By Virtue of Association: The Precarious and Resilient Library

Abstract

At a time of funding cuts, library closures, and a landscape of ubiquitous digital information, challenges to the continued relevance of public libraries have been common. Others argue that libraries are entering a new exciting phase of innovation by transforming to meet the demands of the digital age. However, this chapter argues that the library project, of connecting books and people, has always operated in conditions of contestation, necessitating continual networking, and negotiation to be sustained. As actor-networks, libraries have emerged, taken shape, and transformed through the power of their associations (Latour, 1987). This chapter examines two important associations in the life of libraries. The first is association with commercial actors, which is examined through both historical and contemporary cases of library projects. The second is association with children. Analysis will focus on how the attraction of libraries for children has variously been treated as a problem, risk, and opportunity for libraries in different time-spaces. Adding activities to the children’s library program has produced local literacy cultures in which children participate, extending the library assemblage.