With the Technology Age booming along, many people wonder what will happen to the library. In fact, I have been told I'm crazy for wanting to be a librarian since, and I quote,"You can find everything online, why do you want to be a librarian?" You and I both know that librarians are needed, but the world seems to think that the Internet is the only place answer can be found.
The good folks at PewResearch Internet Project have created a presentation to let us know the future of the library. It is centered around the public library, but there are many points that school librarians can use too.
The Next Library and the People Who Will Use it:
Where libraries currently stand in the public eye.
Overall, people view libraries as valuable parts of their community, and would be upset should their library close. If we translate this to the school library, parents and students value the school library. To keep the value, we must make sure we know exactly who our patrons are and what they need.
Who patrons are and what they want.
Women, particularly college age or mothers with young children, use the library the most. When you look at the breakdown of who uses your school library, you will probably find that girls are the ones most often in the library outside of class library time. They are also going to be the ones accessing the library's website.
Who are they?
High Engagement: Library Lovers & Information Omnivores
Medium Engagement: Solid Center & Print Traditionalists
Low Engagement: Not For Me,Young and Restless, & Rooted and Roadblocked
No Personal Library Use: Distant Admirers & Off the Grid
What do they want?
Collaboration between public and schools/school libraries to provide more resources to children and early literacy programs.
Defined and comfortable spaces for various uses (work stations, reading nooks, etc), more and broader ranges of ebooks, workshops on various interest such as how to digitize their lives (pictures and paper files), more online access to services, and the ability to self checkout.
These demands definitely translate to the school library as students want comfortable spaces to work, workshops, ebooks, online services, and the ability to self checkout. Teachers would also like to be able to take their students to the library to use computers or have a large work space than their classroom. I know I found it hard for students to work on group presentations sometimes in my classroom, and having a defined space for working (not necessarily quite work) in my school's library would have been nice.
How technology is changing the flows of information.
When the Internet first came to the public sector (1995), the vast majority of people did not use it. It was this new thing that was scary and fascinating all at the same time. This new frontier needed trail blazers before society as a whole would be willing to accept it as an ok place to be. In fact, the Internet is still not used by 100% of people even though it may feel like everyone is on the net. Cell phones, smart phones, and tablets have made the Internet more accessible to more people. Eventually, we will reach a point in which the Internet will be old hat. The researchers at Pew call it our "third skin" since we will be so comfortable with it, it will be like our own skin.
As the Internet and its use grows, society will experience better health, convenience, safety, and more useful information. We librarians know that useful information is the crux of the Internet for many of our students. Being able to find good sources for projects is something our students struggle with as search the net is not always as simple as typing a question into Google.
With this growth, we will also experience privacy issues, people/students who have a hard time adjusting to new real life scenarios, and the complexity of the net. We are already starting to experience some of these issues, so it is important that we are proactive in finding ways to overcome these pitfalls.
While the Internet is gaining in popularity, the libraries oldest service is still valued today...books.
Where new needs are surfacing in communities.
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As mentioned in previous sections, patrons are wanting more and more from their libraries. It is important that we poll our patrons to see what they want so we can use what resources we have effectively.
How the concept of "library" can change to meet new realities.
People: The library staff need to serve the community by keeping up with new technologies as well as current trends and sharing this knowledge with their patrons.Place: Just like the staff, the library space needs to reflect the needs of the patrons. As much as we librarians may want to hold on to our rows of books and silent reading, it is important to update our spaces to reflect today's user versus yesterday's user.
Platform: We need to be a community resource and advocate. The library, either school or public, is one of the few places that everyone will go to.
Overall, the future of the library is that we will still be needed and valued as long as we adapt to our surroundings. We are no longer the only sources of information, so it is important that we remind our communities that we are useful. Just because someone has gotten along without us, does not mean that we could not have helped him or her do better.
If you would like to view the slideshow, I have included it below.
Brittany
The Next Library and the People Who Will Use It from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
Rainie, L. (2014, November 13). The Next Library and the People Who Will Use It. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/11/13/the-next-library-and-the-people-who-will-use-it/
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