Reading Summary - Zickuhr (2013)

Zickuhr, K., Rainie, L., & Purcell, K. (2013). Library Services in the Digital Age. Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved July 28, 2014.

This article is part of the Pew Internet and American Life project. Libraries are charged with keeping up with the future while also taking care of the past. A majority of polled patrons still view traditional library services as very important, but also embrace the importance of Internet access, use, and new ways to make library use easier via technology. 

I believe that expanding the role of the public library in the community is key in keeping libraries relevant. This study found encouraging trends that strengthen my hypothesis. For example: 

•  Coordinating more closely with local schools: 85% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely” do this.

•  Offering free literacy programs to help young children: 82% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.

•  Having more comfortable spaces for reading, working, and relaxing: 59% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.

• Offering a broader selection of e-books: 53% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.

 Coordinating more closely with local schools would entail making sure that the library kept inventory of the relevant textbooks and supplemental materials for the curriculum. This would require a collections development librarian to work with the schools to keep abreast of current curriculum topics and collect to support the students. This would ensure that the public library is a place students and parents turn to when it comes time to write papers and reports, or when a student misplaces important materials and needs to complete an assignment. Just making parents aware that the public library has the materials in case of academic emergency would elevate the status of the public library in the eyes of the public.

Offering free literacy programs would foster community involvement, as most such programs are staffed by volunteers. This could be seen as the library investing in its literate future. Without readers, no one needs a library. Increasing the numbers of young people who receive literacy intervention at a young age benefits the library in the future, when those kids become full-service library patrons with a deep-seated sense of gratitude and familiarity when it comes to library use.

Having more comfortable spaces for reading and working is a no-brainer. Many current libraries' furniture does not encourage lingering. There may be actual reasons for that, but I think that this is a practice that needs to be changed. Public libraries need to become that non-commercial "third place." They need patrons to come in, invest, run group meetings, and stay. The space is there to be used, and we need to encourage the public to use the spaces we provide. Uncomfortable chairs are why I don't study more often at the IU library.

Offering a broader selection of e-books is important as well. As the norms for how people read change, the library needs to adapt. The "one book, one reader" policy that is even now extending to libraries, handed down from publishing companies who want less sharing and more revenue, needs to be combated. This is a practical format for physical books, but does not make sense when it comes to e-books. Instead of charging the library for an individual book, e-book publishers need to find a way to charge a library a fee for an e-book service, or to acknowledge the importance of libraries in gaining new readership for their books and agree that an e-book can be checked out by more than one person at a time.

Another idea that stuck out for me in this article is this quote: "Others felt that interactive exhibits were the province of museums, not libraries." This kind of irks me. Do libraries WANT to go extinct? If not, prepare for change and expansion. Goodness. I kind of want to reply to this statement with, "Your feelings on this issue are not relevant. I feel that libraries should be adapting to save our asses for the future." :-)