MIS and Post #1

"No longer a passive repository of books and information or an outpost of culture, quiet and decorum ina noisy world, the new library is an active and responsive part of the community and an agent of change" (Better Together article, p.35).
I chose the above passage as my MIS because it illustrated the dynamic nature of the public library and how it actively interacts with the community. By understanding the dynamity of libraries, it is possible to understand how libraries can reflect the community, either by reinforcing socioeconomic differences, or in bridging the community together by offering serivces that appeal to all people in the community and reflecting the needs and culture of the particular area. Libraries can be powerful agents of change in the community when they encourage social capital by bringing people of different ethnic groups or classes together and welcoming diversity. Types and amounts of information and their availability all affect the success of the library in bridging the community. Seeing the public library as a dynamic influence in neighborhoods creates a need to understand how libraries can best reflect their communities, and how access to the information libraries provide affects the members of the community.