Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS. Community Analysis: Wheaton Public Library Sarah Breslaw Towson University

Transcription

1 Running head: 1 Community Analysis: Wheaton Public Library Sarah Breslaw Towson University

2 2 Community Analysis Wheaton Public Library The Wheaton library, also known as Wheaton Regional Library, is located at Georgia Avenue, Wheaton, MD, The library is at the intersection of Arcola Avenue and Georgia Avenue. Due to the current construction of the Silver Spring Public Library, this location serves the surrounding neighborhood, and patrons that are located close to downtown Silver Spring (Shay, 2014). The communities that surround the library include Kemp Mill, Wheaton and Glenmont (a map of this area is included in appendix A). These areas are known for their diverse populations and proximity to the nation s capital. All of these neighborhoods are located on the red-line of the metro rail system (A map of the metro rail is included in Appendix B), and located just north of Washington, D.C. According to the United States Census Bureau Wheaton s percentage of foreign born parents reported is 44.3% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Also according to the Census, 59.5% of Wheaton s population speaks a language other than English at home (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Wheaton s reported demographic make-up: 42.2% White, 18.6% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 12.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 5.2% two or more races, and 41.7% Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Kemp Mill, Silver Spring and Glenmont report similar figures; each racial group is represented, with higher figures reported in the White, Hispanic/Latino and Black or African American classifications, and lower numbers were indicated for Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander and two or more races. The only exception is Kemp Mill does not report any Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population in their community. The median household income of Wheaton is $73,414 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The majority of Wheaton residents (74.4%) have a high school diploma, and 33.5% have a bachelors, or higher degree (U.S. Census

3 3 Bureau, 2010). The Wheaton region is 6.9 square miles and incorporates Wheaton Regional Park, and Brookside Gardens, an award-winning 50-acre public display garden. Wheaton, Kemp Mill, Silver Spring and Glenmont are located in Montgomery County, which is square miles (U. S. Census Bureau, 2010). The images below illustrate the location and floor plan of the library: Wheaton Public Library Source: Montgomery County Division of Building Design & Construction. (2014). Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center. Retrieved from:

4 4 Wheaton Library Floor Plan

5 5 In order to get a thorough understanding of the library services, accommodations and collection, I first spoke with an information librarian. She quickly pointed at different sections of the library and gave me some information about the popular items, and why patrons might need certain information. Then, she re-adjusted her monitor to show me the vast amount of resources that are now available online. She explained that a lot of people enjoy being able to look-up information before coming to the library. They search for materials, put books on hold, or find the date and time of an event. Sometimes, they can enjoy access to what they need from the library from their home computer or cell phone; users can download articles or utilize some of the free tools, including language courses. After this conversation, I started to browse through the physical collection and space. I noticed signs that described each collection in the area below, and Dewey decimal classification signs between each non-fiction stack to help people navigate to their topic of interest. In the library, I also looked through all the features available on the home page of the Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) website. I found a lot of information that enhance my understanding of the true size and depth of the library s resources. The mission of Wheaton Regional library and all MCPL is stated on their website: Our mission: Montgomery County Public Libraries offers free and equal access to services and resources that connect the people of Montgomery County to ideas and information which sustain and enrich their lives (Montgomery County Public Libraries, 2014). As one of the busiest libraries in Montgomery County, Wheaton Library serves a diverse clientele (Shay, 2014). According to the information librarian, children of all ages, senior citizens, care givers and adults come to the library regularly. She also mentioned that adults mainly came to utilize the

6 6 computers, while children and young adults were routine visitors for homework help, research, and viewing the book and DVD collections. While browsing the collection in the children s section, I noticed a number of books written in Spanish and English, being displayed. I thought this was a great resource for the Hispanic/Latino population in the area, who may or may not speak English at home. In addition to the traditional sections of the library: adult fiction, non-fiction, biography, teen literature, children s, audio books, large-print, newspapers and magazines, I also noticed a Language Learning section. It had numerous books on learning English and learning other languages. For a diverse population, where a large number of residents speak another language at home, or have parents from a foreign country, this collection truly serves the population. The librarian also communicated that among the popular online features, are language learning tools. The tools include children s audio books in different languages, interactive language learning games for children, and online language courses in over 50 languages. The world languages tool on the MCPL website also shows patrons which materials they have available in print that is written in different languages (Montgomery County Public Libraries, 2014). Under this tab, users simply look for their language, and a list of all the MCPL libraries that have materials in that language is listed (Montgomery County Public Libraries, 2014). Other popular online tools include databases and the library catalog. The vast research section of the MCPL homepage includes information on a wide-variety of topics, as listed on their website, these topics include: Articles, automobiles, biography, business, citizenship, computer & technology, consumer information, education & testing, encyclopedias, dictionaries & directories, genealogy, government, health, history & current events, investing & personal finance, job hunting & careers, language learning, laws, maps, non-profits & charities, reading &

7 7 literature and science (Montgomery County Public Libraries, 2014). Under articles, there are several databases available, including National Newspapers Premier from ProQuest. This database allows users to search through the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and twenty-four other newspapers for information (Montgomery County Public Libraries, 2014). For younger patrons, the Gale Kids Infobits database can be used; this was made for children in kindergarten- 5 th grade, and includes articles from kid s magazines and reference books (Montgomery County Public Libraries, 2014). For those looking for information from another perspective, the World Book Online database has newspaper articles from around the world (Montgomery County Public Libraries, 2014). One criticism of Wheaton Regional library is the age of the facility, computers and technology (Shay, 2014). There are a limited number of computers, and not all of them were operable during my visit. Furthermore, some patrons have identified that the technology on the computer is out of date, and they are limited in the capabilities they have using the library computers (Shay, 2014). The library itself was constructed in 1965, and was remodeled in the 1980 s. Recently, the Montgomery County Council approved a plan to build a new library (Montgomery County Division of Building Design & Construction, 2014). Wheaton Library s circulating collection is located on the 2 nd floor of the building. The first floor is largely a meeting space, a used bookstore, and a space for The Gilchrist Center, a non-profit organization. Patrons on wheelchairs can gain access to the library by using automated doors and an elevator to the second floor. The floor plan allows for spacious access to all materials. Large print books, audiobooks on CD, closed captioned DVDs and downloadable e- books and audiobooks are also available in the library collection. Braille books, described videos or movies that have an added narrative to describe the action and sign language videos are

8 8 available at Rockville Library, but available to Wheaton library-goers if they request these materials online or if they get assistance with this process at Wheaton library s circulation desk (Montgomery County Public Libraries, 2014). During my conversation with the librarian I gained a lot of helpful information, and I also got to witness the librarian in action. Since I prefaced my questions with my purpose and let her know I would have several questions, she let me know that she may need to tend to other patrons throughout our conversation, and she did. She took two phone calls, pointed someone to the crafts section and advised them regarding the Dewey decimal number to look under, she helped a woman looking for the date and time of an event next week, and she helped someone find all the Robin Hood children s books she could find in their collection. I appreciated the welcome feeling and helpfulness the librarian expressed. And the welcome feeling was apparent in the library; people looked very comfortable as they browsed for materials, were seated reading and studying, or were enjoying access to the internet at the computer station. According to the Montgomery County website, Wheaton library is due to be remodeled, and is currently in the Schematic Design phase (Montgomery County Division of Building Design & Construction, 2014). I look forward to attending the meeting and hearing input from the community regarding improvements to enhance the collection and access for patrons.

9 9 References: Montgomery County Division of Building Design & Construction. (2014). Wheaton library and community recreation center. Retrieved from: Shay, K. J. (2014, June 23). New Wheaton library-rec center designated as special capital project. Montgomery County Gazette. Retrieved from: United States Census Bureau. (2010). Wheaton CDP quick facts from the U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from Montgomery County Public Libraries - Homepage. (2014). Retrieved from:

10 10 Appendix A Wheaton Regional Library and the Surrounding Area

11 11 Appendix B Metro Rail Map Glenmont, Wheaton and Silver Spring have metro stations on the red line, providing easy access to D.C. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. (2014) Map. Retrieved from: