For The People Newsletter Vol. XIX
For everyone working to strengthen and expand public libraries
Re-Imagining Public Libraries with Teenagers
New York City public libraries faced and fended off budget cuts once again this Spring, but sighs of relief are short-lived. While the immediate crisis may be over, the threat of this now annual assault remains. New Yorkers appreciate their local public libraries and there’s a need to get better organized to improve and expand them. In this edition of our newsletter, we are excited about featuring the Free to Grow initiative, which members of the Forefront Fellowship have developed. Free to Grow focused on amplifying youth voices and their visions for a public library that would truly serve them. We need to gather more information from more constituents as part of ongoing public library organizing in the city. This project is an excellent foundation.
NYC Youth Envision the Libraries They Need
"Bring libraries back to their roots" is supposed to mean we should bring libraries back to a community-based program and find a way to invest in our communities to lift up our libraries. ‘ Joaquin, Bring Libraries Back to Us
The 2023 Forefront Fellowship, Free to Grow, is a yearlong exploration that inspires adults to center youth in the built environment, in partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and New York City Public Schools. The Library, Archives, and Museums [LAM] team of urban planners, writers, design researchers, and educators focused on centering youth within LAMs. Public and indie libraries function as critical community-based social infrastructure for millions of families in New York City. They support literacy, autonomous and unrestricted education, and access to social services that support mental and physical health. Youth envision libraries as a space for collective education, social connection, and liberation – a place to feel free. But libraries in NYC fall short of this vision and are in a state of disrepair, disinvestment, and decay – leading to fragmented teen engagement across branches. Teen spaces often aren't created with teens at the helm. They frequently include spatial and social limitations that may come across as surveilling, disengaging, or at times hostile to young people. To build teens’ civic capacity to co-create their libraries of the future, we produced and piloted three solutions:
An open-source arts-based curriculum - Experimenting with art-making as a research modality, our open-source curriculum initiates a creative dialogue with teens about their experiences and dreams for a future library. We piloted Dreaming in Place: Libraries as Catalysts for Social Change and Libraries of the Future: Zines and Zine Making with students at The Highline and The Free Black Women’s Library in Spring/Summer 2024.
An open-source zine archive - A public collection of zines and themes for a teen-centered library, which can be used as a tool for library design and advocacy.
Youth-led design guidelines zine - Nine youth-led recommendations for creating “Teens’ Library of the Future” based on key themes identified in our workshops. These include:
Let the outside in: Stimulate the senses with biophilic design and sounds for the soul.
Let the inside out: Expand knowledge beyond walls and bring the library outdoors.
Make it cozy: Create cozy, welcoming spaces for teens to feel at home.
Make it accessible: Expand dimensions around accessibility for all library users.
Let them be loud: Support solo and group activities to let teens’ voices be heard.
Let them eat: Serve study snacks with affordable, healthy food and beverage options.
Modernize resources: Promote learning beyond the classroom with up-to-date literary collections and resources.
Provide relevant programming: Activate library spaces with paid work and learning opportunities and teen-led programming.
Build a coalition: Build a coalition among indie, mobile, and public library systems in your neighborhood.
ALL CALLS
Data Collection Project: We’re looking for new and returning volunteers to sign up for Phase 02 research (direct outreach). After you sign up, keep an eye on your inbox for details on a coworking session as well, which is a new thing we’re going to be trying out to make this more fun.
Sign up for For The People’s 2025 candidate cohort! If you’re planning to run for your local library board or seek an appointment, we’re here to help you. The waiting list is open, and we plan to kick off the next cohort in early 2025 (January or February). Fill out the cohort application online here.
Are you a currently serving member of a state library board? If so, we want to know about you and help you work with other leftist state library board members! Please send us an email with your details to get connected.
Are you a serving member of a local public library board who’d like to join our community of leftist trustees and candidates? Send us an email at forthepeoplelibraries@gmail.com and let us know about your board, your library system, and your background. (Thanks to folks who have already replied - more from us soon!)
Have you recently been elected or appointed to your library board? We’re tracking folks who have been inspired by or encouraged by FTP’s work, and if that’s you, please send us an email at forthepeoplelibraries@gmail.com to fill us in (and similarly, let us know if you want to join our candidate and trustee community).
Here’s a roundup of interesting reading and listening material that we think you’ll appreciate. Sometimes, articles may be paywalled. In other totally unrelated news, sometimes a fun thing to do on the internet is to use tools like Archive.today or the Wayback Machine.
Librarians Resist Israel’s Efforts to Destroy Palestinian Cultural Heritage by Emily Drabinski for truthout
Public Libraries On The 2024 Chopping Block Over and Over Again by kelly jensen for Well Sourced by Kelly Jensen
Louisiana Coalition Offers Model for Turning Back Anti-Library Legislation by Kara Yorio for School Library Journal
Worcester residents, officials renew talks on library safety after attack on staff member by Marco Cartolano for Telegram & Gazette
Our libraries are on borrowed time By Richard Ovenden for Prospect
Alliance to bring back Philadelphia school libraries gets $150,000 federal grant by Dale Mezzacappa for Chalkbeat
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Jefferson County Public Library Workers Are First to Form Union Under New Colorado Law by Kenneth Quinnell for AFL-CIO
10 Things Every Board Member Needs to Know by Sanhita SinhaRoy for American Libraries
Pages of hope: How book donations make a difference in prisoners’ lives by Bonny Matejowsky for WUFT
Jason Rapert Says Members of the Arkansas State Library Board ‘Probably Should Be Tarred and Feathered’ by Kyle Mantyla for RIght Wing Watch, A project of People for the American Way
Monroe County officials want library to move LGBTQ books or lose money. Community responds by Myracle Lewis for The Telegraph
Grambling State University: the first HBCU with $16.6M digital library by Isabella Cheng for ktalnews.com
The Epidemic of Loneliness: The Library User Health Crisis By Alejandro Marquez for The Journal of Creative Library Practice
Sullivan City’s first-ever public library transforming community by Francisco E. Jimenez for MyRGV.com
Indianapolis’ first library for Black residents reopens through school librarian’s leadership by Haley Miller for Chalkbeat Indiana
More States Are Passing Book Banning Rules. Here’s What They Say by Elizabeth A. Harris for The New York Times
UPCOMING EVENTS
September 19th - 2024 Research Tools for Organizers Training Series: Money in Politics. This is the latest in a series of free monthly trainings on different topics from the Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) from LittleSis. Also see their recent webinar on How To Research Nonprofits.
September 15-21 - Prison Banned Books Week is fighting carceral censorship by organizing the community to advocate that public libraries make their catalogs available on all prison and jail tablets.
September 22-28 - Banned Books Week--this American Library Association website offers ways for individuals to fight censorship and book bans. EveryLibrary will host a free webinar series of panel discussions and author conversations throughout the week.
September 27th - Urban Librarians Conference, Newark Public Library, New Jersey
November 7th-9th - The call for proposals just closed for the Middle East Librarians Association annual meeting which will be held at Stanford University (and online).