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Can or should public libraries try to become research focused again?

  • Public Libraries are trying to find their new identity.  The "third place" is a term that has been tossed around, having public libraries become a place that people congregate outside of work and home.  But does that mean Public Libraries should turn away from being a research station?

  • Answer:

    Public libraries have always been research stations.  Academic libraries have more focus on research, but public libraries offer it to the public.  But we have been research focused through the materials we have which, for the last couple hundred years, have been primarily books.  With the popular access to information being digital, books have been purchased less in public libraries but computers have increased.  Librarians have to adjust to become more efficient with research and helping researchers since we can't rely on getting by just on the fact that we house the information.  That isn't the case anymore.  Anyone can access information anywhere.  What we need to focus on is being able to navigate the information, teach others how to navigate, and point out that much of our information isn't available to people that would like to do research at home (such as databases, non-digital books, etc.).  The "third place" is necessary (and a good thing) in order to shift our direction to meet other needs of communities, but research will always be needed, and we will always provide access to the information that is needed for that research.

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Though public libraries and librarians have the resources and skills (hopefully) to help anyone interested in research, that is not their primary service goal.  There are other libraries, usually private and/or academic, that are more research-focused so it is not necessary for public libraries to follow this focus, as well.

Anna Kim

We still are "research stations." It's just that, for the most part, we have materials for high school students and younger to do their research, since no other institutions exist for them. Sometimes we have materials that will help adults do serious research (mainly through online resources rather than print volumes), but for the most part, budgets and space don't allow us to duplicate the services already offered by college and university libraries. You have to remember that public universities are open to the public, after all, so anyone who can get to one can use their resources also.

Bryan Griest

Despite budget pressures, focus on circulating materials, and supporting computer users of all kinds (job-seekers, seniors, low-income, etc. etc.), I always hope that public libraries continue to include in their bag of tricks research skills, both as an individual librarians answering reference questions, and as a community educator, helping users achieve better results meeting their information needs.

Lydia Leovic Towery

I think it is important to remember that a lot of kids in elementary and high school use the public library to do research for school projects. Along with the school library this seems like the ideal place for them to develop their research skills, as they would be far out of their element in an academic library.

Dena Tarlin

Depends what you mean by "research." I tend to think that Public Libraries are the perfect place for archival research about the locale they represent, but were I to do a paper on Walter Benjamin, I might begin on the web or in an academic library as they have a different type of research focus.

Micah Vandegrift

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