Pew Internet And American Life Project Report

Inspiring change in Public Libraries during recessionary periods

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project report, 95% of the respondents over 16 years old, believed that resources at the library played an important part in providing opportunities for all to succeed (Zickuhr, Rainie, Purcell & Duggan, 2013). 81% of these respondents also believed that the library provided services that would be difficult to source somewhere else (Zickuhr, Rainie, Purcell & Duggan, 2013). Thus, during recessionary periods public libraries become a hub for many various activities. A recessionary period is depicted by a decline in a country’s economic activity over a period of time; usually over six months (BusinessDictionary.com, n.d.). In the

Thus, the traditional library was transformed into a community center through community-focused programs (Finley & Kluever, as cited in Smallwood, 2011, p. 77). Although these libraries are faced with decreased budgets, librarians have been proactive in transforming the strategy of their library. A district library in Illinois, was able to use the recession as an opportunity to acquire more customers through the skills acquired by the library staff (Finley & Kluever, as cited in Smallwood, 2011). The library director utilized the educational backgrounds and experiences of staff members to develop new programs for library patrons. Thus, including staff members in the change process by allowing them to actively participate in changing the services offered. The library was able to provide new courses in web page design to the public, because a staff member had previous experience in this area (Finley & Kluever, as cited in Smallwood, 2011). Another employee had experience in yoga and was able to provide yoga instructions for library patrons. Allowing employees to be part of the program, gives them the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. In addition, Gratchel and Proctor (1976) stated that “psychologists have shown that even small amounts of individual control over adverse stimuli will reduce a person's opposition to these stimuli” (as cited in Baker, 1989). Therefore, employees feel like they are able to have some control over the process through participation. They also feel appreciated when their skills are recognized; thus, they are inspired to take action and be part of the transformation