Library Stuff

“The old-fashioned campus library that ­focused ­primarily on storing books, journals and ­periodicals has evolved. In its place: open spaces for ­collaborative learning, whiteboards for taking notes and sharing ideas, and plenty of technology. Books are still vitally important, but the many media options available now enhance learning and engage students, many of whom need help from the latest ­technology to better enjoy reading and writing their own stories.” (via EdTech Magazine)

“Patrons continue to stream into Tri-State libraries in large numbers, even as checkouts of printed materials are flat or declining. The Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library system last week unveiled new branding and some new programs which reflect the impact of the digital age on libraries. Local libraries of all sizes say that transition has been ongoing for several years and will not stop. They say investing in technology is paramount, but as taxpayer-supported entities, they also cited a need to be judicious and “demand-driven,” as EVPL Director Marcia Au put it.”

via Evansville Courier & Press

“During my morning run, I cut through the public library’s parking lot. My books are overdue, I remind myself. Like many Americans in the downturn, I’ve increased my use of the local public library. In 2011, OCLC — a library consortium — reported that library usage increased for 36 million Americans. All told, 69 percent of Americans currently use public libraries. My library is a remarkable value — a banquet of books and periodicals, earnest service, and free WiFi. Lately, libraries are playing an unheralded role in the economic recovery by helping people find work and build businesses.”

via Patricia Martin

“As someone who has spent a fair amount of time analyzing business disruption, I think it’s pretty clear that libraries are eventually going to fade away. I understand that this isn’t a popular view, because libraries (and librarians) are awesome.

via Forbes

“THE library is dying. All across the country, branches are closing, shelves are shrinking, and budgets are tightening, in Seattle’s case, by an estimated $5 million. Fewer and fewer librarians can find jobs, and those who do find themselves underutilized and underappreciated. Most people don’t grasp the full extent of this decay. After all, most people haven’t set foot inside a library since Seattle had a basketball team. Why would they? In this new information age, we have smartphones, high-speed Internet, Wikipedia, Kindles and Nooks. The entirety of human knowledge is never more than a few clicks or taps away.”

via The Seattle Times

“The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded a $99,957 grant to OCLC for a new initiative, “The Big Shift: Advancing Public Library Participation in Our Digital Future.” The purpose of the grant is to more fully understand the challenges that U.S. public libraries face in providing e-book content to borrowers, as they ensure that all Americans continue to have access to commercially produced content through their local public libraries, even as formats change. OCLC will partner with the American Library Association (ALA) and the Public Library Association (PLA) to review the e-book landscape and jointly develop recommendations for managing the e-book environment, in order to ensure adequate public access to these emerging resources.”

via OCLC

PostMedia – “What if Romeo and Juliet lived happily ever after, or Van Helsing decided Dracula wasn’t worth the trouble? In a high-tech twist on Choose Your Own Adventure, “active fiction” imbues readers with precisely that kind of power. Launching this month in Amazon’s Kindle Store, Coliloquy e-books are peppered with “choice points” that allow readers to take the story in the direction most appealing to them — whether it’s experiencing a critical moment through another character’s eyes, setting the protagonist on a new path, or seeing what a sex scene would look like with a different partner.”

Mind/Shift – “Earlier this month, we covered the Fayetteville Free Library‘s new Fab Lab, the public library’s plans to build a “makerspace” where library patrons could gain hands-on experience using 3D printers and other tools and could take programming and “shop” classes. It’s part of a larger movement to rethink and re-imagine what a public library will look like and what functions it will serve. While many people do see libraries solely as book repositories, it’s clear that the library is much more than that. For many, it’s an important community center and a place that offers access to digital tools and media.”

Gizmodo – “As the printed word gives way to digital distribution, libraries must change in both form and function in order to remain relevant in the Internet age. One New York book repository has taken the lead in this effort by installing the country’s first “maker’s space” within a public library. The effort is being spearheaded by Lauren Smedley of the Fayetteville Free Library. The Fayetteville facility, which is actually housed in an old furniture factory, is building a fabrication laboratory. The Fab Lab, as it’s called, will provide free public access to the machines and resources needed for home-scale manufacturing.”

Herald Sun – “When Deborah Jakubs, trained as a Latin American historian, decided to become a librarian in 1980, “we had card catalogs. There were no laptops or desktops. There were barely [personal] computers, really.” A year earlier, the University of Toronto Library had become one of the first academic libraries to convert its card catalog to an electronic format, and publish a detailed guide to help librarians instruct patrons in its use.”