A
Neighborhood Book Exchange—a small structure that hosts a public book
exchange—was not something my colleague nor I anticipated when we enrolled in a
Library and Information Studies graduate program in Vancouver, BC, in
2012. Librarians still work with books, but amidst all the digital
advances in the information field—electronic catalogues, mark-up languages,
search engines, and e-books, to scratch the surface—books themselves somehow
fell out of focus in the Library curriculum.
But
shortly after our first semester at school, Kathleen came across an article,
like so many we would see, that showered book exchanges with praise, imbuing
them with the power to build community, promote literacy, and promote a love of
reading. This message was promoted heavily and it gained traction in
unintended ways. In fact, the comparison between these book exchanges and
public libraries became not only tangible, but acceptable for some. For
example, the Vancouver Sun recently published an article
about a book exchange intended to fill the gap for children who have never set
foot in a public library. Or consider a TEDx
monologue that posits a formula to explain why a Little Free Library is
superior to a Carnegie--which is used as a stand in for public libraries.
But could the media claims that circulated with such redundancy be
substantiated? In this way these book exchanges intrigued and provoked
us.
Soon
after reading the article, we schemed with our academic advisor to begin an
empirical research study that investigates how Neighborhood Book Exchanges are
designed, installed, and used; and why. We can’t answer all the
questions we have through this one study, but it’s a fruitful start. It’s the
only academically rigorous study being conducted on the subject that we are
aware of.
We
are hoping to publish a freely available report of our findings for those of
you who are involved in, interested in, or curious about Neighborhood Book
Exchanges. To learn more about our study and its current status, please visit www.nooxstudy.com.
Post and photo by Tenny
Webster, MLIS
One
of the principle researchers of the Neighborhood Book Exchange study and
resident of Santa Fe
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