[Libs-Or] OLA Quarterly Author Showcase | Brendan Lax, Hillsboro Public Library | What Are These Things Doing in the Library? How a Library of Things Can Engage and Delight a Community

[OLA Communications Committee]

Brendan Lax is a Collection Development Librarian at the Hillsboro Public
Library. Please download and read his latest article, “What Are These
Things Doing in the Library? How a Library of Things Can Engage and Delight
a Community," here:
http://journals3.library.oregonstate.edu/olaq/article/view/vol26_iss1_11

Brendan has worked at the Hillsboro Public Library since 2009, where he
selects and maintains a number of collections, including the graphic
novels, AV, board games, video games, and the Library of Things. His work
life focuses on creating relevant and accessible collections for his
community, and finding innovative ways to expand the reach of the library
and promote its resources through digital engagement. Prior to working in
libraries, Brendan was chief steward on an ocean-going tugboat.



>From Brendan’s article: “On the surface, the difference between a Library
of Things collection and any other collection in the library lies in the
materials. We see traditional library collections as books, periodicals,
sound recordings, video recordings, and the digital versions of these
formats. A Library of Things can be anything beyond this, from air fryers
and board games to fishing poles and Arduino kits. But if you look more
closely, you begin to see that a Library of Things engages a community in a
fundamentally different way than many of our traditional collections do.
Through this unconventional engagement, libraries with special collections
find new ways to have a meaningful impact on their communities. Good
library collections do a number of things: they teach and instruct; they
are representative and inclusive; they provide equal and open access to
information; and they entertain. Special collections can certainly do all
this, but they also afford us a unique opportunity to interact with our
patrons through the materials we lend out. Certainly, some of the
excitement for starting a Library of Things comes from the freedom to
experiment and try out new models of lending, but there is the additional
responsibility for us to make sure these collections are in alignment with
the needs of our communities. When the Hillsboro Public Library was
deciding on what to include in our collection of Things, we carefully
considered our library’s mission and strategic goals, asked our patrons
what they wanted to see in the collection, and did our best to ensure that
these items would be as accessible as possible. Once the collection
launched, we discovered that a Library of Things begins a dialogue with
patrons, as they share with us their feedback, experiences, and ideas. We
started hearing about the projects people were working on, what tools they
needed, and what items they had lying around their homes that they wanted
to donate to us for other people to use. While circulation numbers can tell
part of a collection’s story, what really informs the success of a Library
of Things and the impact it has on a community is how much the people we
serve embrace it and make it their own.

Please note that the articles in this issue were written prior to March
2020, and the many changes that libraries have instituted since March 2020
in response to the Covid-19 pandemic are therefore not reflected in these
articles. The OLA Quarterly coordinator takes full responsibility for the
late publication of this issue

UX Note: If you download the articles all the way to a PDF reader, the
links will be clickable.


Thank you,

Charles Wood

OLA Quarterly Coordinator
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