What is your vision for the future of public libraries?

[Poiuyt]

My community is starting to think about a new library facility and I'm curious as to what other DUers see as the future of libraries. Will the internet make the buildings obsolete? Or will there always be a place for brick and mortar libraries? What do you like best about your library and what would you like to see in the future?

[BlooInBloo]

1. Just occurred to me: I have little use for the Kindle, but a public library would be PERFECT for it!

Check out a kindle for a couple weeks, bring it back, having read whatever you wanted.

Have a bunch in the library itself, with people reading - never worry about "it's already checked out" again.

[Maru Kitteh]

5. That's a brilliant fit actually. I think you're on to something.

[Posteritatis]

11. Wouldn't Amazon have kittens, bricks and tractors over that? (nt)

[BlooInBloo]

13. Not if they sold a brazillion of em to libraries at bulk costs.

[Poiuyt]

14. I think there may be licensing problems with that

Getting the hardware wouldn't be a problem, but securing the intellectual property rights might be.

[BlooInBloo]

15. Lots of companies do bulk license sales. It's not new, and it's all up for negotiation.

[Retrograde]

16. True, but there's a lot of public domain stuff that can be read on Kindle

There are Project Gutenberg items that are compatible with Kindle. I'm currently working my way through Mark Twain.

[imdjh]

2. Less paper more data.

I don't romanticize books. They're clunky, cluttersome, and the rot over time. Besides, if you can make a 90 minute movie out of a 600 page book, clearly there was a lot of wasted paper and ink stretching out the essentials.

[dysfunctional press]

4. "f you can make a 90 minute movie out of a 600 page book..."

the thing is- a 600 page book can give you a lot more than 90 minutes of entertainment. and a lot of times, the stuff that's left out of the film version can still make for great reading.

[imdjh]

21. On the other hand, a bad movie only wastes 90 minutes of your life. A bad book can waste days.

My Own Private Idaho and Chesapeake

[Cid_B]

30. Ugh...

That's just.. terrible.

God almighty.

[imdjh]

35. LOL! I was only half serious. nt

[dysfunctional press]

3. when i was a kid, the library was like my second home...

if i were a child today, i don't know how true that would be.

hopefully the internet will change libraries for the better- but it's definitely going to change them.

why shouldn't all the books be available in a downloadable digital format- no having to wait for a book to be returned, or replaced after being lost/stolen.

[Speck Tater]

6. We need to store all of human knowledge electronically

so that when a huge solar flare or EMP weapon happens everything the human race knows will be permanently lost in an instant.

And even if a solar flare doesn't wipe the collection knowledge of the human race, at the rate technology changes the recording medium will be obsolete and unreadable in mere decades. (How many of you still have 8-track players, or players for the old-time jumbo video disks, or even readers for the old giant 12-inch floppy disks?)

Yet we can still read books printed hundreds of years ago adn stone tablets carved thousands of years ago.

The Internet is just a passing fad. When the era of cheap energy passes, so will all the tech that relies on cheap energy. We'll be back to printing presses and hand-cranked mimeograph machines to distribute information.

[abumbyanyothername]

41. Data doesn't last as long as paper

Even in the absence of disaster.

[LWolf]

7. I LOVE the library.

I can put books on hold online from my home. I just show up, pick them up off the shelf where they've been tagged with my name, and go to the automatic check out. No lines.

During the school year, I don't have to show up to do even that. I'm a teacher, and my school has a relationship with the public library; when we put something on hold, they deliver to the school. I check out and return from there, and so do my students.

Still...there comes a time when I've read everything current by my favorite authors, and I'm hungry for other things to read. I can spend hours in the stacks finding new treasures that I wouldn't otherwise have known about. It's peaceful.

My librarians work hard on programs to keep the community coming and involved. It's not just collections of books and media; speakers, demonstrations, lessons, and more are happening at the library.

It's all about curiosity, inquiry, investigation, learning, and literacy.

My pragmatic self knows that printed volumes will probably go away, to be replaced by some sort of digital version. That would make it easier here at home, where finding shelf space for my few thousand personal volumes is a challenge. Reading a screen, instead of holding the book, feeling the page, turning back and forth when I want to...not the same quality of experience. I don't want to give books up.

Eventually, we may not even require people to read. It will all be audio. What a shame, and what bad news for literacy, that would be. I can already see that happening. Here at DU, for example. When someone posts a video clip, usually don't bother. I can read a hell of a lot faster than listen, and I don't like being trapped in front of a screen or glued to an earphone. I can read text, digest it, and move on before a sound or video clip is half over.

The future? Libraries will be digital, and all library transactions will also be digital. Will we need brick and mortar? Maybe not, if the librarians are working from home. And what a loss that will be.

The loss of a community center that brings people and ideas and learning together isn't "progress."

I hope it doesn't happen that way during my lifetime.

[Duer 157099]

27. Regarding text vs audio vs video

I agree with some of your observations, especially about how limiting audio/video are. You can't easily skim an A/V stream the way you can with text. It's a completely different set of cognitive skills. So in that sense, I see them as all being valuable because they challenge the brain in different ways. A/V is much more linear, temporally.

I too use my library as you do, reserving things online and then picking them up. But I've recently gotten into the habit of listening to audiobooks and I find that I can "read" so many more books this way, because I can listen as I do other things (washing dishes, other cleaning tasks, etc). I've often wondered whether we could develop the skill of processing multiple parallel audio streams... sometimes when I have my earbuds in, listening to a book, I'll sit down and turn the TV on and find that I can still pay attention to the book and follow what's on the TV. I suppose that's like reading a book with the TV on in the background.

My bookshelves are overflowing so I've had to stop acquiring books, which is probably part of the reason I use the library so much nowadays.

[Buzz Clik]

8. Libraries are still functional and busy in our community.

We're relatively small as metropolitan areas go (70,000), but we support three community libraries that are always busy. They continue to provide a lot of functions that the internet hasn't been able to kill completely: you cannot download all books online, not all newspapers are available entirely online, music CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, and even current textbooks for all the schools.

They are also wonderful places to escape to work.

[Tan Gent]

9. The future of public libraries is, to put it bluntly, very short.

Since the 'no child left behind' philosophy was adopted (the idea, not the program...this was 25-30 years ago and was an attempt to force true equality on every child...even those who could never meet the criteria) the ability to read has devolved. Most teenagers only speak Crap. The horrible aspect of that is that they're proud of it.

[Posteritatis]

12. Nice lawn. (nt)

[Tan Gent]

22. Far be it from me to disagree with that sort of impeccable logic.

:silly:

[Retrograde]

17. I avoid one branch after 3 because of all the kids

That library branch just gets too crowded, and though the kids are trying to behave, noisy when school lets out.

[seabeyond]

25. ah bullshit. the library is very child oriented and used by kids.... my kids

are in the library often. 9th grader reads adult level. 6th grader reads 11 or 12th grade level. our house i FULL of books. their room jammed with books. they each have three books each from library sittin next to bed.

[exboyfil]

28. Sounds like my kids (8th and 6th graders)

They are not even very interested in the TV and when they do watch it, it is usually something like Mythbusters or an animal show that has some interesting information in it. The movies they watch are usually made from books they have read.

They hang out with friends that are the same way (big time readers). They share books back and forth and acquire new interests that way. They also do a bunch of stuff with the internet (such as preparing audio/visual presentations for Youtube, some Role Playing games (a new development which I will need to monitor more closely), and sending e-mails/chatting back and forth.

We have a house full of books, and we make frequent trips to the library to gather the newest books. Our library expanded a few years ago, and it always seems to be well used when we are their. I don't use it much anymore since I do so much professional reading, religiously read my Scientific American and Archeology magazines, and I multitask with audiobooks (usually obtained through the library websites NEIBOR or Netlibrary or Audible.com). I probably listen to at least three hours of audio content a day (and a lot more on weekends when I do my long runs).

[seabeyond]

36. Mythbusters and history channel.

we rarely have tv on during the day.

right there with you

[Posteritatis]

10. They're growing in my neck of the woods

The branch nearest me is this little hole in the wall - the public area's about as big as your average corner store - but somehow has the third highest circulation in the city. The library system decided to move it; they bought out a six screen movie theatre a few blocks away that recently closed and are moving it over there. About five or six times the floorspace of the old branch will go to additional books, and the remainder will go to archives and community functions such as public classes/lectures, cultural events, and so on.

I'm more than a little pleased by this.

[WCIL]

18. Our library is growing, too

Circulation is at an all-time high. It sponsors three book discussion groups on site and 2 others that meet in local coffee houses. It also holds film festivals, craft sessions for children and adults, and has an outstanding summer reading program for all ages. The library is so busy that it has had to buy and raze an adjacent building to put in more parking. There are many people who don't have access to a computer/internet access, so the library is vital for them.

The library is such a vital part of my life - I can't imagine they could just go away.

[csziggy]

19. Even if books go all electronic, libraries will still make information accessible

Many will still not be able to afford to buy access to information. Libraries can provide internet access, access to electronic media, and assistance in how to find and locate information. Reference librarians are adept (or should be) at helping people find the information they want. And there is a future in organizing data, not just in a data base but overall in a way that makes it easier for the average person to find and use.

Also, libraries are the primary location for computer and internet access for those who cannot afford them at home. Those of us lucky enough to have the access at home may not see this, but many simply do not have access and have to use public resources.

The school where I got my undergraduate degree in Library Science years ago renamed their major to Information Science and is more flexible in their approach to what they teach. They teach how to make information more user friendly - and that will be the future of libraries and librarians!

[boobooday]

20. books, always

But my vision is for libraries to become "Community Media Production Centers" for education and access for all to the tools, and for communities to create media and share it with other communities.

[whyverne]

23. I tried to do some research lately using the library.

The "old school" way.
When I cross checked my facts on the internet it was rather discouraging how many of my "facts" had been proven wrong since the books were published.
Knowledge is probably moving faster than books can keep up with.
Take the computer section of my library. Someone hip should go through it and throw away the ninety percent that is useless and out dated.
I still go to the library twice a week, but with my laptop.

[seabeyond]

24. i love books. hubby wants to buy me one of those computer books.

i dont want it. love the library. i already spend so much on books, the library is terrific. i never used libraries until a couple years ago one went up a couple miles from house. i am there a couple times a week. has been a wonderful asset for my children. they will grow up loving libraries.

leave my libraries alone, lol lol

has made me a much more willing tax payer, all they do for me.

[RC]

26. I like books.

No batteries to run down. Nothing to plug in. An amazing amount of information can be inserted between the covers of even a thin book. You can share them with others without the cost, threat and abuse of the copyright police.

[Prometheus Bound]

29. K & R. Thanks for this topic. I'm very interested in what people think about this.

[TexasObserver]

31. Libraries must be preserved in every community.

Not just literacy for everyone, but access to the internet and computers.

[OneGrassRoot]

38. This will be the only way more and more people WILL have access...

as affordability of Internet access declines, not to mention homelessness in general.

[Ex Lurker]

32. I believe in public libraries but I have to be honest and say that I

rarely go any more. The internet and amazon have largely supplanted it in my life.

[B Calm]

33. As a truck driver, I love the library's audio books.

[KharmaTrain]

34. A Bright One...

Primarily cause my daughter is studying for her Masters in Library Science.

An interesting side benefit of our internet age is more people are reading than ever before. While it doesn't look it when you read the comments on some websites, the massive amount of surfing and the predominately text-based platforms of most websites have made reading "cool" for many.

Libraries are becoming more and more the repository for things other than books...recordings, art works, historical artifacts and other items you can't put up on a web site. For some, the libary is their gateway to the Internet. While writing on paper may become less important, there are many who still will want to read books and explore their worlds and there's no finer place to do both than a local library.

[OneGrassRoot]

40. I agree. I see the library as an experience....

one I don't want to ever do without.

[Lorien]

37. More of them with larger collections

as an illustrator I use them all the time. Google image search can only get you so far, and printing out hundreds of images for reference isn't practical, so I frequently use my library.I don't want to spend most of my day online, and books generally have far more content than websites on any given subject. I'm hoping to see libraries grow with larger and larger collections of traditional media; books, CDs, DVDs, and periodicals.

[H2O Man]

39. Rows of books

on the prosecution of Bush-Cheney administration officials.

[KansDem]

42. The public library is dead...

And I've worked in them for 12 years.

This is what I see:
The "public library" will disappear. In its place will be community centers with Internet access. Maybe some light reading, i.e., magazines and popular titles. Best-sellers. Places where folks can "hang out" for hours each day.

Along with this will be smaller collections for research. Intense, subject-specific research requiring real "librarians" with advanced degrees.

But the "public library" as we know it now will cease to exist.

You ask, "Why, KansDem? Why do you feel this way?" Let me tell you...

I've been at large urban library for 12 years now—
• I've seen drug deals go down,
• broken up sex acts in the men's room stalls,
• weeded and thrown away books that had been urinated on,
• been threatened,
• had the finger flipped at me numerous times,
• summoned housekeeping to clean what was suspected of being ejaculate,
• saw numerous "sexually-explicit" images on the public computers (we can't say "porn"),
• saw vomit in the drinking fountains,
• broken up fights,
• been subjected to rude behavior on a regular basis,
• been subjected to uncivil language on a regular basis,
• summoned housekeeping to clean up human feces on the carpet,
• saw prostitutes lining up their next "Johns,"
• summoned housekeeping to clean up urine on chairs,
• dealt with drunks and druggies,
• dealt with people who I suspected had emotional and mental problems.

I say enough...I've had enough

Librarianship is out. If you want to work in a "library," you need to be a counselor and have degrees in social work or psychology. Or police silence.

Two things killed public libraries: Ronald Reagan and the Internet.

Reagan: Cut mental health and closed mental health facilities. Those folks, along with the homeless and chronically unemployed have to go somewhere. And the public library is their place of choice.

Internet: Folks who can do for themselves will find information on the Internet. Google, Wikipedia, etc. will be their new "reference librarian." Everyone else will wind up at the library...

[KakistocracyHater]

43. hopefully NOT what happened to Alexandria or Athens library branches

People make a big deal over the library in Alexandria, I wonder more at the Goddess of Wisdom's library