Digital Libraries as Digital Third Place: Virtual Programming in the Age of Loneliness

Brick-and-mortar libraries are commonly cited as examples of “third places:” community building spaces outside of home and work which embody qualities of equity and access without placing demands upon those who use them. However, as libraries increasingly invest in digital services, can they continue to serve in that role through virtual programming? Amid what public health officials are currently referring to as a “loneliness epidemic,” with the highest self-reported rates of loneliness and social isolation measured since sociologists began tracking it in the 1970s, the community-building role of libraries is perhaps more essential than ever. While much has been written on libraries as third place, digital libraries and, to a lesser extent, digital third places, literature examining the possibility of digital libraries as digital third places is scant. By examining existing library efforts to address loneliness among their patrons, virtual library public health initiatives, and existing research on loneliness in the age of social media, this paper argues that digital third places can indeed serve the same community-building function as physical third places, given certain circumstances and intention of design. This paper also offers an identified list of features common to successful digital third places, as well as likely pitfalls which occur due to deficiencies in design and moderation and concludes with a list of suggestions for virtual library programming with third place in mind

PERAN GAWAI MOBILE DALAM MENDUKUNG LAYANAN INFORMASI PERPUSTAKAAN DIGITAL YANG TERPERSONALISASI

Personalized information service is an information service delivered by digital libraries so that users can only get information according to their needs online. This article is a conceptual study that examines the role of mobile devices as technology to support personalized information services from the aspects of user data collection and service delivery. Data obtained through literature review of scientific articles that have relevance to the main concept. The results showed that mobile devices have a role in sending data and accessing library services efficiently. As a two-way communication medium, mobile devices can send various forms of feedback to the library which eventually become data for further analysis. As for service access, mobile devices can support mobile applications so that there are several traditional services that can be accessed online anywhere and anytime. Not only data in the form of text, technological developments have been able to analyze data in other types, one of which is in the form of voice. The development of technology in the 4.0 industrial revolution has also become an aspect that encourages efficiency because it can bring about automation in the aspects of data collection and access to library services