The Original Co-Working Space: Your Public Library

I had occasion to visit a new space recently that billed itself as a co-working facility.  The co-working concept basically creates a shared space where freelancers, solo entrepreneurs and others who might work from home can come to find a more work-conducive environment, technology and logistical support, and the creativity and sense of community that comes from collaborating, even casually, with others.  This particular space offered “amenities” including conference and meeting rooms, small private work spaces, free wifi, printers and other technology, and curated programming.

Sound familiar?  The Ridgefield Library makes available all these same amenities, and more. Shared resources include over 100,000 books, periodicals and other materials, including special collections on business and creativity. In addition to wifi and standard printers, we also offer 3D printing, color scanning, outgoing fax service and other creative technologies. We have meeting and study rooms for individual work, group meetings and public presentations. Our programming includes the Skillsbox series to help small and home-based businesses grow and thrive and Maker groups and coding classes to introduce people to new trends and technologies. And we can see idea sharing and collaboration happen all the time, between patrons and staff and among our users. Drop by and take advantage of your co-working space soon!

Beat the Heat @ the Library

How are you beating the heat?  Lots of people have been coming to the Library, where it is air-conditioned and where we have plenty of things for folks of all ages and interests to do. 

With a watery Summer Reading theme of “Make a Splash: Read!”, we have lots  of “cool” programs – plus ice cream coupons, passes for the pool or beach and even foam water shooters as reading incentives.  There are drop-in storytimes Mondays and Saturdays, teen movies on Fridays, Hollister Film Series offerings on selected Wednesdays, evening PJ Storytimes and much more.  Check www.ridgefieldlibrary.org for a complete schedule.

Avoid overheating your home computers by using one of our workstations, or bring your laptop and settle in to our comfortable environment to check your email or do research.

Too hot to go outside?  Pick up some DVDs (how about something set in the chilly Arctic?) – or even a suspense novel to send chills up your spine!

The governor’s office and other officials are urging people to prevent heat-related health problems and to avoid unnecessary strain on the electricity grid, so stay cool and conserve energy by coming to the Library.

Cell phones – they are ubiquitous, they are obnoxious and, for some people, they are indispensable. What is a “quiet” place like the Library to do in the face of this explosion of constant communication?

Realizing that many people do need to be reachable for work or family purposes, we have designated two locations in the Library, one on each floor, where cell phone use will be permitted. These are the lobby on the second floor at the top of the stairs (between Children’s Services and the Fiction Room) and the lobby of the Dayton Program Room (when it is not being used for a program). And, of course, there is always the great outdoors, at least in good weather!

We ask that all cell phone users turn their phones off or to silent mode prior to entering the Library. This will avoid an unexpected ring tone disturbing those who are trying to concentrate. If you do receive a call, or need to make one, please restrict your conversation to the designated areas. Not only will this spare those around you from having to listen to the details of your personal life, it will protect your privacy as well.

With so much activity crammed every which way into our building, it is very difficult to separate loud and quiet activities. Seventy percent of respondents to our recent “Library Listens” survey agreed that better “zoning” for noise control would improve the library experience. This is just one of the issues the Library staff and Board are hoping to address as we continue work on the design of our proposed building expansion. In the meantime, please help us by following the new cell phone guidelines. Thank you for your cooperation!

May 17th was one of those days when the Ridgefield Library was truly a refuge from the storm for over 1,800 people who came here seeking all manner of assistance following the previous day’s severe weather. With nearly half the town still without power, the Library was packed to the rafters with folks using library computers, accessing our wireless network, doing homework and seeking entertainment. We helped people look up phone numbers they had stored only in inaccessible computer files, suggested books to read in the absence of television and videogames, and provided somewhere to work for scores of students whose classrooms were closed. Library staff held impromptu story times, made arrangements to expand computer access, rearranged the furniture, and did everything else they could to accommodate the overflow crowd. While it was sheer luck that the Library avoided many of the headaches others experienced (loss of electricity, blocked driveways, etc.), we are doubly glad that we were able to be here to help others in the community. If you were at the Library last Thursday, we’re glad we could be of service. If you weren’t, stop by soon to see what you are missing!

While my last post focused on technology in libraries, now we will look at the behavior of people in libraries. Earlier this month, several Ridgefield Library staff attended the Connecticut Library Association’s annual conference, where this year’s theme was “Your Library: The Third Place.” The concept of “third places,” a phrase coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg, has become a major focus of thinking about libraries in our communities. By definition locations where we congregate apart from home and school/work (the first and second places), third places encourage and accommodate gathering together, formally or informally, to interact freely and openly as members of the community for civic discourse and social exchange.

In the Ridgefield Library, this can be the young parents who swap childrearing tips while waiting for their youngsters to emerge from story time, or older adults who frequent our several monthly book discussion groups. It also encompasses a broad range of serendipitous conversations between staff and patrons, townspeople who catch up on local news, fellow readers sharing favorite books, seasoned computer users giving a helping hand to an Internet neophyte, art appreciators meeting and talking over the latest exhibit in the Dayton Program Room. From the casual conversation of neighbors who run into each other in the stacks to panel discussions on topics like immigration and global warming, the Library does indeed provide an important and vibrant venue for community discourse. While “Library 2.0” focuses on ways we can join cyberspace conversations in a virtual library, the CLA conference provided many examples of ways to enhance person-to-person communication in a physical community center as part of our mission to be a place that “encourages all to read, to discover, to question, to exchange ideas, to grow.” In the 21st century, libraries and their patrons will learn to thrive in both spheres – join us for the journey!