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Is the Library Still at the Centre of the Student Journey?

Is the Library Still at the Centre of the Student Journey?

 

Years ago I spent some time at Canterbury University. I was being lured to do my PhD there. And, an interesting lure it was too. One of the “pushed-pull-factors” was the Library. My potential primary supervisor went to great pains to not only highlight that Canterbury has one of the best and biggest University libraries in the southern hemisphere; he even took me for a tour of the facility so I could see for myself. It was an impressive library.


I found it interesting that an academic was pushing the library so hard, but then again, it was core to the foundations of scholarship. Books, journals, prior dissertations, unpublished manuscripts, even internet access; all important contributors to the student journey, especially for a research student.

 

But, times are ‘a-changin’ … it’s all “e” now. “C” has made sure of that, at least for the foreseeable future. Librarianship has done a fantastic job of staying at the cutting edge; (almost) everything at the touch of a screen that a researcher could want.

 

For conservatorship, national and other institutional libraries are digitising all manner of manuscripts and images; not only preserving them for future generations, but enhancing accessibility through open-access library policies and collaborations to enable such resources to reach a broader audience.

 

Librarianship is taking on a greater role in research. Skilled information guardians with a plethora of research tricks to manipulate databases and extract information from the most hidden of sources. This is a skill and service still well-needed in the e-research age, especially when other pressures are causing speed-bumps in our access to information.

 

But, does that mean that the physical library is now a relic, defunct in the e-research age?

 

Not to me; and not to many others. That may be a personal perspective (we love books; the feel, the smell; the library environment, being able to explore and meander through the maze of shelves to find that hidden gem); but it is also way more than this. Many out there crave the human connection and innovation that a library offers.

 

To illustrate this, I want to share extracts from three very recent opinion pieces in the higher education, where commentators discuss their reflection on the library in current times.

 

“As this chain of Covid lockdowns spins towards its first birthday, I’ve discovered that I really miss browsing. Not the fervid doom-scrolling of online resources in search of anything that might improve my mood with a momentary jolt of serotonin, but real browsing – the sensual act of wandering through the quiet stacks of a library while half-looking for something. In reality, the alleged target is often just an excuse; the real magic is stumbling on the unexpected”.

 

[Browsing the remote corners of the university library is a unique joy | Times Higher Education (THE)]

 

“The library at my school is the institution's intellectual, emotional and geographic heart. Students do everything academic, and most things social, at the library. The library is where they study in groups and dig in for solo studying. The library's vibe is something between a high-energy start-up and a quiet place to get work done. There is tremendous energy to being around students in their places -- and the library is very much a physical space in which they nest. One of the privileges of a life in academia is hanging out around students. The library is where we all share space”.

 

[5 Things I Miss About the Library | Learning Innovation (insidehighered.com)]

 

“It's been on the front lines of expanding access and creating equity during the pandemic, and we can't let its funding evaporate”.

 

“But in a time of crisis, our libraries have also been an engine of opportunity -- and in ways that defy the traditional characterization of the library as a place that only lends books and reads stories to children”.

 

[Libraries have been crucial during the pandemic and need more support (opinion) (insidehighered.com)]

 

 

 

  

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