Butts In the Seats: There was an article on the Arts Professional site urging care in the Arts Council of England’s initiative to increase investment in libraries over the next decade. The author of the piece, Hassan Vawda, expresses concerns that attempts to revitalize libraries using arts may unintentionally damage all the beneficial elements of the library environment.
2 comments:
I used to spend a lot of my time in libraries. It has the benefits of avoiding the distractions of home without having to deal with the noise and crowd of many coffee shops. I find it calming to be surrounded by so many books that I can browse through when I need a mental break from homework. Personally, I really enjoyed going to events that my local library held, but I don't think they fall into the same category as those brought up by this article. As a kid I would go to storytime, and as I got older I went to writing workshops and book readings. I don't think these events are considered "trendy" per se, but they definitely count as art and culture. The fact that more diversity is present in the groups in libraries should not deter a larger quantity and variety of events to be brought in. Especially because this may be referring to percentages and not amounts, and from what I have seen there could always be more people at a library.
I grew up going to the public library with my mother every weekend. One of the closest friends of mine, who I grew up with, and I first met at the library during the storytelling session. We were both two or three years old, and our mothers got along together. The library is a very interesting community. It is open to anyone, it is more accessible than public museums or other public art facilities, yet there is uniform and neat atmosphere that enables people to feel safe and sophisticated. While many art organizations discuss how to include people from diverse backgrounds, the Art Council of England is trying to approach the problem from a different perspective. How they are adopting a new way of thinking –approaching the community that is already relatively diverse rather than forcefully adding diversity to an existing community– shows the importance being flexible in reaching goals, in this case, diversity in arts participation.
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