Creating a space for autonomous learning and citizen involvement in collaboration with a public library

Abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of public libraries as lifelong educational agencies through the analysis of citizen's autonomous learning activities developed in a public library. Design/methodology/approach-A self-learning group was chosen and their history was traced. Self-published documents and narratives of the group were used to clarify the substantial content of autonomous learning activities related to a public library. First, an overview of the group activities is given through an analysis of the contents of group newsletters. Second, the narrative of the group members is examined as it appears in their publications. Finally, the results of these two procedures are integrated to holistically articulate the activities of the group as an autonomous learning history based in the public library. Findings-The paper shows how the group created their learning space in collaboration with a public library and developed individual lifelong learning sharing their activities with local citizens. The paper concludes that the activities of the target group provide an excellent example of not only citizen's autonomous learning as a study group but also the ways in which civic activities nurture public debate and generate social capital in cooperation with the local public library. Originality/value-The paper suggests specific citizen's autonomous and self-directed learning activities and clarifies the substantial results of their learning. The results of this research demonstrate that public libraries have unique potential dynamically satisfy individual lifelong learning and ︎ citizen involvement. The paper demonstrates how public libraries are intrinsically linked with lifelong learning and civic involvement.

Shaking up story time

“…John van de Pas (2014) describes libraries as 'cultural institutions' because they no longer serve as mere repositories of information, but as public spaces which allow individuals to gather, learn, and interact with one another (as cited in Yoshida, 2016;Jochumsen, Hvenegaard Rasmussen, & Skot-Hansen, 2012). As more libraries embrace this role and create learning commons environments, people's notions of the library will shift from their misapprehensions about the social roles of librarians and libraries to an understanding of libraries as places of civic discourse (Yoshida, 2016;Jochumsen et al, 2012); the engagement in philosophy in library programming will certainly aid in the shift of public understanding of, and engagement with, libraries and librarians.…”

“…The shift to an environment of learning not only enables numerous opportunities of lifelong learning, but also enhances the quality of programming options (Yoshida, 2016). While Lopez, Caspe, & Simpson (2017) attribute this to the fact that libraries are increasingly more interested in 'engaging entire families....playing a stronger role than ever in supporting families to promote children's early literacy and reading skills' (p.318), we argue that this kind of engagement can be exponentially enhanced with the inclusion of high quality educational content that not only focuses on early literacy and reading, but reaches beyond by building the scaffolding necessary for lifelong interactions with information.…”

Creación de capital social en la biblioteca pública

“…ISSN-L: 0210-0614. https://doi.org/10.3989/redc.2024.1.1453 nidad y el énfasis en desarrollar una ciudadanía informada (Drueke, 2006;Vårheim, 2007;Ferguson, 2012;Wojciechowska, 2021a). La BP, además, permite empoderar a los usuarios por medio del acceso al aprendizaje y la educación (Pors, 2010;Brewster, 2014;Vårheim, 2014b;Yoshida, 2016), y sirve de punto de acceso universal a información e interacción con el gobierno, especialmente el electrónico (Jaeger y Fleischmann, 2007).…”

Bio-networking among librarians, parents, and children in a modern children’s library: a phenomenological study

“…Libraries should not be a space for the mere preservation of books, collections of toys, magazines, computers for catalog browsing/games, informational pamphlets/flyers, tables, chairs, slides, seesaws and bookshelves (Çildir et al , 2021; Kanazawa, 2018; Smith, 2019; Wang et al , 2022). Similarly, the services and activities of librarians are no longer marginalized and restricted to arranging and shelving books, assisting patrons with checking books out, story hours, reading circles, library tours, homework help, loans to large groups, distribution of recommended book lists to schools and book-related programs (Campana et al , 2016; Kanazawa, 2018; Smith, 2019; Wang et al , 2022; Yoshida, 2016). Sadly, a few libraries do currently insist that children are quiet (Çildir et al , 2021).…”