This is my monthly column in The Union as printed with added links and a submitted, but unpublished graphic online. The graphic appeared in the paper edition along with my Columnist Byline.(updated 02-07-10)
I have been a Nevada County Library user since the third grade, when I discovered the Nevada City Library had books far more interesting than “The Adventures of Dick and Jane.”
When researching my book “Cobalt: The Legacy of the Blackbird Mine,” I spent more than 100 hours at the microfilm reader looking through old newspapers. I will spend even more on my next book project, tracing the development of Nevada County's technology cluster.
It would be a great loss to the community if our libraries were closed. I strongly support the effort to save the library with donation jars, telethons, and envelopes of donated cash.
However, are we saving the library we will need in the 21st century? Are we just saving a storehouse for the books that we all love and cherish, while ignoring the challenge of future community needs?
Let me explain. The Institute of Museum and Library Services studied Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries, 1997-2007. They found, while library use was increasing, the circulation of books was decreasing in non-metro (rural) libraries. Over the study period, while nationwide library visits increased by 19 percent, book circulation dropped by 16 percent in rural libraries.
Visitors to the library were not coming to check out books, but to use the other services of the library: specifically, access to the Internet, to search for jobs, complete job applications and fill out online government forms.
With the current economic slowdown, our Nevada County libraries are now providing support for the job seekers. However, this is only the start of a transition that our libraries should consider.
The Davinci Institute has identified 10 key trends that will shape future library use:
1. Communication systems are continually changing the way people access information. This includes the Internet, search engines, smart-phones, playstations and iPads, to name a few.
2. All technologies commonly used today will be replaced by something new. Even the smart phones we have today will be replaced by something smarter and cooler.
3. We haven't yet reached the ultimate small particle for storage. Soon, atomic particle-level storage devices will allow us to carry all known human knowledge on a tiny battery-powered cube, which will respond to voice search commands.
4. Search technology will become increasingly complicated, allowing users to search by taste, smell, texture, reflectivity, opacity, mass, density, tone, speed and volume.
5. Time compression is changing the lifestyle of library patrons. Users want more information faster. Many patrons are no longer looking for quiet hours at the library.
6. Over time, we will be transitioning to a verbal society, the days of the keyboard are numbered. Today's voice activated smart phone dialing and searches are just the beginning. No talking in the library today.
7. The demand for global information is growing exponentially. Many secrets in tomorrow's business world lie in the writings of people who did not speak English or any of the other prominent global languages.
8. The stage is being set for a new era of global systems, including global accounting standards for publicly traded companies, global intellectual property systems, global tax code, global currency, global ethics standards, and an official earth measurement system.
9. We are transitioning from a product-based economy to an experience based economy.
10. Libraries will transition from a center of information to a center of culture, tapping into the spirit of the community, assessing priorities and providing resources to support the things deemed most important.
Some of the functions suggested by the Davinci Institute for a culture-centered library include:
• Band practice rooms
• Podcasting stations
• Blogger stations
• Art studios
• Recording studios
• Video studios
• Imagination rooms
• Theater-drama rooms
I would like to add one more cultural function to that list, a coffee and soda bar in a common room where patrons can talk and interact with each other. Perhaps the local coffee houses can compete for the yearly contract to serve library patrons, sharing the revenue with the library.
The list of functions above also suggest some revenue generating opportunities, such as renting the studios, stations and practice rooms for a small fee, rather than providing them free of charge.
As we struggle to save the library, it might be wise to decide what we should save and what we should change to insure a more robust future for our library. We deserve a library that can satisfy all our future cultural and communication requirements.
Russ Steele blogs at NC Media Watch: ncwatch.typepad.com.
