More Uses: Mainly, as a Community Center

The perspective of my IUP student interviewee was confirmed by a discussion I had with the Indiana Free Library’s Children’s Librarian, Joanne Mast. In her words, “This is an old institution that’s so important in this country, I just can’t see it disappearing.”

Joanne reinforced the numerous ways people use the library. The most salient was attending programs.  “We see more of this in economic bad times. Everything we offer is free. [Among other things,] we have quilting programs, knitting programs,  and programs for kids to [prepare] to go to school.” The IFL also tries to keep up with patron demand for books, and if they can’t get it, they are part of an interlibrary loan system that patrons can use to get books.

Technology also was a big part of our conversation. Joanne told me, “There’s this generation that missed out on learning technology in school” so a lot of their classes are geared towards those technological skills. She gave the example of opening a Facebook account so family members can see pictures their younger relatives have posted; the program on the night I am writing this is teaching how to open email accounts. This backs up Ashley’s conjecture that the technology programs offered by the IFL probably wouldn’t be offered by IUP’s library.

We also talked about families and children, who make up one of the main groups of patrons of the library. “We also have a large [and growing] homeschool population, and this is really their library.” She gave the example of a parent with a young child having an hour to fill before picking up an older child from preschool. “They might come here and the child will play on the computer or they’ll check out books, or [the parent] will go upstairs to check out a novel for [himself or herself].” Kids will also use the library of their own volition for fun or to do homework for school. “Kids with working parents [also] come after school, and they’ll stay until someone’s home or their parents pick them up outside the library. I’ll see them with their cellphones saying [to their siblings] ‘Mom’s here!’” I was impressed the library is seen as a safe enough public space that parents feel comfortable doing this!

The main focus of our conversation was on the IFL as a community center. Joanne was very enthusiastic about this. “I think we’re very welcoming – there’s no requirement to walk in our doors, we’re open to the public and free. Some people might feel less comfortable walking to the campus library than to here … We’re a gathering place – there are some people that come every day just to read the newspapers and chat with whoever’s here.” This atmosphere combined with all of the programs and resources that the library offers position it to be the kind of community center that it currently is, and are ultimately what will allow it to continue to be valuable to the Indiana community.

The Indiana Free Library’s ability to integrate traditional library resources with 21^st century technologies and an array of community resources and events are part of what allow it to continue to serve a diverse population of patrons with diverse needs. Its role as an inclusive community space continues to evolve as the community it serves does.

If you have experiences with the IFL as a community space, please feel free to comment (respectfully) below!