Libraries have to adapt to customer-initated changes, or they will not survive. Already, I can see a shift away from the demand for a 'brick & mortar' library to a 'virtual' library. Customers are using book collections less and less. Judging by the number of reference questions that I get in information service, and, yes, the numbers have decreased over the decade, I have to conclude our customers are getting their information from 'somewhere else' and that 'somewhere else' must be the Internet. I spend more time helping the customer with technological issues than finding information.
Our library websites must be highly visible, easy to use information portals. As our customers become more educated about online resources, the demand will increase.
For Die-Hard Book readers: One interesting suggestion is to adopt a 'NetFlix' model for lending books. The customer builds a reading list, and the materials are sent by 'snail mail' with a return envelope. It's just an idea, but an intriguing one.
It's very difficult to speculate about the future of libraries since the changes are occurring so quickly. By the time you have absorbed an idea, the whole 'landscape' has changed, and what you have learned is passe'.
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1 comment:
Thank you for the thoughtful comments on your blog posts. A lot of people seem to be having fun doing the 23 Things but are not really thinking about some of the implications of what we are supposed to be learning.
I'll enjoy seeing what other comments you have as you work your way through the "Things"!
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