“More than just a library”: Public libraries in the ‘smart city’

Leorke, Dale; Wyatt, Danielle; McQuire, Scott

doi:10.1016/j.ccs.2018.05.002

Cited by 57 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Robinson and Sheldon () have documented the social value of a library under threat of closure, whilst Mattern (, , ) has documented the multiple forms and ideas of what a library can be, from small microlibraries through to libraries becoming sites that might lend all sorts of things other than books. The importance of a library as a public facility raises questions around who should be involved in the design process and, just how public a library actually is, along with how libraries are valued and evaluated by those who fund them (Mattern, ; Mickiewicz, ; Leorke, Wyatt, & McQuire, ). What is striking is how dynamic the social space of libraries can be.…”

Section: The Spaces and Socialities Of Social Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Social infrastructure and the public life of cities: Studying urban sociality and public spaces

2019

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Libraries, laundrettes, and lidos. Pizzerias, plazas, and playgrounds. Sidewalks, swimming pools, and schools. These are just some of the kinds of spaces and facilities that contribute to the public life of cities. Drawing on the arguments of the sociologist Eric Klinenberg, this article develops the concept of “social infrastructure” as a way to research and value these kinds of spaces. Social infrastructure helps in recognising the public dimensions of often overlooked and undervalued spaces. It draws attention to the breadth, depth, and textures of sociality that can be afforded by different urban environments. In developing the concept of social infrastructure, this article pulls together four related strands of social scientific inquiry: work on infrastructure; publicness and public space; sociality and encounter; and the politics of provision. An infrastructural approach to the topic of public space presents geographers with some productive tools for understanding the public life of cities.

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Section: The Spaces and Socialities Of Social Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Social infrastructure and the public life of cities: Studying urban sociality and public spaces

2019

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“…The architecture of the pioneer public libraries retained traditional attributes of being "monumental", "palatial" 19 , while their function was upgraded with additional socialising and entertaining areas. 20 Early public library made a shift in library location preferences from "large urban centers" 21 to small towns, new central business districts or elite neighbourhood. 22 It was still positioned at a single prestigious location in the city, serving the entire community.…”

Section: Javna Knjižnica I Grad -Podrijetlo Priroda I Utjecajimentioning

confidence: 99%

Contemporary Research on the Spatial Relations between the Public Library and the City

Đorđević

Šćitaroci

2020

Prostor (Online)

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Public library has been taking active roles in the urban transformation strategies over the last twenty years. This paper researches origins and defines the public library and the city relation, systematizing those roles and strategies through literature review. The library and the city relation is confirmed as mutual and the public library is defined as the „place” in the city fabric in the accordance with its architectural attributes and location.

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“…Building on work by Bell [86], Pink et al [30] note that, "the work of coding data and writing algorithms promotes judgments about what data should speak to what other data". Exploring the evolving role of public libraries in smart cities, Leorke, Wyatt, and McQuire [87] point to the need for moving beyond traditional metrics (e.g., number of loans, etc.) to metrics for "non-book-borrowing users" or "visitors attending an author talk or lecture" or "attendees at iPad training" and the like as well as "attempts to capture the social and economic value of these kinds of activities".…”

Section: Performative Metricsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovating Metrics for Smarter, Responsive Cities

McKenna¹

2019

Data

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This paper explores the emerging and evolving landscape for metrics in smart cities in relation to big data challenges. Based on a review of the research literature, the problem of “synthetic quantitative indicators” along with concerns for “measuring urban realities” and “making metrics meaningful” are identified. In response, the purpose of this paper is to advance the need for innovating metrics for smarter, more interactive and responsive cities in addressing and mitigating algorithmic-related challenges on the one hand, and concerns associated with involving people more meaningfully on the other hand. As such, the constructs of awareness, learning, openness, and engagement are employed in this study. Using an exploratory case study approach, the research design for this work includes the use of multiple methods of data collection including survey and interviews. Employing a combination of content analysis for qualitative data and descriptive statistics for quantitative data, the main findings of this work support the need for rethinking and innovating metrics. As such, the main conclusion of this paper highlights the potential for developing new pathways and spaces for involving people more directly, knowingly, and meaningfully in addressing big and small data challenges for the innovating of urban metrics.

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“More than just a library”: Public libraries in the ‘smart city’

Cited by 57 publications

References 15 publications

Social infrastructure and the public life of cities: Studying urban sociality and public spaces

Social infrastructure and the public life of cities: Studying urban sociality and public spaces

Contemporary Research on the Spatial Relations between the Public Library and the City

Innovating Metrics for Smarter, Responsive Cities

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