p. 47).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did this blog help you learn about libraries as facilitators of information access? Let us know your comments! Please contact Ask Us if you have any questions about library services.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
References:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cancro, P. (2016). The dark(ish) side of digitization: Information equity and the digital divide. The Serials Librarian<\/em>, 71(1), 57-62. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/0361526X.2016.1157424 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cruz, A. M. (2019). Intentional integration of diversity ideals in academic libraries: A literature review. Journal of Academic Librarianship<\/em>, 45(3), 220\u2013227. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.acalib.2019.02.011<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jain, V., & Saraf, S. (2013). Empowering the poor with right to information and library services. Library Review<\/em>, 62(1), 47-52. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/00242531311328159 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Maness, J. M. (2006). Library 2.0 theory: Web 2.0 and its implications for libraries. Webology<\/em>, 3(2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Suggested reading:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hapel, R. (2012). The Library as a Place. Public Library Quarterly<\/em>, 31(1), 48-55. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/01616846.2012.654737 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Oliphant, T. (2014). “I\u2019m a library hugger!\u201d: Public libraries as valued community assets. Public Library Quarterly<\/em>, 33(4), 348-361. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/01616846.2012.654737 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Written By: Haley McGlynn Libraries today provide a plethora of services to their communities and serve as a technological hub for patrons, offering a \u201cmulti-media experience,\u201d with collections that include digital materials and physical technologies (Manness, 2006). With the prevalence of technology in the library, the term \u201cLibrary 2.0\u201d has been coined to encapsulate the… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[124,137,86,149,150],"class_list":["post-1346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-library-resources","tag-academic-libraries","tag-access","tag-accessibility","tag-public-libraries","tag-technology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1346"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1351,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions\/1351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/scholar-speak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}