Joint-Use Libraries: Thinking Out of the Box

In a sense, the joint use of libraries by dif ferent types of patrons is not new. Since their beginning, public libraries have been serving all community constituents. Li braries serving both schools and the pub lic have been with us for decades. These endeavors have generally been straight forward in nature and meaning. In recent years, “joint-use libraries” have taken on a different meaning and a higher level of complexity. This is par ticularly true for the joint-use facilities serving academic and public constitu ents. Examples of one library serving both an academic institution and a pub lic constituency include the Point Park College and the Carnegie Public Library, in Pittsburgh; San Jose State University and the City of San Jose (California); and the Nova Southeastern University and Broward County (Florida) Public Li brary. It is uncommon to find any two joint-use libraries that are identical in the way they operate. For instance, the Point Park College–Carnegie Public Li brary serves a private college and a pub lic library. Point Park College provides the library space and the Carnegie Pub lic Library manages the facility (e.g., staffing, processing of materials). The San Jose State University–City of San Jose are two public entities dependent on funding from the public trough; the joint facility, when built, will have a single technological infrastructure. Nova Southeastern University is a large private university located in the central part of Broward County. Broward County is providing funds to cover 50 percent of the construction costs of the joint-use library (to be built on the NSU campus) and 40 percent of the annual operating expenses of the shared facility. Nova South eastern University will be in charge of the facility, and the staff employed by the funds provided by Broward County will become employees of the univer sity. These are only three examples of academic–public joint-use libraries, and they are not intended to be inclusive.