PUBLIC / LIBRARY
SERVICE / MOBILE
BACKGROUND
The project start with an assigned project which mandated us to interview a role in our daily life. I chose to interview a librarian in San Francisco Public Library and found their work content was different from what I thought. Their work is increasingly focused on public service and meeting the needs of the community rather than just managing books. Through research, I discovered that the social service aspect of a library's function has become even more important after the pandemic. During a visit to the San Francisco public library, I witnessed firsthand how many homeless individuals come in as soon as the library opens. This experience motivated me to design a solution that would improve the library's social service abilities and better connect with the community.
Public libraries have always been democratic, serving a cross-section of the population. As these populations have shifted to include more of the disadvantaged population, libraries have become hubs for homeless people or even the equivalent of day shelters because they are public, often easily accessible, and free.
The trend toward providing social services in libraries began as early as during the Great Depression of the 1930s, libraries already began not only provided free entertainment, they also innovated programs that helped people connect to social services, find employment, and retrain.In response to the changing needs of patrons and communities, libraries are continuing to innovate ways to meet the varied psychosocial needs of patrons, including mental illness, homelessness, and physical health problems. In 2009, The San Francisco Public Library was the first library in the nation to employ a full-time staff member, a licensed marriage and family therapist, to provide services to persons experiencing homelessness.
So far, public libraries in San Francisco, Denver and more than 50 other cities have added full-time licensed social workers to their staffs to help patrons experiencing homelessness, mental illness or other issues.The library’s goal is to connect its homeless and indigent patrons to available community resources, where their basic needs for food, shelter, hygiene, and medical attention can be addressed.
SKETCHES
Based on research showing that libraries need to be more flexible and comprehensive to meet changing community needs, I designed the Library Service Mobile. Unlike traditional mobile libraries that only provide books, this van-sized mobile library is designed to provide a variety of services and spaces for communication.
The Library Service Mobile is divided into several sections, including books, tech resources, a communication area, and an on-site librarian to assist with specific issues.
The service mobiles will offer different functions, with librarians specialized in areas such as business and career, community, finance, education, and citizenship.
The map shows several library stops in the community, and each service mobile will stop at different locations on different days.
For example, the Finance Service Mobile will stop at one location on Monday and another on Tuesday, and so on.
In addition, the library service mobile can also be utilized for various events such as a painting event in the park, as shown in this rendered scenario.