{"id":15657,"date":"2016-10-26T17:39:18","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T21:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=15657"},"modified":"2016-10-26T17:39:18","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T21:39:18","slug":"library-needs-to-rethink-mission-says-cardholder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/library-needs-to-rethink-mission-says-cardholder\/","title":{"rendered":"Library needs to \u201crethink\u201d mission, says cardholder"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Re: Ontario Public Library Week 2016 and the APL)<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Ontario Public Library Week comes to a close, the role that libraries play in a 21st century society comes to the foreground.
\nLibraries are lauded for their reputation as gathering centres and research hubs, offering safe spaces for innovative thinking and a free-flow of ideas. In an increasingly digital world, libraries are dually pivotal in moulding and influencing the needs of its town\u2019s residents.
\nAt the Aurora Public Library, Aurorans are fortunate to have access to first-rate services such as free Internet, downloadable digital multimedia, and for a fee, use of the 3-D printer. Sounds pretty fantastic, right? But what\u2019s missing?
\n Books. And therein lies part of the APL\u2019s problem.
\nContrary to popular belief, books are not dead. In fact, according to BookNet Canada\u2019s SalesData, the unit sales of print books in the Canadian trade market saw a 1 per cent increase last year over those figures in 2014. If book-buying is on the rise, this should bode well for print circulation in public libraries.
\nThis snub is apparent at the APL: the word \u201cbooks\u201d doesn\u2019t appear anywhere on its header and homepage. Though \u201cOne Book; One Aurora\u201d is based upon this year\u2019s pick (Kim Echlin\u2019s excellent Under the Visible Life), this event series felt forced, frenzied and leaves much to be desired.
\nI\u2019m a proud card-holder at the Aurora Public library for over twenty-five years, but in the past few years, I\u2019ve increasingly noticed a dramatic change in the library\u2019s raison d\u2019\u00eatre, the greatest of which is underscored by the \u201cliving room\u201d space. I cannot count the number of conversations with fellow patrons bemoaning noise levels in the library, further shocked to hear that it\u2019s the library management who approved these events. Thankfully, the APL now runs a \u201cnoise alert\u201d banner on its website, but it\u2019s hardly a consolation prize.
\nWhat do we say to students who seek out the library for its calming atmosphere, only to be greeted by unnecessarily loud concerts and disruptive events? There\u2019s a time and a place for jazz concerts, holiday music, and MC\u2019ed events, but that place isn\u2019t in the lobby of an open-concept library.
\nAlthough the study rooms are a great resource, they are usually all booked up, and not in fact sound-proof. There\u2019s a time and a place for community events in a library space, but the APL all too often misses the mark. That being said, the well-attended documentary film festivals, popular book clubs, and tax clinics are just some of the exemplary events put on by the library.
\nThere\u2019s a deep disconnect between the APL\u2019s \u201cmodernization\u201d of the library, and its community outreach strategies. If the library wants to reach out to Aurorans, it must make good use of its social media channels. As it stands now, the APL\u2019s Twitter and Facebook accounts boast little more than re-purposing links posted by other outlets, rendering their feeds stagnant. A successful social media presence creates content exclusively for its online platform to generate public interest in using the library\u2019s services.
\nDespite this, some lights still shine brightly at the APL: the children\u2019s department offers a strong array of programming for children of all ages, much like those that children of yesteryear (present company included) enjoyed at the old location on Victoria Street. Staff members from the information and circulation departments should be applauded for their knowledgeable skill-sets and friendly dispositions.
\nWithout taking a good hard look at redefining its mission statement, the APL risks becoming an obsolete institution. The library\u2019s management, along with the Town of Aurora, must have a thoughtful consultation with patrons about their library\u2019s future; to cater to their needs and wants\u2014something that\u2019s long overdue. If they don\u2019t, the APL will soon find their patrons checking out. <\/p>\n

Adelaide Mayberry
\nAurora<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Re: Ontario Public Library Week 2016 and the APL) As Ontario Public Library Week comes to a close, the role that libraries play in a 21st century society comes to the foreground. Libraries are lauded for their reputation as gathering centres and research hubs, offering safe spaces for innovative thinking and a free-flow of ideas. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-letters-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-44x","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-07 16:15:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15657\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}