Dusty books, tall shelves, old ladies with glasses wearing cardigans and lots of shushing. That’s the antiquated image of a public library, one that the Butte County Library is trying to dispel.
Instead, the library wants you to think of it as a community hub.
“The quiet library is just about gone,” said Traci Mitchell, a librarian with Butte County Library. “[Libraries] evolved as organizations and the people who work there have also evolved.”
Mitchell said the image of libraries can be associated with library anxiety. It’s a phenomenon where people are afraid to come into public libraries.
“It's not the library of when I was a kid. It really is a community hub, and libraries offer so much. Libraries offer more than people even imagine.”Misty Wright, Director of Butte County Library
This can be triggered by the size of the library, where things are located and fear of asking for help, according to the UC Davis’s Center for Educational Effectiveness. It can also stem from a person’s self-perception of their own academic skills due to the library’s ties to education.
“During my library studies, it was one of the things that really struck me, because I've been visiting libraries since I was small and had never thought about the fact that somebody might be intimidated about walking in the door,” Mitchell said.
One way the Butte County Library is working to make the space more accessible to people is through something unexpected of librarians — talking.
“Library-ish”
Butte County launched a podcast called “Library-ish” last October. The idea came from a former librarian and Misty Wright, the county’s director of libraries. The focus was initially in Butte County’s history and folklore, as well as the local library's past.
“The name was just because it's a library, and it's everything kind of related to the library, but not always the library,” Wright said.
Mitchell is one of the co-hosts of the podcast alongside Assistant Librarian January McHenry. Mitchell said one of the draws of the podcast was to connect with people in the community in a comfortable way while also working in media production.
“It's really important that we educate people about libraries in general. A lot of people don't know what a library really does,” she said.
In the episode “What the Heck are Public Libraries!?,” Mitchell and McHenry detail what public libraries can provide without a library card. That includes WiFi, printing access and public computers.
For library card holders, libraries offer physical media to check out like books, DVDs and CDs. They can also check out and use audiobooks, streaming platforms and e-books. If a local branch does not have an item a person wants, the item can typically be transferred from other branches in the same system or libraries out of that system through Interlibrary Loans.
Essentially, they serve as a bank of information funded through taxpayer money.
“We have a right to information. Everybody … in the world has a right to access to information, and that's what the library provides,” Wright said.
So far, seven episodes of the podcast have come out. Each explores a different topic, ranging from detailing the county’s history to exploring different book genres.
The podcast provides the library staff with a direct link to the public, where they can showcase who they are as people behind the scenes.
Mitchell said that people usually are surprised to hear about the podcast.
“It seems like something that's uncharacteristic for a library to do, and there's a lot of talk about 21st century libraries, but this is really a 21st century activity,” Mitchell said.
Literacy in Butte County
However, as a “21st century” library, Butte County Library is addressing a problem that isn’t necessarily unique to modern times. Literacy rates in the county are low.
The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competency is a national survey of adult reading and writing skills. The most recent data from the survey shows that 20% of county residents are below a level one skill. That means they can only interact with basic texts.
Chelsea James is the library’s literacy manager. She says that people coming in for help need assistance in many areas.
“A lot of learners come to us because they want to apply for a job and they're not sure how to fill out an application online, or they want to pass their driver's test, and they struggle with reading the questions,” James said.
James said a lot of people coming into the library for help are retired and have more time to visit the library. But more younger people are using the services, including English language learners.
“The library is for everyone, and we want all of our community represented here,” James said.
The core of literacy services in the library is one-on-one tutoring. Volunteers from the community are trained to assist both native English and English as a second language (ESL) speakers in reading and writing.
English conversation groups also help people seeking ESL practice by listening and speaking in English. They are hosted at the Chico, Gridley and Oroville library branches.
“We're trying to go to areas in the community where we think people need our services the most and just provide a safe space where they can practice speaking English without feeling like they're going to be judged for making mistakes,” James said.
“The library is for everyone, and we want all of our community represented here."Chelsea James, Literacy Manager of Butte County Library
Adults who are looking to receive an accredited high school diploma or career certificate are also able to participate in the library’s Career Online High School. James said that the library can lend any devices needed for the program.
Programs designed for families and caregivers are also offered at the library.
“One of the main things that will make your child likely to struggle with literacy is if the parent struggles with it,” James said. “So we try to get caregivers confident with their literacy and confident teaching their children literacy skills.”
That includes the mobile library, or a bus stocked with books that travels to different preschools and community events. The program hosts storytimes, gives reading tips and hands out projects families can complete with their children.
Another family-based program is Butte County Dial-a-Story. It’s a phone number that people can call any time that reads stories over the phone. Each new monthly story featured is a book that can be checked out from a library branch.
“It's not the library of when I was a kid,” said Wright. “It really is a community hub, and libraries offer so much. Libraries offer more than people like even imagine.”
Mitchell said one thing she commonly hears about the library is that people believe that they might have to pay for certain services. However, the services are free to visitors with a library card.
“It's very difficult in this day and age to find somewhere that you can go and spend time and you're not charged. And the library is one of the last places left, if not the last place that we have where nothing is expected of you, there's no cover charge on the door, there's no fee to check out our items. We are just here for the community,” Mitchell said.
Butte County has library branches available in Biggs, Chico, Durham, Gridley, Oroville and Paradise.
