More than a Library?: Urban Poverty and an Exploratory Look at the Role of a Neighborhood Institution

Fuente: ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
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Autor principal: Ly, Carolyn
Formato: Recurso educativo Open Access
Lenguaje:en
Publicado: 2010
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author Ly, Carolyn
author_facet Ly, Carolyn
Ly, Carolyn
collection Education Resources Information Center
contents More than a Library?: Urban Poverty and an Exploratory Look at the Role of a Neighborhood Institution Ly, Carolyn Neighborhoods Poverty Participant Observation Economically Disadvantaged Public Libraries Internet Urban Areas Social Influences Local Issues African Americans Access to Information Library Materials Library Services Library Role Libraries have traditionally tended to be one of the few institutionally provided public resources for local residents in poor, urban, neighborhoods. This paper presents findings from the exploratory phase of an ongoing research project which examines, through participant observation, the "value" of a public library in a poor urban neighborhood. To what extent do residents make use of traditional library resources? What alternative functions does the library serve in the neighborhood? The findings collected have suggested that the library as a social space contains value to the immediate neighborhood in ways beyond physical utility; it holds a significant symbolic value or meaning to local residents. These findings suggest that within impoverished urban neighborhoods, locally oriented public institutions need to be recognized as fulfilling a variety of unintended functions for the surrounding community. (Contains 22 endnotes.) [The introduction to "More than a Library?: Urban Poverty and an Exploratory Look at the Role of a Neighborhood Institution" was written by Waverly Duck.]
format Recurso educativo Open Access
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institution ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
language en
publishDate 2010
record_format eric
spellingShingle More than a Library?: Urban Poverty and an Exploratory Look at the Role of a Neighborhood Institution
Ly, Carolyn
Neighborhoods
Poverty
Participant Observation
Economically Disadvantaged
Public Libraries
Internet
Urban Areas
Social Influences
Local Issues
African Americans
Access to Information
Library Materials
Library Services
Library Role
More than a Library?: Urban Poverty and an Exploratory Look at the Role of a Neighborhood Institution Ly, Carolyn Neighborhoods Poverty Participant Observation Economically Disadvantaged Public Libraries Internet Urban Areas Social Influences Local Issues African Americans Access to Information Library Materials Library Services Library Role Libraries have traditionally tended to be one of the few institutionally provided public resources for local residents in poor, urban, neighborhoods. This paper presents findings from the exploratory phase of an ongoing research project which examines, through participant observation, the "value" of a public library in a poor urban neighborhood. To what extent do residents make use of traditional library resources? What alternative functions does the library serve in the neighborhood? The findings collected have suggested that the library as a social space contains value to the immediate neighborhood in ways beyond physical utility; it holds a significant symbolic value or meaning to local residents. These findings suggest that within impoverished urban neighborhoods, locally oriented public institutions need to be recognized as fulfilling a variety of unintended functions for the surrounding community. (Contains 22 endnotes.) [The introduction to "More than a Library?: Urban Poverty and an Exploratory Look at the Role of a Neighborhood Institution" was written by Waverly Duck.]
title More than a Library?: Urban Poverty and an Exploratory Look at the Role of a Neighborhood Institution
topic Neighborhoods
Poverty
Participant Observation
Economically Disadvantaged
Public Libraries
Internet
Urban Areas
Social Influences
Local Issues
African Americans
Access to Information
Library Materials
Library Services
Library Role
url https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ912048