An article in this week’s Sampan Newspaper looks at the Storefront Library in operation, and includes interviews with Library volunteer staff. Writer Kyle Chayka with reporters Ben Ross and Averi Becque spent several hours observing and interviewing, and their article offers a glimpse into the process of real-time evaluation and adjustment that have been central to project:
By discovering which hours work best, which materials are most often used, and what needs a neighborhood library can fulfill, the Storefront Library will collect data and solve problems fundamental to the founding of a permanent library in Chinatown.
There have been a few unexpected discoveries over the first month of the Storefront Library’s public life. The supply of books and the lack of full hours sparked the creation of a circulation system allowing patrons to take out books for a week at a time. “Not everyone has time to grab a book and read the whole thing while they’re here,†says volunteer Patrick Murphy, “and if it’s going to be a library then we should circulate!â€
Kyle Chayka and Ben Ross also sent over a selection of photographs taken in the space:
