Chrystie Hill: Community: it’s the new content.

In an age where content can be stored in many formats and carried around in our pockets, library services are shifting to accommodate new user’s needs and preferences. But Ohio’s libraries just took a huge cut in the recent state budget. So it made us wonder, what is their future?

We know libraries are best known for collecting, archiving, storing, and providing access to books and other printed materials. But social aspects of information service delivery take precedence in this shift, and as Ms. Hill will outline and argue in her talk, the library still continues to perform it’s core function: community-oriented services that meet real needs.

Hill Bio (pdf) or

Hill Bio (OCLC web site)

TEDxColumbus Live Blog: Chrystie Hill: October 20, 2009
Chrystie Hill grew up in the Pacific Northwest in a small, very controlled religious community. However, the day she first visited the Kitsap Regional Library, she felt the world opened up for her. The first book she discovered to have a profound impact on her life was The Thoughts of Thoreau (which she ended up stealing in the end—“I couldn’t bear to let it go!”).

In 1999, while attending library school, libraries were rethinking access based on technological advancements. In thinking of the library, she felt there was a disconnect between the community aspect and the reference desk—which she saw as a barrier between herself and the people she wanted to serve. She set out to change this by incorporating community features into the library’s role.

According to Hill, “Libraries should be about people, not about books.” When librarians pay attention to their patrons, they learn about their needs and how they can serve them better. In other words, it’s about human interaction and a desire to connect with other people in the community.

She highlighted the recently revamped Seattle Public Library, which looks spectacular—both visually and in terms of the services it offers. Hopefully, Hill’s research—featured in her new book, Inside, Outside, and Online: Building Your Library Community—will help revolutionize the way libraries interact with their patrons and provide essential services to their communities.