Project BackgroundTopic
Throughout the course I noticed something over and over again, this was the impact of volunteers on libraries. So I wanted to select a subject that related to this interest. It had become a major focus for me during the course, but I saved my questions and research for the final. For this project I'm focusing on institutions that are being run by unpaid volunteers generally from the community in which the library is located. While it's difficult to trace the origin of these libraries, and a lot of volunteer structures have gone undocumented, I wanted to create a general history of volunteer-run or community libraries and their extensions across the globe from the 1800's-2016. In the subsequent web pages you'll find information about libraries that relate to this subject. |
Research Questions
I set myself a series of questions I hoped to answer through the course of this project. They were:
Research
Discovering that very little research was done on the overall history of volunteer-run libraries, I became intrigued. Most research had been done on either volunteers themselves or specific libraries. So I felt this was an underdeveloped subject and would be an interesting one to compile. Hopefully this will fill in some of the gaps about volunteer-run or community libraries.
I used various databases like JStor, WorldCat, etc and spoke with numerous librarians who helped me find out about resources. Finding a lot of my information through the bibliographies of other books and websites as well as the aid of reference librarians, I spent a lot of time searching for different resources. However after several months research there are still some unanswered questions and undiscovered areas. I think that to fully develop the subject could take a few years of extensive research. I'm hoping to just showcase some key points, and general history about volunteer run libraries from the 1800's on for North American and European libraries. Perhaps it will spark further research for a much larger project.
Bad & Good
The availability of resources concerning the subject was a problem and as I've mentioned previously it's difficult to trace some aspects of volunteer run libraries. Also having never heard back from several institutions like the ALA who I think would've had some interesting information to share it's difficult to say what's missing. That being said, I'm extremely excited with what I found and I feel that it really encapsulates how integral volunteers were to some libraries.
Research Steps
I set myself a series of questions I hoped to answer through the course of this project. They were:
- Is there documented proof of what the first ever volunteer run library was like?
- How far back can you trace volunteer-run libraries in America and in Europe?
- How have these institutions bolstered their communities?
- Have they led to larger libraries being built years later?
- Are there other volunteer-run library like institutions in prisons or smaller communities?
Research
Discovering that very little research was done on the overall history of volunteer-run libraries, I became intrigued. Most research had been done on either volunteers themselves or specific libraries. So I felt this was an underdeveloped subject and would be an interesting one to compile. Hopefully this will fill in some of the gaps about volunteer-run or community libraries.
I used various databases like JStor, WorldCat, etc and spoke with numerous librarians who helped me find out about resources. Finding a lot of my information through the bibliographies of other books and websites as well as the aid of reference librarians, I spent a lot of time searching for different resources. However after several months research there are still some unanswered questions and undiscovered areas. I think that to fully develop the subject could take a few years of extensive research. I'm hoping to just showcase some key points, and general history about volunteer run libraries from the 1800's on for North American and European libraries. Perhaps it will spark further research for a much larger project.
Bad & Good
The availability of resources concerning the subject was a problem and as I've mentioned previously it's difficult to trace some aspects of volunteer run libraries. Also having never heard back from several institutions like the ALA who I think would've had some interesting information to share it's difficult to say what's missing. That being said, I'm extremely excited with what I found and I feel that it really encapsulates how integral volunteers were to some libraries.
Research Steps
- Decided on subject
- Gathered background information on North American volunteer libraries
- Gathered background information on European volunteer libraries
- Researched alternative reading rooms, prison libraries, bookmobiles, and other volunteer institutions
- Began to discern key moments and create timelines
- Created website
Photo Credits:
Header: http://www.librarycampaign.com/library-news-round-up-17-january-2015/
Middle Photo: Grover Beach Community Library which is a volunteer run library in Grover Beach California serving the "Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande, and the Five Cities area." courtesy of http://www.groverbeachlibrary.org/
Header: http://www.librarycampaign.com/library-news-round-up-17-january-2015/
Middle Photo: Grover Beach Community Library which is a volunteer run library in Grover Beach California serving the "Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande, and the Five Cities area." courtesy of http://www.groverbeachlibrary.org/