Public Libraries and their Changing Role

I read an interesting article from the Library Journal about what people use public libraries for. The author was trying to remind readers that people still use libraries for books and not just internet use. She started with a quote from Kansas's Lawrence Journal-World which, described libraries as "inefficient" and "obsolete" and stated that at "any" library, "the stacks are empty; it's the computers that are busy." The quote made the author of the article angry (she said it "burns my toast") as it did me. Yes, I will admit, if you walk into a library and look around, most of the time the computers are full of people and the rest of the library appears dead. However, I believe that people still use libraries for good old fashioned books. I believe it, because I frequent it for books myself. The article discusses how many people tend to go to the local Barnes & Noble or Borders and buy books if they want them, but she thinks that there is still a need for public libraries to offer books as well. I know that I love to browse around a bookstore. The new and latest books are great to look at, and the atmosphere is much more pleasing than most libraries (something else we may need to work on). I can even afford to buy books when I want them. But more often than not, I browse around, write down the books I want, and go home and put them on hold at the local library. Free and easy. Yes, I may not get the books as quickly as I may want them, but it beats buying expensive brand new books that I usually only read once. I also go on amazon.com and do the same. I read the reviews, see what's new or what's coming out, then I go to the library website and put them on hold. This is great for audio books too, because they are very expensive at a bookstore. Now that I think about it, the reason why the rest of the library looks empty to people is probably because the library is so efficient these days. Instead of having to look around the stacks, my books are always in the hold area. All I have to do when I walk into a library is go to the shelves, find my name, grab my books and check out. Overall, I understand that technology has become a large part of public libraries, but I hope that the focus is not lost on books.

Magzis, L. (2007). Books, Books, Books! Library Journal 132 (4), 50.