The environments and organizational setting in which informational professionals distribute, gather, and categorize information are as wide-ranging as the individuals themselves. By virtue of the incredible variety of needs that the public may need, information professionals therefore must adapt themselves into a vast number of niches. However, despite the differences between the roles that information professionals seek to fulfill, there are a few elements that remain consistent no matter the environment those professionals find themselves in. Fisher and Fulton (2022) assert that any ideal information provider to a community needs to embody five tenets:
1. An emphasis on collaboration between diverse information providers
2. The capacity to form around people’s needs
3. The capacity to exploit the information-sharing qualities of new technologies
4. The ability to transcend barriers to information sharing
5. The capacity to form social connectedness.
As it is the goal of all information-sharing organizations to keep these elements at the forefront of their organizational structure, the commonalities between them are clear. However while these similarities are obvious, in order to distinguish the differences between them, we must classify them according to one of their most crucial – and therefore defining – characteristics: their patrons.
Modern libraries are primarily divided into four main groups based upon the communities they serve: academic, public, special, and school. Each of these groups have differing needs, and therefore attune the libraries themselves to different purposes. In order to evaluate the distinctions between them, each can be examined.
Academic libraries are libraries that are attached to college-level institutions. Their primary patrons are composed of students, professors, and other researchers. This aligns their professional goals to two major foci: promoting curriculum and enabling research (Types of Academic Libraries, n.d.). Students and faculty alike will likely interact with the reference desk when seeking materials that may be otherwise beyond their reach, as in the case of ILL (Inter-Library Loans), or when gathering documents to read for large assignments. These types of branches are less likely to have larger programming events, but will still possess a wide collection, and even some pleasure reading.
Public libraries are usually what comes to mind when the average individual thinks about ‘the library.’ This public institution is open most weekdays and usually at least one weekend. As government-funded operations (Types of Public Libraries, n.d.), they are tied to the county, city, or state that they are located in. However, their goals are usually community-focused. Programming such as storytimes, book clubs, and teen movie afternoons are all common fare at public libraries – setting this subcategory aside as one of the few remaining ‘third spaces’ that provide a non-home, non-work/school location for the general public to gather in (Waters, 2023). The collections in public libraries are grouped based on age range, typically divided amongst categories of children, teenager, and adult, and frequently branches will have an accredited librarian assigned to each of these areas.
The next subcategory of libraries is one that shares much in common with public branches. School libraries are exactly what the name would have us expect: libraries that are within schools. However, instead of being attached to higher education, these branches are contained within K-12 institutions. Librarians who aspire to work in these types of branches are usually required to obtain a teaching credential as well as a Masters in Library Science (School Librarianship, n.d.), as they may be called to instruct classes on specific skills. As these collections are going to be browsed almost exclusively by young patrons, the content reflects that – we can expect to see plenty of chapter books and YA titles here.
Finally, the category of special libraries encompasses the branches that do not fall into any other easy category. This type of branch is attuned to a very specific niche, such as law, medicine, or military. It can even refer to museum collections (Types of Special Libraries, n.d.). Expertise in the field that a special library is serving may not be required, but it will be helpful when assisting researchers in investigating a certain process or legal precedent. The collections here may be smaller and more private, compared to the previous three subcategories.
The differences between the different types of libraries is one that I had not considered as much until I began my degree program at SJSU. Prior to my coursework, I was well familiar with public and school libraries, and had spent a non-zero amount of time at the branches at academic institutions. However, I was largely unfamiliar with special collections and their cousins, archives.
However, now thanks to courses such as INFO 204: Information Professions, and collaborating on projects that have sought to understand and decipher the needs of all types of GLAMs (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums), I have a much better grasp on what it is that these types of organizational settings offer and require. My studies have also solidified my interest in working with public libraries, as this is the group that I feel I resonate most with. Still, the academic branches seem like a practical and enjoyable alternative – one that I would not have understood nearly as well if not for the coursework I have completed as a part of my MLIS.
In order to demonstrate my comprehension of the different organizational settings that information can be distributed in, I have complied the following documents. The first of these is an exploration of what makes up an information community, a blog post I created in my first official semester at SJSU. I believe that the exploration of what makes the blues fusion dance community unique and worthy of investigation allowed me to overcome my preconceptions of what a information community might look like – and therefore be better suited to create a library that would suit their needs. The second document I have assembled here is part of the research that was conducted in order to create a Strategic Plan for the Oakland Zoo. As a non-traditional GLAM, the Oakland Zoo represented an interesting challenge to analyze. Working with my group, we identified the steps that would assist the organization in dispensing information, drawing visitors, and most importantly, identifying challenges that might befall it in upcoming years. The final document that I feel best represents the knowledge that I have accumulated is a writeup that I completed in INFO 204, a description of what our dream job would be and why. Given that I have been working towards my MLIS for over a year now, it should come as no surprise that my interests remain within the world of library systems, but I feel that this document takes that desire and explains it further, emphasizing the knowledge I have gained on the various career paths that are open to me through this program.
As mentioned above, my understanding of what an information community could look like has expanded dramatically over the course of my degree. In this blog post, I start what would become a semester-long project that investigated the peculiarities of the blues fusion dance information community. As a group that gathers for the purpose of dance, I was struck by the simultaneous dual levels of communication present in the members’ interactions. There is the verbal: a direct conversation that can happen before, during, or after a dance, as well as the conversations that are required to set up any such event. But there is also a nonverbal communication that occurs during blues fusion events: “dancers share information back and forth, suggesting moves, accepting, adjusting, or altering them. (Bachofer, 2024)” This unique style of interaction was fascinating to study, and truly opened my mind to the idea that information communities – and therefore the libraries that seek to serve them – can take any shape and any form.
When my group was tasked with creating a strategic plan for a GLAM for INFO 204: Information Professions, it took us a little while to settle upon the organization of the Oakland Zoo. However, we eventually decided to investigate this information provider for a number of reasons. Many of the group members had fond memories of visiting the Zoo, it was well-connected to the community it was a part of, and most saliently, the Oakland Zoo was a non-traditional GLAM, and therefore provided a unique location to explore. It also provided us the opportunity to examine just what kind of needs an information organization like a zoo might require. We compared it to archives, as its ‘collection’ needs to be kept in a safe environment, and under specific conditions. We considered how it was similar to museums – and indeed, the Oakland Zoo has many displays and exhibits that are static. But at the conclusion of our project, we were forced to conclude something that tied well into our overall understanding of the different kinds of libraries: the Oakland Zoo was unlike any other location – just as no library is identical to any other. They all face unique challenges, which must be addressed with a multi-level approach, so that the community that it serves feels both valued and values it in return.
The report submitted here demonstrates the similarities that the Oakland Zoo has to many other library institutions, no matter if they are academic, school, or public. It identifies problems that may befall the organization based on lack of public interest, or local governmental spending. Finally, it allowed each of us involved in the project to practice these problem-solving skills, so that we can be better prepared to create strategic plans for our own libraries in the future.
There are a wide variety of positions available through the MLIS degree, more or less grouped across four main paths. However, after obtaining a better understanding of what the academic, public, school, and special library work environments might entail, when asked to describe an ideal position, I still found myself looking for public library jobs. The public library has been a huge part of my life thus far, and it has always been a place where I can turn for information, for relaxation, and for assistance. But more than that, through working in public libraries, I have discovered that they embody the sense of community that I wish to exemplify in the world. I have always felt that I have a strongly extroverted personality, and within public library work, I can channel this to the benefit of my community. Through my coursework, I have been made aware that burnout is common among public library employees, and so I have taken note that I could also likely find this level of community in academic or school branches – but the desire to work with young people, to put on storytimes and game nights remains one of the greatest perks to working in the public library.
The four different types of libraries all have unique patrons, unique skills, and especially unique collections. Each is highly specialized to cater to the communities that rely on them for information, access, and activities. While I believe that my future lies within the public library sphere, I still recognize the importance of each other subcategory, and the benefits that can be reaped from them. I also recognize the similarities that exist among all types of libraries: the tenets outlined by Fisher and Fulton. Libraries were and are created to promote connections – connections between people looking to form information communities, connections between individuals and the resources they need, and connections between their communities and the libraries themselves. I believe that despite the differences between academic, school, special, and public branches, it is this similarity that is core to all libraries, regardless of their specific informational structure.
Bachofer, M. (2024). Fluid Transfers: Discussing the Blues Fusion Dancing Information Community. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/info/msb203/2024/02/15/fluid-transfers-discussing-the-blues-fusion-dancing-information-community/
Fisher, K. & Fulton, C. (2022). Information Communities. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today, An introduction. (pp.41-52). Rowman & Littlefield.
LibGuides: Books & Bytes: Librarians as Information Managers: Types of Libraries. (2008). https://guides.library.cornell.edu/c.php?g=30898&p=198569
School Librarianship. (n.d.). SJSU | School of Information. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from https://ischool.sjsu.edu/school-librarianship
Types of Academic Libraries - SJSU. (n.d.). SJSU | School of Information. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from https://ischool.sjsu.edu/post/types-academic-libraries
Types of Public Libraries - SJSU. (n.d.). SJSU | School of Information. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from https://ischool.sjsu.edu/post/types-public-libraries
Types of Special Libraries - SJSU. (n.d.). SJSU | School of Information. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from https://ischool.sjsu.edu/post/types-special-libraries
Waters, B. A. (2023). Fostering Community: The Library as a Third Space and the Effect of Social Capital on the Flow of Information among Law Students. Legal Reference Services Quarterly, 42(2), 120–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/0270319X.2023.2216128