Tools for Global Equality: Symposium Focuses on Future of Libraries

French historian and political scientist Patrick Weil founded Libraries Without Borders in 2007 to address what he views as an urgent global undertaking.

“Libraries are the main tool for creating equality of opportunity,” says Weil, who is this year’s Global Leader in Residence at Smith. “Yet there are hundreds of millions of people around the world who have no access to books or the accumulated knowledge and skill of generations.

Now operating in more than 20 countries, Libraries Without Borders is helping to bring library resources to refugee communities and other vulnerable populations around the world.

Weil will share the work of his organization at a daylong symposium at Smith on Friday, Jan. 22, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Campus Center.

Sponsored by the Lewis Global Studies Center, the “Libraries for the Future: Networking Beyond Boundaries” gathering will take up the challenges libraries face in an increasingly interconnected world. Admission to the symposium is free, but registration is required.

Weil, who is a visiting professor and senior research scholar at Yale University Law School, will give the symposium’s keynote address. His talk will focus on the role of libraries in boosting economic development and civic engagement.

Other presenters at the symposium are:

• Dan Cohen, founding executive director of the Digital Public Library of America;
• Jessica Yurkofsky, principal and creative technologist at metaLAB Harvard, a design and teaching lab; and
• Stephanie Diakité, owner of d intl, a technical assistance firm that helps sustainable and cultural development investors in sub-Saharan Africa. (Diakité helped save library manuscripts that were threatened by extremist groups in Mali during that country’s recent political crisis.)

Weil and Janie Vanpée, Smith professor of French studies and faculty director of the Lewis Global Studies Center, will co-teach an Interterm class Tuesday, Jan. 19, through Thursday, Jan. 21, on “Libraries for the Future” that will culminate in the January 22 symposium.

The symposium and Weil’s residency are supported by the Elizabeth Mugar Eveillard ’69 Global Leader in Residence Fund.

Here’s a preview of some of Patrick Weil’s ideas about the future of libraries:

Why are libraries important to the world community?
“Studies have shown the lasting impact that libraries can have on development and reducing inequality. Libraries create a second home—a place where you can learn in freedom and feel that you are part of a community. Libraries also break down social barriers. They are a place where you will encounter citizens from every class and background. We hear stories again and again from people from poor and minority communities about how the library saved them and helped them out of poverty. Since information has become such a valuable resource, libraries have a powerful role in supporting lifelong learning and democracy.”

What future do books have in 21st-century libraries?
“In Africa, where Libraries Without Borders is currently implementing programs, we held a conference and had several days of conversation about whether we should give priority to giving people new technology resources or books. Someone said, ‘Imagine if we had a coup d’etat. You could end up with the Internet being gone in a second. But with books, you couldn’t eliminate them that quickly.’ In that situation, to sustain democracy, books are more important than e-books. The knowledge produced by previous generations is important to improving human society. We must keep the traces of what has been produced by those who came before us—and that means books.”

How is Libraries Without Borders helping to expand access to library resources?
“There are 15 million refugees around the world with no access to books or the Internet. That’s the situation we faced in the refugee camps. So we created the Ideas Box—a portable library and media center that contains the resources people need. Sometimes, existing libraries are impressive buildings and they can be intimidating or make people think they are not for them. With our project in the Bronx, we again used portable libraries to reach a new audience. We’ve also created an Internet system to improve book donation programs so that people can choose the books they want to receive. In that way, we are changing the relationship between the donors and communities receiving the resources.”

What do you envision as the future of libraries?
“In the future, we need a space where we can have access to learning resources 24 hours a day—and it should be via a room in a public library. In every city in the United States you have a library. The main investment has already been made. Preparing for the future doesn’t require much: Provide access to new technologies of knowledge, reorganize the space and provide new human resources to make it happen. Globally, libraries cost less than other programs, but international organizations are not funding them. We have people who have lost confidence in the future of libraries. I say it’s the opposite: The main tool for creating equality of opportunity is the library of the future.”

Libraries Without Borders' Ideas Box at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The box is a portable library kit the nonprofit is using to increase access to library services for vulnerable populations around the world.