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Cities as long tails of the physical world:a challenge for public libraries
Anna GalluzziPhD in Library and Information ScienceBiblioteca del Senato "Giovanni Spadolini", RomeSeconded National Expert (SNE) at the Library of the European Parliament
Summary
What is the long tail? The long tail in the physical world and the
role of cities Public libraries and big cities Public libraries and the long tail society Case studies Conclusions
What is the long tail? 2006: Chris Anderson’s The long tail. Why the future of
business is selling less of more over the Internet niches become not only economically
sustainable but also profitable, as illustrated by this graph:
The long tail in the physical world and the role of cities - 1
This economic paradigm is partially affecting the distribution of physical products
The major constraint to its full functioning is the need to physically dispatch the requested goods to the applicant
The Internet helps by channelling the knowledge concerning available goods and services
The long tail in the physical world and the role of cities - 2
Cities offer both places where you have an extensive availability of services and products and places exclusively devoted to a very specific offer
The physical long tail and the virtual one converge into cities, "the long tail of urban space”
Public libraries and big cities - 1 How do all these phenomena have an
impact on public libraries?
Nowadays, they seem to be lacking in a proper identity
Nonetheless, new libraries are being built in many cities around the world
How to interpret this paradox?
Public libraries and big cities - 3
Cities are are proposing themselves as the best places for social interaction
Under this framework, public libraries are deemed suitable for giving new life to the urban context
Let’s grab this opportunity!
Public libraries and the long tail society
The challenges at stake are:
how to conceive the new big-sized central libraries
how to re-configure local and branch libraries inside the urban library network
A possible answer: three case studies
The selected case studies are three big-sized public libraries opened during the last 10 years and located in large cities, i.e.:
the Sala Borsa Library, in Bologna (Italy) the Idea Stores, in London (UK) the Jaume Fuster Library, in Barcelona
(Spain)
Sala Borsa Library, Bologna - Italy It is the central library of Bologna library network
It is located in the heart of the historical and cultural city, the so-called “urban park” in Piazza Maggiore (main reason of success)
It was founded with the goal of satisfying informational and social needs of different kinds of users, preserving freedom and ease of access
The location and the library’s entrance
The internal square after renovation
Sala Borsa Library, Bologna - Italy
A good example of how interpreting the function of central library in the urban network
In particular, it invested in the size and variety of collections and in the size and internal differentiation of spaces and services
These two characteristics together allow the library to hold and welcome many different niches
Sala Borsa Library, Bologna - Italy
There is only one aspect still to be clarified: the structure and functioning of the urban library network as a whole
There is a need to better define the role of local and branch libraries, both the general and the specialised ones
Idea Stores, Tower Hamlets Borough, London (UK)
The Tower Hamlets Borough (East End) took the initiative and coordinated the project according to a general drive towards innovation and raising life standards in this area
The change was envisaged in response to the decline in the usage statistics of local libraries and to the results of a market survey in this area
Idea Stores, Tower Hamlets Borough, London (UK)
Have two main objectives: mixing together library services and life-long learning replacing the declining image of the library with more
modern and attractive services
They certainly are lending libraries, but also take specific care of the reference and multimedia sections and aim at making the user's stay pleasant and functional (inspiration from bookstores)
The façade of the Whitechapel Idea Store
The Idea Stores’ logo
Idea Stores, Tower Hamlets Borough, London (UK)
The 2009 strategy added new elements: expand the service offer, putting more emphasis on
employability re-configure the proposed network (anchor stores and
satellite Local sites) co-location of new service points with other services
Attempt to reorganise the library network of a large neighbourhood and to give new life to a decaying situation
The windows facing on the street
The quick choice spots
The internal cafeteria
Idea Stores, Tower Hamlets Borough, London (UK)
Idea Stores’ philosophy: Branch/local libraries should bet, on the one hand,
on a stock of well-chosen bestsellers and other basic bibliographic materials, and, on the other, on bibliographic niches
In addition, they should offer other valuable services, like learning and training activities, health and employment information, and cultural and entertaining events and exhibitions
Jaume Fuster Library, Districte de Gràcia, Barcelona (Spain)
It is a Barcelona branch library, located in the "Districte de Gràcia", a neighbourhood linking the city centre with the North
This library is part of a wider project which concerns the whole library network (Library Development Plan of Barcelona)
Jaume Fuster Library, Districte de Gràcia, Barcelona (Spain)
It proves that even a medium-sized library (80,000 books) could have a meaningful role nowadays
To do this, it bets on functional and attractive premises and on a bibliographic collection carefully chosen and targeted to specific niches
Actually, it is in charge for youth and travel literature, in line with the high presence of young people in this area of the city
The façade
The newspapers reading room
The children’s area
Conclusions - 1
I'm completely aware that the three proposed case studies cannot be representative of nothing more than themselves and that any process of generalisation would be risky
Nonetheless, they offer some interesting insights in the issues concerning the role of public libraries in contemporary cities
Conclusions - 2
Central public libraries need to rely upon large and functional buildings, comprehensive collections, extensive opening hours, a broad variety of services and edutainment activities and an aptitude to embody a social role
Local/branch libraries cannot survive below certain sizes, unless they bet on very specific niches of the public
Conclusions - 3
More in general, public libraries should emphasise their role as a go-between for other bibliographic services or learning, informative, entertaining and cultural opportunities
Contemporary citizens do not like anything more than one-stop-shops, where they can access various services and obtain almost any kind of answers
