Week 6 Post 3 Library 2.0

That was a lot of interesting reading! I try to think of myself as a progressive person, somebody who is willing and able to change mindsets and adapt to new thinking. However, as I read through the topics, I couldn't help but recall the prediction of 15 years ago that computers would make libraries obsolete. While I whole heartedly agree that we should provide our customers with the latest best techology, downloadable books for example, I do not think we are yet at the point where brick and mortar buildings filled with books are going to disappear.
Anderson is at a university library and I can understand how college students will rely more heavily on databases and online services than the general public. A decrease in book circulation of 55% at a university does not translate to a public library. A university does not house large fiction collections, foreign language collections, books on cd or books for children. These items aren't available online and I see the circulation of these mateials rising rather than falling. Also, until the schools stop limiting the number of internet resources a student can use for a report, we will still have to keep a large number of nonfiction books for them to use. And it really doesn't matter how much we offer in terms of data bases if we don't have twice as many computers to allow more access. And judging by the use of our computers, the notion that everyone is connected at home is foolish.

"Come to us", now that's an interesting topic. Seems to me we go out of our way to get people to "come to us." We have programs for kids, teens and adults. We celebrate Hispanic Heritage, Poetry Month and have a huge summer reading program. We want the community to know that we're not just about books or computers but that you can learn to scrapbook, start a business, build a robot or write a book. I think that library 2.0 disounts all the things a public library can be and should be to a community. While we have a great ebranch with all our resources available from home or office, the public still wants libraries open more hours and they want more staff to help them. In our neighborhood there are hundreds of new homes under construction. The builder told me that one of the "perks" they are using as a selling point is the library.

While I think we are and should be planning for future technologies, I don't think we should cancel the book budget just yet! And just a little blast from the past. The local community college went to CDROMs back in the 90's when those were the hot new thing. They didn't buy books for four or five years. Then CDROMs became the new dinosaurs and the school was stuck with a book collection that was out of date and they have never been able to catch up.