Introduction 

There are many different types of organizational settings in which information professionals practice and as remote work becomes more prevalent and technology expands these settings will as well. The main information environments established as of today are: public libraries, K-12 school libraries, academic libraries, and special libraries which can include archives, museums, corporate, and correctional facilities. While all of these settings provide an information service, the clientele, funding and ultimate mission of each varies greatly. 

Statement of competency

It is important to understand these wide and varying information environments to best understand the depth and breadth of information practices and the variety of services and people served. Many different courses at SJSU prepared my understanding of this competency, and I have chosen the following five pieces of evidence. In INFO 204 I was a team leader for a group project where we did an organizational analysis of the Highlander Research and Education Center which included a PESTEL and SWOT while exploring their funding, mission and unique setting and clientele in the Appalachian countryside. Secondly, my internship with the National Parks Golden Gate Museum Archive Program focused on a completely different kind of information service. It served a wider more diverse target audience, as a government funded organization with nationally followed best practices and procedures in place for daily operations. In INFO 287 the Hyperlinked Library I studied hyperlinked environments and innovative learning models of public libraries in non-traditional environments which I reflected on in a blog post on librarian’s roles in different learning environments. In INFO 210 I compared different reference services in multiple library environments with RUSA guideline criteria to evaluate their service models. Finally, working for Dr. Loertscher of SJSU’s School of Information, I recorded all his interviews with teacher librarians from all over the nation over the last year. I observed first hand the diverse profound impact teacher librarians have on their communities. My work with Dr. Loertscher has broadened my understanding of that world. The knowledge gleaned from these four pieces of evidence can transfer to future work environments as it deepened my understanding of how different information organizations work, and how important it is to identify the main clientele and mission of each organization.  

Theory

Public Libraries

Often the most well known of all information organizations is the public library: a symbol of democracy, defender of the First Amendment rights and an anchor and connector for its people. These libraries are entities established by the state or nation under government laws, usually receiving tax or government funds, with a clientele of every single member of their local citizenry (ALA CPLA, 2008). Public libraries usually have buildings that are set aside by the community for the community and their clientele serves all socioeconomic backgrounds and does not discriminate on any standing including: religion, age, race, sexual orientation, or political standing. As such, public Libraries are trusted, non-biased user centered institutions with a range of public benefits (Crawford Barniskis, 2016). Often public libraries are centers of lifelong learning, and act to break down inequitable barriers to information by providing free resources and collections for their people (Smith, 2018). Since the technology revolution, public libraries have acted as centers to encourage innovation, entrepreneurialism and collective creativity in makerspaces, a place to develop and refine twenty first century skills and access technology. For many users public libraries are a place to promote equality and digital equity, while also sharing cultural heritage. They can be a place for political debate, public participation and add social meaning to the lives they serve (Audunson et al., 2019). This information organization is an environment that will look different depending on the community it serves, its identity is informed by the collective, but its mission is universally one of equity, access, stewardship and recreation for all (Fraser-Arnott, 2022). 

K-12 School Libraries 

K-12 School libraries have been a battleground for political debate for decades, and often appear in news articles to bolster political persuasions, but at its heart, school libraries serve students and student information literacy needs in the fast paced ever evolving education landscape. Often referred to as media centers, these school libraries provide fundamental services to all primary and secondary school students and the faculty who teach them. Their resources are those that will support learning outcomes, engage inquiry and literacy practices and bolster core curriculum. The ultimate mission of school libraries is to assist students in developing digital literacies, modeling information literacy in inquiry based learning models, promoting reading and learning-commons and providing additional resources to model lifelong learning (Harlan, 2018). Funding for these institutions varies depending on if it is a private or public school, but their mission remains steadfast as a place to support lifelong learning in all students (AASL, 2019). 

Academic Libraries 

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Academic libraries are “associated with a degree-granting institution of higher education, identified by the post-secondary institution of which they are a part (ALA, 2009).” The services academic libraries provide mirrors that of K-12 school libraries in that they serve students, but also faculty and ongoing research for undergraduates and graduate programs remote and on-campus in a higher education environment (Gilman, 2018). Depending on the university, some librarians will be on a faculty tract, while others are considered part of the institution’s staff. The funding for these institutions often comes from tuition of the students, and in some states like California, from government funds as well. Research is a big function of this information organization, along with information and technology literacy instruction and service (Gilman, 2018).  

Special, Archives, Museum, & Corporate

The definition of special libraries is “those information organizations sponsored by private companies, government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, or professional associations.” As established in 1999 by Mount and Massoud in their book Special Libraries and Information Centers. This can include subject specific libraries such as: music, law, medicine, and places like museums or corporate facilities. However, when the definition of a library becomes too broad you may end up with storage facilities misusing the term library when really they are more of a storage facility which can lead to disagreements (Crumpton & Porter-Fyke, 2016). Bieraum (2000) in her book Museum Librarianship gave four key components to define a special library: “1. An organized, accessible collection; 2. A dedicated space within its organization; 3. Information services actively provided to the libraries community; 4. At least one staff member in charge of overseeing the library’s functions (p.8).” With a wide and varied end-clientele, funding and mission statements will be as unique as each individual organization (Crumpton & Porter-Fyke, 2016). At the very least, these special libraries provide services and resources for parent organizations, serving very specific end users, with subject-specific knowledge (Megaridis, 2018). 

Correctional Facilities 

Most correctional facilities in the United States have a library, but there is a lot of variation in how it is embedded within the institution. Correctional facility libraries’ mission has changed dramatically from one of “Moral and religious education in the 17th century to one of recreation, indirect education and promotion of mental health in the 1970’s (Rosen, 2020). Today the conversation of these information institutions is one of promoting access to information as a human right while supporting rehabilitation programs, education, self directed recreation, legal information, and vocational skills. Outcomes of prison libraries focus on their specific clientele, the inmates, and include improved information and literacy skills, self empowerment and motivation to reduce recidivism rates and promote successful reentry of these people. This information environment is one that often has less empirical evidence and more speculation as there are so many variables at play in the clientele, funding, and environment of the correctional facility itself, therefore making both quantitative and qualitative data gathering difficult. User needs in this information community also might vary depending on the kind of prison, but the mission to serve all inmates with the human right to information remains consistent (Rosen, 2020).

Conclusion

All information centers serve their target audience and adapt and grow along with the needs of their communities and utilize their mission and vision as guiding lights for service models. While funding sources vary, and clientele can be specific or very diverse, in the end these institutions provide information for people who need it and are important to their respective communities. To remain relevant in an ever widening information world, information centers will have to continue their adaptation and flexibility to continue to meet needs as they arise. I have done many different jobs in my life, but this is the first time I have felt a sense of belonging and a calling. I love the world of information, and the act of serving a community is something I am excited to do. 

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