{"id":8916,"date":"2026-03-22T16:21:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T20:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acohen.com\/blog\/?p=8916"},"modified":"2026-03-22T16:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T20:38:13","slug":"library-systems-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acohen.com\/blog\/library-systems-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Library Systems Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why We Invest in Libraries<\/h1>\n

Every great library contains a paradox. It is simultaneously a collection of materials in the community and a platform for what it will discover. Systems thinking includes the catalog, the collection, the quiet carrels, and many different spaces and services a library offers.\u00a0 Each service element exists in relationship to the others, and to the institution and community it serves. The question facing community leaders: mayors, county, executives, presidents, provosts, and library directors today is not whether to invest in libraries. It is how to think about that investment with sufficient clarity and ambition to make it count.<\/p>\n

That question requires systems thinking…\"systems<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

From Library Technology to the Library of Things<\/h2>\n

The librarians who worked the card catalogs understood something essential: the value of a library is not located in any single card. It is the collection of shared knowledge and access to it. Shared cataloging systems gave libraries access to a far larger collection, making research even better. Interlibrary loan networks multiplied the reach of modest budgets. Discovery layers made the invisible visible.\u00a0 The development of Library Technology and the Library of Things required systems thinkers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Today, we need to be system thinkers.\u00a0 Life has grown more complex as we simplify our interfaces with apps and technology. Collections now span print volumes, e-book subscription packages, streaming media, data sets, maker equipment, and what librarians have begun calling the library of things.\u00a0 These are circulating objects that range from scientific instruments to seed libraries to virtual reality headsets. Each format carries its own acquisition logic, its own preservation requirements, its own demand curve. The question of what belongs in a library collection is no longer self-evident, and that is precisely why collection development policy needs a north star.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Defining the North Star<\/h2>\n

When we ask community leaders to think big about libraries, the answers converge on a few interesting themes: education & success, access & productivity, and institutional & cultural identity. These are not abstract concepts. They are measurable behaviors that have outcomes, and they provide the framework for collection development.<\/p>\n

A north star for libraries might be stated simply: the library exists to reduce the friction between a user and the knowledge they need, at every stage of their independent and intellectual life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Planning, Programming, Phasing, and Budgeting<\/h2>\n

Systems thinking becomes operational through the planning process. A library master plan that includes a programmatic framework: a clear articulation of the spaces, services, collections, and staff required to fulfill the library’s mission \u2014 is part of the plan. It helps define the vision.<\/p>\n

The programming process begins with three variables that Aaron Cohen Associates has applied across more than fifty years of library consulting:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. seating<\/li>\n
  2. collections<\/li>\n
  3. staff<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These three elements define the capacity and service level of any library. They are the inputs from which space requirements, budget projections, and phasing strategies are derived.<\/p>\n

    What Public Leaders Said<\/h2>\n

    When community leaders are invited to think about their local library’s potential, they consistently return to the question: how can I make a library that is a community center and learning space? Not a warehouse for books. Not a study hall for teens, but a community center.<\/p>\n