The library being "the last real third space" isn't a reason to keep adding new responsibilities to the library; it is a reason to create more third spaces.
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You mean the library/ymca/shelter isn’t working out for those not getting paid a living wage…
They really do try to make library’s make up for societal failings it is so asinine, let the board of trustees know since they value that more than community (system not workers💓)
The term "third space" was popularized by Starbucks,
and coffee shops in general often functioned as those,
but the pandemic really trashed that.
(The UK also had pubs and pre-coffee, tea houses.)
(And churches did that for a long time in many places.)
Even better than coffee! My nearest library has a cafe in an attached building, but it's mostly a "buy your food and eat it outside" place with only a couple of small tables.
(And duh, I'd forgotten about the Big Box Bookstore With Coffee spaces, because Amazon killed most of them.)
Entirely agree but also wish libraries gave the role a little more day-to-day importance. Can feel like front line staff aren’t trusted with/recognized for it enough, but hey look what the director and architect does at this site every 40+ years.
That was one thing I deplored about the profession - the knee-jerk tendency to pick up every ball dropped by every other social service agency. We were feeding people by the time I retired.
more *publicly owned" third spaces, which IMO also gets into issues of public land ownership and land acquisition costs/landbanking. Which I think is an interesting public policy issue!
Yet library directors are forced by bean counters to justify funding by overhyping our third space nature and expanding upon it by expecting staff to be social workers, drug counsellors or medical interventionists. It’s frustrating!
My county actually has public health nurses at some libraries. It's good that they're bringing in people who ARE qualified to provide those services, but libraries still aren't designed for it. People shouldn't have to discuss their medical info in a totally public setting!
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They really do try to make library’s make up for societal failings it is so asinine, let the board of trustees know since they value that more than community (system not workers💓)
and coffee shops in general often functioned as those,
but the pandemic really trashed that.
(The UK also had pubs and pre-coffee, tea houses.)
(And churches did that for a long time in many places.)
(And duh, I'd forgotten about the Big Box Bookstore With Coffee spaces, because Amazon killed most of them.)
I think that opening premise is just false. I dunno why that's the assumption here tho.