Reimagining the Public Library to Reconnect the Community | Shamichael Hallman | TEDxMemphis

Some of my fondest memories as a child involved public libraries. As a introverted, highly sensitive kid, libraries were a safe space, a sanctuary. In libraries, I could always find a welcoming librarian who would help me find a great book or point me to the right reference material so I could finish a report. They also pointed me to some really, really great resources. One of the first books that I began to love as a child was a children's novel called Encyclopedia Brown, which told the exploits of a young boy detective. And I think one of the reasons why the book fascinated me so much, because it was the first time I'd ever met a white guy named Leroy. But libraries were such cool places, right? I mean, there was access to computers. There was access to other technology. There were lots of clubs and things that I could take a part of. And one of the amazing things were all the programs that were offered after school and on the weekends, things around arts, things around science, things around math. These programs provided a really valuable opportunity for me to meet people that I might otherwise never meet. And through these interactions, I could understand that the people who were a part of these programs, that we had a lot of things in common, that we had a lot of the same interests in common. I think that's one of the powers of public spaces, that it gives us the ability to interact and meet people that we might not meet. It's been long understood that social cohesion develops through repeated interactions, through shared experiences with each other. The way in which we learn about each other, the way in which we know about each other, the way that we feel about each other is often shaped by the experiences that we have together. Quite frankly, though, what we discover and what we see is that these interactions are not happening. We are, in fact, isolating ourselves, separating ourselves along almost every category. And I believe that it's time to change that. And I believe that social public spaces, our parks, our libraries, our community centers have a tremendous ability to do that. This work is deeply important to me. One of the reasons why is this. There are some moments that define you, some moments that just shape you, things that you just never forget. One of those moments came for me in the spring of 2019. I got to have a conversation with a woman named Grace. Grace, in the spring of 1960, took kind of a fateful trip to a library with a few friends and some college classmates. Story goes, and the reports show that when Grace and her friends got to this library, they were not rude, they were not rowdy, that they entered the library quite calmly, just looking to be served. However, immediately upon entering the library, the librarians there informed them of the segregation laws and called the police. Within a few moments of the police being called, Grace and her friends were arrested and placed in jail. A reporter came by the next day and asked the librarian why she had called the police on Grace and her friends. And the librarian's response was not that they were rude or loud or obnoxious, but the reason why the police were called was because Grace and her friends were Negroes. Wonder if we might sit with that for a minute. I'm in awe of that conversation because 57 years later, I became the manager of the branch in which that happened. And I remember looking Ms. Grace in the eyes and saying, Ms. Grace, if it had not been for what you did as an 18-year-old college student, I now as a black man couldn't manage this branch. And I made a commitment to Grace. I made a pact with Ms. Grace that as long as I was serving as the manager of that space, that we would do everything that we could to make that space as inclusive as possible. And here's how we're gonna do it. When you think about the word library, what word immediately comes to mind? I took an unofficial poll while I was doing an outreach event and some really interesting answers came, right? Some people said technology. Some people said computers. Most people said books. I think that's what most of us would say, right? But for the purpose of this talk, I'd like for us to exchange the word books for another word. Listen, I have nothing against books. There are probably 100 books in my house right now that every time I walk in the door, they look at me saying, read me, read me, read me. For the purpose of this conversation, I wonder if we might change the word books for the word bridge. There are two bridges in the city that get you across the mighty Mississippi and into the state of Arkansas. One of those bridges, the Harahan Bridge, has a couple of spaces for cars, a couple of spaces for trains, and then one space for pedestrian. And if you've never walked across that big river crossing, I would highly encourage you to do so. It's a wonderful trip to make. But each year, thousands of people, by foot, by bike, by scooter, take the trip across the Mississippi into Arkansas. And it takes them, they're able to see places and things that they otherwise never would see. And that's the beauty of bridges. I believe our public spaces in our parks, our libraries, our community centers, have the opportunity to serve as a bridge to introduce us to people that we might not otherwise see. In the spring of 2017, I assumed the managing role of Cossett Library. It is a historic library. It's the city's first library. So much history is in this library. And we began to think about what it would take to reimagine this historic branch. Much of this work is rooted in a national initiative called Reimagine the Civic Commons, which is a national project happening in many cities across the country that is focused on public spaces. And at the heart, we are asking ourselves, how might we look differently at public spaces in the way that we design them, in the way that we manage them, in the way that we program them, in the way that we maintain them? And some fascinating data is popping up all across the country. I spent some of these years traveling to different cities and trying to just learn as much as I can about libraries, how they function, how they operate. And what I'm discovering is that the story is kind of the same no matter where you are, whether it's Seattle or San Francisco, whether it's Chicago or Detroit, whether it's Philadelphia or Akron, or even in Africa where I've been able to see libraries in Kampala and Nairobi. The question is the same. The issue is the same. The libraries are realizing that they must make some pivots. Now, there are all types of people who come in libraries, people who come in to use the computer. There are people who are coming to get out of the elements. There are people who are coming for a story time program with their child. And the library must and continue to meet those needs. But the library should also begin to thinking about other ways that we can meet new needs that our community has. And I believe one of those most pressing needs is to provide a space where people from all walks of life, incomes, ethnicities can have a place to gather. We're doing this work now at Cossett Library. Thanks to the Reimagined Civic Commons grant, but thanks to some state and local grants. We're doing this as a team. So it's not just myself. We've got architects and designers. We've got city employees. We've got great volunteers who are downtown. We're kind of collaboratively doing this. And here's how this is gonna play out. So I want you to just kind of imagine when we walk with me. We're expected to reopen this branch in October of this year. Here's a little bit of what you'll see. As you walk down to 33 South Front Street, you will immediately notice that there are a variety of trees that offer a lot of shade. You will see various colorful plantings that invite you into the courtyard. Upon walking into the courtyard, you're gonna see a variety of comfortable seating. That is accessible to people of all ages and mobilities. To the left, you'll see a great piece of public art that'll show a nice mockingbird coming out of the ground. To the left of that, you'll see a wonderful green space where we'll have a variety of outdoor activities. Yoga, Tai Chi, outdoor readings. And it'll be a wonderful place just for you to hang out on a Saturday afternoon. Upon walking in the inside, as you look to the right, you'll see a cafe space. Yeah, we'll be putting a cafe in a library. What about that, right? That'll serve a variety of fresh seasonal food. From there, if you look to the left, you'll see a vibrant children's space filled with all types of books that we'll use to engage our children. And not just that, but there's also gonna be study rooms, private meeting spaces for you to be able to do your work and your study and your gathering. And we're doing that because of this. There's a tradition kind of in the libraries that when you walk in the library, you gotta kind of talk like this because, we want to shatter that. We want that the moment you walk into the library, that it's a welcoming space. And that when you see somebody you haven't seen in a while, a neighbor, a friend, a coworker, that it's okay to talk to them. As you walk up on the second floor, there's gonna be a variety of things that you're gonna see. To the right, you're gonna see a performing arts space, a flexible multi-use space that we'll be able to do dance classes and acting classes, film screenings, corporate gatherings, places for you and your business or your company to meet. And not just that, we're gonna have a coworking space because coworking is big in our economy, but we recognize that everyone doesn't have access to that. And so we're gonna have a space that has lockable storage and a space that has equipment for you to be able to get your business or your creative endeavor off the ground. And not just that, but we're gonna also add recording spaces, two recording spaces, one audio side, one video side. All you aspiring home musicians, we got a space for you. Come and record your project with us. Come and produce your next creative work with us. Because here's the thing, all of the equipment that you need, the laptops, the cameras, the camcorders, the microphones, the mixers, we'll have it all. Your library card gets you there. All of this creates a space. All of this creates a space, a vibrant community space, a vibrant technology space, a vibrant cultural space where we will be able to celebrate all that we are. And I hope that you will join us. Now listen, everything that I have told you thus far involves you consuming all the wonderful things that we have. But I believe if this is going to actually work the way I think it can work, it's gonna require two things of you. The first thing is that it will ask of you to contribute just as much as you consume. See, libraries are very kind of consumeristic, right? We go, we get our books, we leave. We go, we go to the program, we leave. We go, we use the computer, we leave. But I'm asking you to contribute to the fabric of the library. And that may look like you just bringing a friend when you come to the program. That might be you arriving a few minutes early to help set up or break down. That might be you calling the library and say, hey, I have a gift, I have a skill. I play the guitar, I know how to code. I know how to do taxes. I know how to set business skills up. And I would love to maybe once a month help the community with the skill that I have. See, when we do that, we're on to something. The second thing that it's gonna require, I think this is the most important thing, is for you to offer belonging instead of othering. Here's the thing that we've learned. If there's nothing else that we've learned from Casa, the history of Casa, is the danger that happens when one people group decides that another people group is not worthy of a public space. And so what I would ask of you, when you walk in this library and you see people who think a little bit different than you, and you see people who have a different religious belief than you, and you see people who have a different sexual orientation than you, and you see people who have a different worldview than you, that you would not other them, but you would invite them into a beautiful community where we all can gather, where we all can share, where we all can learn. Listen, y'all, we're doing something special in downtown Memphis with this library. It is a model for the nation to see. And I think what I'm most excited about is not that I'm leaving it, but that us together are gonna make it special. Thank you so much. Thank you.