Service Strategy and Learning From Others - Singapore National Library and Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom (Foxton Library)

Below are some links to information about the NSL and also another best practice example: Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom (Foxton Library). The Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom (Foxton Library) provides a great local example of best practice about social and cultural innovation. The trend is for public libraries to become community information and social hubs with flexible spaces for use by both business and the community; 'living rooms of the city'.

Resources

There are a number of resources you can use to prepare for answering this case study. They include:

NSL- Best Practice

1. National Singapore Library Document - this is a long report prepared by one of the authors of your textbook

2. There is a descriptive case in your textbook of the SNL in Chapter 7.

3. Check out the SNL website. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/ Go to their research and annual reports page. Anything there of interest? There is so much information! Just skim it to see if anything looks interesting for you. 

Sources on Library Strategy

Use the three-pronged strategy for research we have been using this semester:

1. Journal articles and research literature using search terms related to the concepts from the textbook chapter you have identified. Do a journal/research article search for issues facing the industry. What are the issues facing the public library system and libraries more generally? What are the trends? (use google scholar search and other databases)
2. What are the challenges facing the industry and what has been the best practice response? (general google search)
3. What is going on in the case organization you are looking at. Check out the specific organizational website and any other reports or articles you can find to tell you what is happening, including your own experience of the service, feedback sites, user social media and so on ... (HINT: See if the website has a research and information link - they often do!). Libraries are run by local councils. Is there anything on your local council site about local government strategy and how the library might fit into plans for the town/city in the future?

SNL is a Best-Practice Example. Are there Others?

The Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom (Foxton Library) is a unique facility and showcases how a library can be much more than just an information hub, or even a 'living room'.

Their website is https://www.teawahou.com/Home. Take a look. 

There are a number of services offered. As well a providing the usual library services using the latest technology, the facility supplies:

• exhibition spaces
• meeting rooms and spaces that can be booked by community groups
• two significant cultural showcases - for local Maori and for the local Dutch community 
• Council services like paying rates and dog registrations
• the library is designed to integrate with the Windmill attraction, a local cafe, and some immersive tourist experiences like horse-drawn vehicles, flax making (a historic industry) and so on
• integrate into local paths and walkways in the area on the Manawatu river - a significant port and center of commerce in the past (e.g. a boom and bust flax trade)
• gateway to the Manawatu estuary at Foxton beach, a World Wildlife Heritage site
• cycleways

Other Aspects of Library Strategy

Libraries are capital intensive resources for cities and towns; local authorities. Libraries are usually big buildings that require large budgets and staff to provide the facility. Consequently, public libraries have been under pressure for many decades now because of cuts in public spending and in some countries have become under threat. For instance, in the USA the public library system has been eroded. 

Libraries are also under threat because according to many commentators people have stopped reading. However, although the printed book might not be as prominent as it once was, reading modes and habits are changing, they are not disappearing. People are reading more online and through their phones. They are watching more multi-media. They are learning and engaging more through gaming (what is often called gamification). 

Library design is fascinating. Libraries don't need to be boring spaces built like factories for computers. Library design is now about creating 'Living rooms in the city' and developing library concepts with users.

There has been a renaissance in prestigious library development projects across the world. Rather than the digital revolution signaling the death of libraries as was often foretold, libraries are undergoing a transformation. The contemporary library is both as a public facility and a learning space. They are places for people to place to meet, read, share and explore ideas. Check out this article on contemporary library design - http://bid.ub.edu/en/38/bonet.htm. You can see examples of libraries being built with theatres and stages; that is, places for creative collaborations.  And for children to play in. The old stereotype of the library being a place where you are shushed all the time is no longer appropriate (although it is still important to have quiet spaces where people can work quietly alone!)

Designing libraries is about investing in people, about the changing ways in which libraries are perceived and used, and about rethinking concepts of the ‘typical’ user. The library is no longer a grandiose architectural spectacle lined with acres of books, but about the exploratory nature of information seeking, and collaborative creative learning.