Are libraries finished?

[neb52]

My metro area has two dominant cities with a dozen very large suburbs, plus many more suburbs. That makes for way to many separate library systems. I think they need to not only shift the libraries to a private/public partnership, but also consolidate library systems, perhaps on a county level. Charging a yearly user fee maybe necessary as well.

[Lirael]

I guess the question is, what makes a library?

The library where I used to work was three stories tall with bookshelves filling every floor. The computers there could only be used to search the library catalog.

The library where I am now has a good selection of books, but it has a room dedicated to internet use and holds classes, community meetings, and employment workshops.

The library in my hometown is one small room filled with computers and DVDs, with a shelf of books that no one reads tucked away in a dusty corner.

I don't think libraries are dead, but I do believe that they're moving towards a combination of the last two models instead of the first. I think in the future we'll probably see a lot fewer books in libraries, and a lot more A/V and community workshop type stuff. Is it still a library if it has no books? I don't know.

As a child I spent pretty much every moment of my spare time wandering the bookshelves, back when the library was focused on books and the idea of public internet access was a far-off distant dream, but I personally wouldn't mind them downsizing their collection of paper books as long as they had an extensive e-collection. Then again I have a computer and thus a means of accessing it. Many people don't.

[tubemonkey]

Besides libraries, city/county parks also provide community services and schools often provide meeting space for numerous groups and activities.

Local government should get these entities together and pool their resources to better utilize dwindling funds and maximize the services they provide for the public.

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

... That space does not need to be called a library ... What exactly is a library?

I see no reason why public libraries should not continue being called libraries. It would be absurd if the name was changed, each time a new technology for accessing stores of information was developed. I think of libraries as being collections of information, and places where people can access information in a variety of different ways, freely. Whether they contain scrolls and books, like the ancient Library of Alexandria, or p-books and e-books, periodicals, photographs, microfilm, films, music recordings, patents, software, and devices for accessing other information stores such as the Internet - or any other system for storing and accessing knowledge bases - is irrelevant, for it's missing the point. It's not about the technology used to store, access or deliver collections of information, rather its about the collections themselves.

Originally Posted by neb52

... I think they need to not only shift the libraries to a private/public partnership ...

I deplore the idea of privatising public libraries.

Originally Posted by Lirael

... The library in my hometown is one small room filled with computers and DVDs, with a shelf of books that no one reads tucked away in a dusty corner ...

And there was a time when woodblock printing was cutting-edge technology. Computers, DVDs, paper books, and so on, are just means of storing, accessing and delivering information. Libraries are much more than that.

[thaigreg]

Now living overseas I don't have access to the libraries like I did living in the US. I miss browsing the shelves for the next great adventure in reading. I do hope they don't go away so that someone else can experience their next great adventure.

Greg

[tubemonkey]

Tough times ahead. Should Santa Cruz offer quality services at fewer libraries or sub-standard services at all libraries?

Library leaders want to write a new chapter on how to fix the city-county system's financial mess, preferably one in which the denouement isn't shuttering any of the 10 branches.

The nine-member Joint Powers Board of the city-county library system, divided over how to handle a five-year projected $6 million budget shortfall due to uncertain revenue and rising labor costs, on Monday shunned the four service models proposed for streamlining staff, materials costs and other operating expenses.

The board pulled back from the service models, labeled A-D, after hearing numerous pleas from the community to preserve the small neighborhood branches - Felton, Branciforte, Garfield Park and La Selva Beach, which faced closure under Model D.

[tubemonkey]

Adult literacy programs face elimination under proposed budget cuts in California.

Funding for library programs that teach adults how to read would be cut if budget reductions proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown are approved, area library officials said.

Under Brown's proposal, the state no longer would fund library programs in which volunteers teach adults who need help with reading. That cut, plus other reductions in library funding, is part of Brown's stark budget plan for California, which would eliminate $30.4 million in state money for libraries.

[amo]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

eBooks here are also provided by OverDrive. You don't even need a library system to provide this service.

OverDrive is where we get our library e-books from hereabouts. BC Libraries are subscribed to OverDrive, and we access it through our library cards. Do you mean to say that where you are, you're getting OverDrive access for free, or you're subscribed on your own?

[amo]

Originally Posted by Lirael

I guess the question is, what makes a library?

The library where I used to work was three stories tall with bookshelves filling every floor. The computers there could only be used to search the library catalog.

The library where I am now has a good selection of books, but it has a room dedicated to internet use and holds classes, community meetings, and employment workshops.

The library in my hometown is one small room filled with computers and DVDs, with a shelf of books that no one reads tucked away in a dusty corner.

I don't think libraries are dead, but I do believe that they're moving towards a combination of the last two models instead of the first. I think in the future we'll probably see a lot fewer books in libraries, and a lot more A/V and community workshop type stuff. Is it still a library if it has no books? I don't know.

As a child I spent pretty much every moment of my spare time wandering the bookshelves, back when the library was focused on books and the idea of public internet access was a far-off distant dream, but I personally wouldn't mind them downsizing their collection of paper books as long as they had an extensive e-collection. Then again I have a computer and thus a means of accessing it. Many people don't.

Well said, all of it.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by amo

OverDrive is where we get our library e-books from hereabouts. BC Libraries are subscribed to OverDrive, and we access it through our library cards. Do you mean to say that where you are, you're getting OverDrive access for free, or you're subscribed on your own?

The overwhelming majority of libraries that offer ebooks, do so through OverDrive. I'm just south of you in Seattle and I get OverDrive through my library.

What I was hinting at is that you don't need an official library to provide ebook services. Local government could bypass libraries altogether and subscribe to OverDrive through any of their other agencies. For that matter, schools could also do it and so can private businesses.

[tubemonkey]

More and more library systems are getting together and forming consortiums in order to pool their resources for larger OverDrive offerings.

Another possible approach is to have the state provide ebook services, instead of individual libraries. That way, they could provide a larger selection. Additionally, they might also have two levels: a basic one available free for all residents of the state, and a premium level for a fee that could offer an even larger selection and a minimal or no wait list for popular books.

[amo]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

More and more library systems are getting together and forming consortiums in order to pool their resources for larger OverDrive offerings.

Another possible approach is to have the state provide ebook services, instead of individual libraries. That way, they could provide a larger selection. Additionally, they might also have two levels: a basic one available free for all residents of the state, and a premium level for a fee that could offer an even larger selection and a minimal or no wait list for popular books.

That's what BC Libraries are doing. They're all subscribed to OverDrive together; there's no "individual libraries providing ebook services". But the funding still comes from the tax dollars at the municipal level (which is how libraries in Canada are funded), tax dollars that are earmarked for library services. Your proposed solution is already being implemented here, except we still call it "library".

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by amo

That's what BC Libraries are doing. They're all subscribed to OverDrive together; there's no "individual libraries providing ebook services". But the funding still comes from the tax dollars at the municipal level (which is how libraries in Canada are funded), tax dollars that are earmarked for library services. Your proposed solution is already being implemented here, except we still call it "library".

That's cool. The US is really big on decentralizing services. Sometimes centralization has its advantages.

[SeaBookGuy]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

More and more library systems are getting together and forming consortiums in order to pool their resources for larger OverDrive offerings.

Another possible approach is to have the state provide ebook services, instead of individual libraries. That way, they could provide a larger selection. Additionally, they might also have two levels: a basic one available free for all residents of the state, and a premium level for a fee that could offer an even larger selection and a minimal or no wait list for popular books.

Meanwhile, King County specifically prohibits Seattle residents from accessing their Overdrive books
as part of a longterm "imbalance" issue (KCLS patrons can access Seattle's offerings).

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

Meanwhile, King County specifically prohibits Seattle residents from accessing their Overdrive books
as part of a longterm "imbalance" issue (KCLS patrons can access Seattle's offerings).

Hardly fair, is it?