THE library is a place where one usually spends time browsing, reading, researching and studying. It is also a place for students to seek information during critical periods such as examination week.
American sociologist Ray Oldenburg has an interesting nomenclature for the library. He calls it the “third place”, after our home and workplace in order of importance. Examples of other “third places” are clubs, cafes or parks which are essential for a society of people to have a sense of place. A kind of civil “learning common” if you like.
A library in the good old days was a building, room or any physical space where people went to read or borrow books. It was a place where one cannot make noise or talk loudly or eat. This is what comes to mind when one talks about “old school” libraries.
But in the 21st century, there is a new concept. A few years ago, when I visited a southern Thailand university and a higher learning institute in Singapore I “experienced” this new concept.
The 21st century libraries in the learning institutions I visited are not just places of study but we could use them to lepak while having a cup of coffee a la Starbucks. There were facilities for students to sing, play musical instruments such as piano, drums or guitars or watch movies like one would do in a cinema.
Colourful cushions and beans bags adorned the entire library for students to read and relax. I thought to myself, what a cool place!
Times have changed, and we must change to suit the needs of students from Gen X and Gen Y. These students are brought up with must-have technology tools. Everything is electronic now.
In the 80’s or even in the 90’s, students would find it hard to afford a laptop of their own, but today it is a necessity. Every lap has one.
Students of today are nicknamed “owls” as they are like the bird they are named after, active at night and in deep slumber during the day. In the United States, a university is developing an owl app just to help students in their studies, assignments, exams, gaming and others.
The library of today should fit today’s revolution. It is a library of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). It is a revolution that will fundamentally alter how we live, work and play. We have the word of economist Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, who coined the term.
The library plays an important role in this revolution as it will affect people in all disciplines, and will challenge ideas you and
I have about what it means to
be human. The 4IR involves Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, drones, virtual assistants, 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wearable sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand.
I can imagine our millennial students in such a library learning about their world and the society they live in through Learning Analytics and Big Data. It is a brave new world, to quote the dystopian English novelist Aldous Huxley. But there is nothing dystopian about this world of 21st century libraries. Some things may be strange in this millennial space but totalitarian, unpleasant? Hardly.
The new library of today is based on a new concept of learning space for millennial learners. It is a space that can motivate learners and promote learning as an activity, support collaboration, networking and formal practices within a personalised and inclusive environment.
The 21st century learners want learning areas infused with natural light to provide an easy and pleasurable work environment, wireless connectivity, learning cafés or open-plan social areas that will encourage engagement in learning and create a desire to continue activities beyond class.
This will support collaboration, problem solving and information sharing. This space should also allow the use of password-enabled wireless local area networks, laptop loan schemes and 24-hour access to digital resources in technology-rich learning centre and virtual learning environments.
Today everything has gone electronic and is in the Portable Document Format (PDF). Books, journals, magazines and newspapers are electronic in nature. There are numerous databases available such as ProQuest, Science Direct, Taylors & Francis, Springer, ERIC, EBSCOhost, ebrary, JSTOR, WILEY and others.
These databases cost millions of ringgit. To exploit this investment, we should have a consortium of databases, which can be shared, among private and public universities in Malaysia. Nowadays, most libraries practise inter-library loans among public universities. This is convenient for working adults who are pursuing their studies as they can access books anywhere, anytime and at any machine.
The 21st century librarian has shed his old clothes, too. His role is now tailored to delivering training, consultation and research support besides ensuring that the collections remain coherent. The new librarian sifts through catalogues and helps readers read.
A story is told by Greek historian Diodorus Siculus of one library in ancient Egypt with the inscription, “Clinic of the Soul” , at its entrance. The 21st century library is in one sense a place of care for the millennial souls.
The writer is an associate professor with the Centre for Instructional Technology and Multimedia,
Universiti Sains Malaysia