Reasons for libraries: Internet, E-books and IT

“Public libraries have a vital role to play in supporting the ambition to secure a truly networked nation in the UK. They are not only digital hubs which provide people with access to free or low cost PCs but also have a role in supporting people to get online and explore all the benefits that being online brings.”  Martha Lane Fox, UK Digital Champion

• Ten Reasons why the internet is no substitute for libraries.
• With the decline of bookshops on the High Street, Libraries may become the only place where one can browse physical books.  The loss of book shops has led to loss of book sales – not all of it has migrated online.  The power of Serendipity is being lost as we are less able on the internet to “see books that are out of print. We are able to see rare and valuable books in public libraries in a way that is less easy online.

“Our libraries are one of the “jewels in the crown” of this country, allowing people who cannot afford to buy books access to them. We are able to see books that are out of print. We are able to see rare and valuable books. They are vital for both leisure and scholarship. Yet they are being closed down. Please stop this, and re-open our public libraries and give them a massive boost.” National UK petition to save libraries

• 88% of books are not available online, more print books published each year than in previous year.
  

  “Myth 4: Libraries are obsolete: Everywhere in the country librarians report that they have never had so many patrons. At Harvard, our reading rooms are full. The 85 branch libraries of the New York Public Library system are crammed with people. The libraries supply books, videos, and other materi­al as always, but they also are fulfilling new functions: access to information for small businesses, help with homework and afterschool activities for children, and employment information for job seekers (the disappearance of want ads in printed newspapers makes the library’s online services crucial for the unemployed). Librarians are responding to the needs of their patrons in many new ways, notably by guiding them through the wilderness of cyberspace to relevant and reliable digital material. Libraries never were warehouses of books. While continuing to provide books in the future, they will function as nerve centers for communicating digitized information at the neighborhood level as well as on college campuses.” (Five Myths about the Information age)

• In addition, even those online are not entirely safe.  Google proposed deleting its entire video archive in April 2011 and only stopped due to public protest.  The same could happen with Google Books.  Equally with other groups – Facebook have been deleting political groups without warning too.

Public access PCs connected to the internet and printers are one of the key “offers” of a public library

• Public libraries have never been in competition with booksellers nor are they now with e-booksellers.  Librarians are not booksellers. People buy books andborrow books – one does not preclude the other.  Ebooks (other than those out of copyright) are expensive and so do not necessarily threaten libraries.  Another analogy is radio and television – the advent of television did not mean the death of the radio.  Add to this the other functions of the public library (see above) and it is clear that the advent of ebooks therefore does not mean the death of public libraries.
  • Long, neutral and readable  article looking at E-books.
  • Wiki page on ebooks and public libraries.
• Surveys suggest that only 15% if ebook owners give up on printed books.  “Walking to the library is still the most ecofriendly way to read”.

Digital scanning of books complements, but does not replace, library buildings.

• Search engines are too easy, making people think they have found the answer when they haven’t. Librarians are trained how to find the correct answer and are there to help, Google is there “to make money”.  This fact that information is not free is also emphasised in a recent article by Accenture that says the cost of “free” information to the user is increasing.

“Darnton points to the fundamental role of the “library as space,” where librarians and other resources play a “service role” in helping people to access information. Traditionally, this information has been confined within the walls of an institution; in the future it will increasingly be accessed digitally. Because the Internet is harder to sort through than a library catalog, there’s a strong case that a library’s core services are actually becoming much more important.”  Stealing Libraries, Harvard Crimson

The internet may not be free or equal in the future.  “Net neutrality” is currently under attack, which may lead to two levels of internet provision – a full access paid for version and a poorer quality free version.

“One of the arguments against the need for a network of public libraries is that we ‘all’ have access to the internet (of course we don’t but that doesn’t fit the narrative). This is all well and good at present, but with ‘net neutrality’ under attack and an increasing amount of content being locked behind paywalls, it won’t be long before we find that the internet as we know it is but a distant memory” (Ian Clark, “Shut Out” ORGzine)