1. “Do We Have A Sign That Says
'Weirdos Welcome?'”: Spaces of Access
and Control in Urban Libraries
Dan Greene
American Studies, University of Maryland
@greene_dm
dgreene1@umd.edu

2. Methods
• Regular interviews with 12 librarians
• Who received their MLSs from iSchools
• Fieldwork at DC public libraries

3. "We can't create a nation of information haves and have-nots.
The on-ramps to the information superhighway must be
accessible to all, and that will only happen if the
telecommunications industry is accessible to all." (Al Gore, 1994)

4. • 62.1% of library branches are the only free
computer access in their area
• 60.2% of libraries reported increased usage
of workstations over the previous year
• 31.7 % of urban public libraries reported
reduced hours in 2010-2011, 16.5% in 2011-
2012
John Carlo Bertot et al. "2011-2012
Public Library Funding and
Technology Access Survey.”

5. “Do We Have A Sign That Says
'Weirdos Welcome?'”: Spaces of Access
and Control in Urban Libraries
Dan Greene
American Studies, University of Maryland
@greene_dm
dgreene1@umd.edu

6. April's Secret Sticker System
gjgjg
• "Gold star If you manage to use the
library appropriately..."
• "Special snowflake if you really
think the rules don't apply to
you..."
• "And paint bucket for 'You're as dumb
as paint.' You're teachable, you're
just dumb."

7. "Two Ends of the [Digital] Chain Gang"

10. MCI "Anthem"
(1997)

12. • Library culture in informational capitalism
o iSchools
o customer service
o austerity overload
• Control
o permissions
o sleep
o porn

13. "The best reading
for the largest
number at the
least cost.”
(ALA founding motto,
1893)

14. "...public libraries could not have expected
at the turn of the millennium that their
roles in the provision of e-government
information, communication, and services
would rapidly expand as government
agencies increasingly offloaded
access responsibilities on public libraries,
often directing people to public
libraries for help."
- Jaeger and Bertot (2011)

16. "Man there was a stink like you would not believe. You're
going to eliminate 'libraries' first of all and then you're going
from service to science. Leaving the people out, that face-to-
face. Nothing wrong with theory, I love theory, but people
are somehow getting kicked out. Not long afterwards they
closed Wasserman library. Heartbreaking. Oh my God, very
heartbreaking. There was a big big stink about the person-to-
person service versus the cold, electronic seemingly end-all
approach that looked at face-to-face as kind of antiquated.
No!"
- Becca

18. "Public libraries prosper whenever the
country is experiencing economic
stringency."
- The maybe true,
maybe not "Librarian's Axiom"
(Stephen James, 1986)

23. "If you look at a nudie picture and you do it in a
way that other people don't have to see it, it
doesn't bother me...[I]f they don't have access to
a computer in another spot and it's an outlet, it
doesn't really bother me.”
- Rachel

24. “Do We Have A Sign That Says
'Weirdos Welcome?'”: Spaces of Access
and Control in Urban Libraries
Dan Greene
American Studies, University of Maryland
@greene_dm
dgreene1@umd.edu