typo(s), tendency and text

A colleague of mine mentioned Plone in a meeting about the on-going project I recently blogged about. He introduced me to Plinkit, a project started in the USA, where small libraries are provided with a Plone-based CMS to suit their web publishing needs. So far it seems to me, that some problems are being solved by that:

• They can easily publish.
• They can integrate a search form of their catalogue into their site.

I have visited some of the sites, and it seemed to me, that there were still some problems remaining, which come naturally to small libraries and which are caused by small money and time budgets:

• Boring default designs
• Few updates
• Few information about the specialties of the libraries.

The last point seems the most important one: Local libraries need stronger profiles. They need to advertise their knowledge and their profound and demanded specialties, be it local history and archives, good knowlegde of local artists and writers - or the like. To stay an important focus point in small local communities, they are most likely toexist further if they develop to an important meeting point and work space for locals who have special information needs. I would like to give some examples. Does your area have:

• Strong tradition of handicrafts? Let the local people get together in the course room of your library, advertise it and let everybody know about it. Ask the group, if they have suggestions for very important learning media about what they are doing. Support them with information about what others do. Take pictures and blog about it on your site. This could be worth a podcast.
• Different groups who like to read books and discuss? Stay in touch and get them what they need. Advertise there meetings at your library. Let them have a closed or open wiki on your site.
• Writers? Let them gather. Let them write. Let them read with the public. Establish a demo place, where people can display their work and check it out from the library. (As done in the Bergen public library in Bergen, Norway. The site is in Norwegian, but you can see a picture here.)

Okay, I could go on and on with this. I think you got the main point. The library could and should evolve from a place where you only gather written knowledge on dead trees on shelves. And develop itself to a place where you gather people to make knowledge while using it. Libraries have a tradition in this, it is not a new thing. But it becomes vital to the existence of libraries - and especially small local libraries - to focus on this kind of service. Or rather than service: This kind of knowledge cooperatives.

Looking at some of the plinkit libraries only made me think. I haven't been looking into plinkit too much, which I will do further on. Until then I'd really like to hear your thoughts. Please comment.