Reinventing Libraries
Architect Ray Johnston says, “Libraries serve as the living
room of the community.” Gone is the image of a daunting academic environment
with stern librarians. Instead, libraries are envisaged as public meeting
spaces, with cafes, indoor lounges and courtyards, inviting for all ages.
Observing the lure of the competition– shopping malls- that have become the new family public spaces
with play areas, cinema, and eating places alongside shops, architects thought
to bring similar dynamics to libraries. However, unlike malls, libraries are
not intended to generate revenue, but offer something of value to its users.
Libraries are important repositories for the preservation of
the history of the world and human thought, but also, as author Neil Gaiman
says, to preserve truth. “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A
librarian can bring you back the right one.” Libraries can additionally build communities, bringing
together diverse social circles, and age groups. Surprisingly millennials are
more likely to use libraries than any other age group, despite being almost
physically attached to Google.
The closure of libraries, and dwindling numbers of visitors,
prompted the need to redesign and reinvent library spaces as multi-purpose
community spaces. This new generation of libraries have conference rooms, hold
classes on a range of topics and training in skills from quilting to digital 3
D modelling. They may have film screenings, yoga, poetry readings or board
games. They may offer mother and child activity and reading areas, citizen’s
information centres, spaces for social gathering, or simply a retreat from the
cacophony of life. They aim to make learning enjoyable and to stimulate
curiousity,
In a way, this new thinking is actually a return to the
older systems of community-based learning. The Greek discussed philosophy in
the Agora-a market place. Sufi study circles took place in gardens and street
corners, and at a more ordinary level, elders handed down oral traditions to be
memorized by the younger generation gathered around them.
What role could libraries play in a country where half the
population is only functionally literate with little motivation to go to school
and an education that focuses on earning certificates and degrees rather than
the love of knowledge?
Technology today has made access to knowledge possible even
for those who cannot read. Systems developed for the visually impaired such as
audio books, text to voice and voice to text systems have opened up
possibilities of educating the illiterate. Translation software enables learning
from different language sources. Children are able to navigate computer and
phone screens using icons. Virtual assistants, like Siri and Alexa, and GPS devices
are widely used. Oral recordings such as
those done by Citizen’s Archive of Pakistan, enable people to add to the
history of their times even if they are not adept writers.
Teaching through pictures dates to the time of cave
dwellers. The credit of the first use of pictures in a book to tell a story
rather than supplement a text, goes to the 19th C illustrator,
Randolph Caldecott. Today graphic novels and animations are commonplace, and
used not just for entertainment, but to transfer knowledge. Film is a powerful way to convey knowledge though
images.
More than 800 million people in the world are illiterate and
many more have a limited level of education. For a country to prosper,
education is a cornerstone of development and progress, enabling home grown
solutions to home grown problems rather than imported solutions that rarely
succeed.
The concept of libraries without shelves, is not an
alternative to reading from books, but rather a way to draw people into the
world of education and for some, an impetus to take the next step of learning
how to read.
Karachi has two libraries that were envisaged as community
spaces, largely funded by local philanthropists. Frere Hall library is situated
in a large garden and part of a magnificent community hall. On a more intimate
scale is the Khalikdina library and community hall. Both have a history of
events that ranged from cultural activities, political and religious
gatherings, to being simple places for friends to meet. Today these libraries
are dusty unloved spaces, waiting to be noticed, waiting to share their treasures.
Imagine the libraries spilling out onto the grounds through activities such as
story-telling, book-reading, discussions, film shows or interactive theatre,
making learning enjoyable for all ages.
As the blues singer B.B. King said "The beautiful thing
about learning is no one can take it away from you."
Durriya Kazi
June 12, 2024
Karachi
Comments
Post a Comment