Are Books the Future of Libraries?

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Originally uploaded by The Shifted Librarian
The quote that follows is a response from a staff member at MPOW to this thought-provoking article, The future of libraries, with or without books, about how some libraries see their future in a world where the information landscape is changing rapidly...

Noooooooo. Never. Please!!! That is not sharing information. That is simply changing a Library to a cinema / video / Twitter et al. ie the quick and easy gratification. That is not promoting or encouraging imagination or the solving of problems through research ie involving the brain. In the future someone will come up with the idea..let's have books / 'they used to have them once' / they give solitude.

There may have been an element of 'tongue in cheek' about this comment but I think the sentiment is quite clear. It may even be unfair to write such a considered response to what was undoubtedly an off the cuff reaction to the article. But I'm not trying to direct my response to any individual. I would, however, like to put forward my views on why I think the changes described in the article are actually a positive thing for Libraries and our communities.

Firstly, let me say that I think that it will be a long time before books are not central to the existence of (at least public) libraries. 'Books' are the library brand. Ask any member of the public what they associate with libraries and I'm very confident the overwhelming response will be books.

But the information landscape has changed to such a degree already that libraries are not the first choice of most people who are seeking 'information'. I'll give you a guess at what is...
(that's right, Google)

Our own recent Enquiry Completion Rate (ECR) survey showed that 61% of all enquiries to the library were for customer service rather than information. I wonder how many of the 39% of information enquiries were people asking if we had a particular book? - The type of enquiry that does not require any particularly professional skills from the librarian.

So can libraries exist as a place reserved for the quiet contemplation of books into the future? Maybe for a while albeit with a distinctly different staff structure. Armed with the data from the ECR why would any funding body hire so many professionally skilled library workers in an environment where the work that required those specific skills was such a small part of what actually goes on? (especially in light of the articles brian pointed us toward) Is it really sustainable? What would Councillors 50 years in the future think about pouring money into a place that stores books when every book is available immediately online?

However, I actually think library story is about much more than just a place for quiet contemplation of books. It is about encouraging imagination or the solving of problems through research. But that just isn't happening in libraries today. If we want to be involved in that way in people's lives then we better start providing spaces where that can happen in libraries and start interacting in the spaces where that is already happening - online! The tools for rapid group self organisation and online conversations already exist and are being used. Libraries can ignore them but the conversation will go on, with or without libraries.

That doesn't mean that libraries should be jumping in to all the programs described in the article - technology spaces, gaming tournaments and social networks. I do think libraries need to explore how they will remain relevant to their communities into the future with all sorts of new ideas. However, new ideas and programs must be accompanied by evaluation, and a willingness to drop them if they they don't prove their worth. I don't think anyone knows what libraries will be like in 20 years time. Introducing new services and programs is about creating a transparent, user-driven library service that adds value to the community.

I believe the prospect of not changing what a library does is far more frightening than any impacts associated with exploring these changes now. The train is leaving the station, get on board...