The controversy over the new library in Lawrence, Kansas has been interesting, and it’s certainly been nice to see that, with a few exceptions, opinion has been strongly slanted against Mr. Hirschey’s suppositions of library obsolescence. My own thoughts, as I stated in the comments of the op-ed, go something like this:
Technology is changing rapidly, and therefore so are people’s needs. But the point of a library is not (in my opinion), to do its “library thing” with no consideration to the needs and desires of the community. The fact is that as the world changes, libraries change too, and strong libraries in strong communities will never become obsolete because they will always grow to meet their users’ needs.
That said, if you really feel like the library isn’t serving you, why not get involved? A new library is a great opportunity to voice an opinion on what roles and services you would like the library to provide. How about a large meeting room to host community activities? The Princeton Public Library opened its facilities to host the World Cup and became a great place for community to come together and enjoy the sport (via Tame the Web). Computer instruction in libraries often helps those people in the community who would otherwise have no idea what to do with free technology if you did give it to them at their homes.
What about after-school programs? Summer Reading programs? What about families who love to read and bring their kids in once a week to check out literally hundreds of books?
If none of that appeals to you, and you have other ideas of what you’d like to see, then I guarantee you your library would love to hear from you. In the end, that’s what libraries do: they serve their communities. And hey, some people don’t use libraries, and that’s fine, but we should still look at them in a broader context and see how, as educational and community institutions, they provide a great deal of value to our communities.
Finally, a lot of people say how great libraries were to use when they were growing up. Now that they’re adults they don’t use them anymore. I guarantee though that there are still a lot of kids and families out there that are getting a great deal of value out of the library. Plenty of adults, having grown up and having no children, have no personal need for schools anymore either, but no one questions their roles in the community. Libraries are just as important, because they’re schools where anyone can go, at any time, for any reason. And what could possibly be cooler than that?
Aside from comments left by library supporters around the world, people from Lawrence have written in and voiced their opinions. Lots of them.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/oct/05/not_obsolete/ – Sally writes:
Browsing books in the library can open whole new worlds that might never be found on the Internet. The library has much more to offer than computer access.
I hope that we will never see the day when libraries become obsolete as suggested by Mr. Hirschey. I would ask when he last read a good book. I know where he can find one.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/oct/05/library_defense/ – Betty writes:
For seniors, libraries offer programs, books and videos. I know people who can no longer afford to buy books and magazines so they depend solely on the library for their reading material.
There are many families who cannot afford computers so the computers are an important part of the library, as are the books, videos, programs, art, meeting rooms, speakers and events.
All of the above are benefits and amenities that one cannot find on the Internet. I am an avid user of my computer and the Internet, but I do love a library. So, Mr. Hirschey, I do think we can have the best of both worlds to enrich our lives.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/oct/05/reliable_source/ – Alison writes:
While the Internet may provide a high degree of convenience, it is not a reliable source of information. Blogs, instant messaging and publicly edited sites such as Wikipedia may be a good place to quickly and casually find information, but these are not acceptable references for serious research purposes.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/oct/04/library_value/ – Charles writes:
Mr. Hirschey is absolutely right that digital information is hugely valuable, but this shouldn’t be an either/or choice. Books have a reassuring permanence not found in cyberspace — and they’re easier to write in (sorry, librarians). And they’re portable, and they don’t need batteries. As Mr. Hirschey recommends, let’s do wire Lawrence for 24/7 high-speed Internet access — but let’s not unplug the library.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/oct/04/computerbrary/ – John writes:
I could not agree less with Mark Hirschey’s Take a Stand in which he claims that computers have made book libraries obsolete (Journal-World, Oct. 2). I think people, these days, too often confuse information with wisdom. Admittedly, I’m prejudiced because I built my career and supported my family on skills I learned from reading books borrowed from the public library.
That, to me, constitutes overwhelming library support. As librarians part of our job is to promote library awareness. In the face of folks like Mr. Hirschey, that can be daunting. It’s nice to know that we’re not alone.