What is a library? What makes a library? What should a library be in the future?
As a library director, and someone who has worked in libraries for over 20 years, I have some opinions. But what do you, dear reader, think about the topic?
In the most recent USA Today article about his decision to de-book (print on paper) the library, Cushing’s head Jim Tracey says: It was really to save libraries five, 10, 15 years down the road,” he says. “What the students are telling us is: ‘We’re not using the print books. You can keep giving them to us, but they’re just going to collect dust.’ So we’re saying, ‘Let’s be honest: Let’s give them the best electronic information available.’ To read the entire article click here.
Read, think and respond to the queries opening this blog post.
– Alison Ernst, Library Director
image: http://www.photoeverywhere.co.uk
If colleges are not this progressive, why is Cushing Academy?
This summer I spent seven weeks in Evanston, IL at Northwestern University. Many of my free time was spent in their library checking on facebook, reading plays, or just researching around.
Their library is so big and full of books that it is divided into so many subcategories, and the way its designed you can get lost in a heartbeat. Students can get lost in the library, and will have to follow the carpet to get out. But that’s not my point.
My point is here is a university who is endowed with much more money then Cushing, and they have not even began the transformation to completely digital. They have a coffee shop, but so do many other universities. This step that Cushing has taken is interesting.
The future of a library depends on who uses it. It sounds like Cushing has to push their students to step into theirs with the fancy gears and gadgets, while here at NMH we already spend so much time in the info commons, or reference room during X-Block. We use our library for information, whether its what your friend in Asia is doing, to researching Molecular Compounds, we use a library for its use. The ability to obtain information.
I also have to say that to say your circulation rates are low does not reflect on the students it reflects on the staff. NMH Encourages us to use books and pushes us to. I am so thankful for not becoming a snob library user, as we will soon see Cushing turn into.
The future of a library to me is as long as its providing information to its users, its a library, but I do not think everything should be electronic…not at all..
As I understand them, libraries contain information for academic research and personal exploration. In my opinion, libraries should be made up of whatever best delivers on these two things. For most people, printed material does the trick.