The Rhizome and Libraries
The Rhizome and Libraries
There are a variety of ways we can apply rhizomic thinking to libraries, including deciding how we define libraries, and how we think about the changes happening in libraries.
This week’s discussion of the rhizome really reminded me the D’Angelo article on postmodern consumer capitalism and the library. He discusses the influences postmodern consumer capitalism has on libraries, and critiques a number of trends that are changing the ways libraries function and the services they provide. Whether you accept D’Angelo’s theory about postmodern consumer capitalism or not, there are many ways rhizomic thinking can explain the changes happening in libraries. There are many factors contributing to the evolution of libraries, and none of these factors can be completely separated from the social structure it exists within.
Furthermore, a rhizomic way of thinking is relevant to the changes happening in libraries, because in some contexts the changes can be really beneficial, and in others they could completely detract from the library. Also, there are always pros and cons, making it even more challenging to call something objectively “good for libraries” or “bad for libraries.” An example of this is the privatization of the library workforce. This leads to more money to spend on programming and the collection, but lower paid employees and the staffing issues that accompany low pay/low loyalty positions. It could potentially work really well in some communities, and really poorly in others.
Another way we can apply rhizomic thinking is to the definition of what a library is. Ideas of what a library is are constantly evolving, and there are so many things that are considered libraries that don’t really meet the traditional mold. In this class, and others, we have discussed a number of additions to libraries, and new types of libraries that didn’t exist in that form before. For example, the addition of makerspaces to libraries is something new, and is one small change, influenced by a number of factors, that is changing conceptions of what a library is there for. Tool libraries are also something new, and don’t seem to fit the traditional idea of what a library is at all- there are no books, no children’s programs, etc.
Here’s a video about the Berkeley Tool Library:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSyulV00xuM
Also, consider the Little Free Libraries:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oky-KsrL6M
At the little free libraries, people can freely take a book or leave a book, there are no collections policies or membership requirements, and there is no physical space for people to use. Applying a binary way of thinking to libraries is risky, because there is so much flexibility in how we define libraries and what form libraries take.
Rhizomic thinking provides a much more understanding of libraries and librarianship, by allowing for a more complex analysis and understanding. Libraries are evolving, and binary thinking provides a framework that is too limiting and restrictive to provide a full understanding of the issues.
D’Angelo, Ed. “Postmodern Consumer Capitalism and the Public Library” in Barbarians at the Gate of the Public Library (2006): 113-120.
Deleuze, Gilles. “Postscript on the Societies of Control.” October 59 (1992): 3-7.
Sutton, Damien and David Martin-Jones “What is a Rhizome?” from Deleuze Reframed: A Guide for the Arts Student (2008)