Reflection & Analysis

Information and society is one of the first courses that I took, and it truly set the stage for my studies in this program. This course focused on information and its nature - what it is, the way we view it as a society, that ways in which people access it. This course also looked at libraries as an institution and went through some history of libraries. It was fascinating to learn about the original purposes of information accessibility and to learn of the library's changing role in that dynamic, especially with the advances in technology over the years. From handwritten card catalogs to being able to search for anything with a few clicks on a keyboard, libraries have been at the forefront of information for our society for a long time. We also discussed the different types of information centers, like archival spaces, special collection libraries, and museums. Understanding the similarities and differences for these information centers is important to ensuring that community members know what spaces can help them meet their information needs.

I appreciated how we touched on (though, to be honest, I wish we'd discussed more), the ways in which access to information has been restricted from certain groups of people. The reality of illiteracy, income disparities, and discrimination were big indicators of who in our society could historically access information and it put into perspective how those things are still true. Because of the nature of my perceived place in this world, information has not always been readily available to people from my racial background. In fact, information was actively restricted: from laws against teaching enslaved Black people to read to Jim Crow-era laws that prohibited Black people and other persons of color from even entering libraries. The legacy of that discrimination still exists in library spaces and my job, as a curator of materials and programs explaining that history, is to ensure that the people in my community no longer feel that sting.

For those reasons, the final essay felt extremely personal to me. It focused on this history of library service to African Americans, from the denial of services to them to the work still being done to create equitable spaces for African Americans (and other persons of color).  It detailed the work done by various community groups to provide access to African Americans throughout the years and the current organizations currently taking up the mantle. It proved that access to information was (and is) so important in our society that under the threat of further violence, this community continued to push for their rights to know.

Our society has come a long way since then. I have always appreciated the space that the library took up for me as I grew into adulthood. This class reminded me of all the good that libraries have done, and for sure, the ways they are working to become equitable spaces for all. I learned the ways in which others have advocated for their community and how communication and community action are how it's done.