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As a research topic within the field of LIS, programs in public libraries are underexplored, and the question of user fees for programs has not previously been addressed.

This article compares data collected from two individually conducted studies of public library programs in North America and Denmark to enrich our understanding of user fees in relation to programs.

The comparative analysis shows both similarities and deviations regarding the levying of fees for library programs. While paying a fee to attend a program is rather normal in Denmark, it is more of a fringe idea in North America.

By exploring a previously understudied facet of contemporary public librarianship, this article opens up new avenues for inquiry regarding how the relative accessibility and availability of programs relate to theoretical discussions about programs as public library services.

This article provides library managers with needed information about how to conceptualize the roles of programs as public library services.

As programming surges to the fore in contemporary public librarianship, the levying of user fees has social implications in terms of social equity and the public library ethos of free and equal access for all.

This article is the first study of user fees for public library programs, as well as among the first cross-national comparisons of programming as a dimension of public librarianship.

This chapter presents a preliminary model that frames public library workers as the foundations of how public libraries help build and support sustainable communities in the twenty-first century, particularly in the United States, specifically in rural America. For public libraries to continue to be key partners in sustaining their communities, and in supporting the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is essential that public library work be valued, visible, and sustained over time. The UN defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Four studies of public library work during the COVID-19 pandemic found that public library workers are facing challenges in both meeting their own needs and meeting the needs of their communities. That finding led to a consideration of what is needed to place public library work at the center of sustainable thinking. Sustaining library workers will strengthen the library as a community hub, and help those workers in turn sustain community relationships necessary for the work of the library. These, in turn, will contribute to more sustainable communities.

Public librarians throughout North America now support physical activity. One sees this function in the emergence and diffusion of new programs and services, such as librarians checking out exercise equipment, as well as in librarians actually sponsoring exercise classes. This chapter focuses on understanding this type of work. The first part looks at five different frameworks – the library as place, community-led librarianship, whole person librarianship, community health, and recreation and leisure – that each in different ways enable one to understand how supporting physical activity could become part of the work of public librarians. Focus then shifts to understanding empirically how public librarians in the US and Canada enact and understand this work. Research shows that this role has become more integral and expected in youth services than in adult services. Library staff themselves are more likely to lead movement-based programs for youth than for adults. The discussion then shifts to the implications of this trend in terms of evidence-based practice and multidisciplinary discussions on how and why to increase physical activity throughout society. The conclusion suggests additional work needed to understand this and other poorly understood functions of public librarians.

What does the intersection of food gardening and public librarianship look like? This chapter examines the question through a close analysis of three case studies that represent the spread of this phenomenon in the United States and Canada. This is a first step toward identifying areas for further research that will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of how food gardening in and around public libraries addresses community-level health disparities. Although it is the case that food gardens and related programming are no strangers to public libraries, this topic has not received sustained attention in the LIS research literature. Public libraries have long been framed as key institutions in increasing consumer health literacy, but a more recent trend has seen them also framed as key institutions in promoting public and community health, particularly through the use of the public library space. This chapter examines food gardens at public libraries with this more expansive understanding of how public libraries address health disparities, by considering how this work occurs through novel partnerships and programs focused on transforming physical space in local communities. At the same time, public interest in food gardens parallels increased awareness of food in society; food and diet as key aspects of health; food justice activism; and a long history of community empowerment in the face of the proliferation of food deserts through myriad activities, including community food gardens. The authors consider how food gardening in public libraries parallels these trends.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public librarians were asked, and in some cases ordered, to support public health in unprecedented ways. This chapter explores how we got to this situation and how public libraries and library workers can proactively plan for better dynamics in our relationships with entities outside of the library. Based on two studies – (1) a survey of 895 library workers about their work experiences during the pandemic and (2) an interview-based study with 129 library workers and community partners on their experiences collaborating during the pandemic – this chapter focuses on the threats and opportunities associated with public libraries’ operations during periods of crisis and, in particular, one facet of success: The critical importance of library workers and library leaders being seen as active community partners, rather than as passive sites or hosts. The chapter concludes by discussing the work needed to position libraries and library workers as active, critical community partners, and supported as such at all levels – locally, nationally, and internationally.

This chapter introduces the focus of this volume – the many ways in which libraries and librarians are helping to increase people’s health literacy and reduce health disparities in their communities. The rampant and rapidly increasing health injustices that occur every day throughout the world are, in large part, caused and exacerbated by health information injustice – something which libraries and librarians are playing an instrumental role in addressing by ensuring the physical and intellectual accessibility of information for all. This chapter opens with an introduction to the central concepts of health justice and health information injustice, focusing on the many information-related factors that shape the degree to which individuals have the information they need to be able to have a sufficient and truly equitable chance to live a long and healthy life. Next, the authors present a timely case study to emphasize the importance of health information justice, looking at the dire importance of health literacy as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors then provide a brief glimpse into their 13 contributed chapters, grouped into five categories: (1) Public Libraries/Healthy Communities; (2) Health Information Assessment; (3) Overcoming Barriers to Health Information Access; (4) Serving Disadvantaged Populations; and (5) Health Information as a Communal Asset. In conclusion, the authors discuss their aims for this volume, particularly that readers will become more aware of librarians’ efforts to address health disparities in their communities and excited about participating in and expanding these efforts, moving us closer to health justice.