Rare Book Monthly
Articles - October - 2010 Issue
Libraries: <i>The Rumors of My Death have been Greatly Exaggerated</i>
Opportunity For All reports that 69% of U.S. population aged 14 and up visits libraries.
This is only a small part of what is happening. Many libraries now make books available in electronic format so those with e-readers can check e-books out of the library, just as they used to do with printed books (though a trip to the library may not be necessary). Instead of having to return the book in ten days, it simply disappears from your reader when the time is up, freeing it to be "checked out" by someone else. This may not work if you have Amazon's proprietary Kindle, but will work with Barnes and Noble's Nook and most other electronic readers.
Meanwhile, a report supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Opportunity For All, released last spring shows that libraries are being increasingly used as a place to connect to the internet. This may seem surprising, even counterintuitive, but nonetheless true. Many people cannot afford internet connections, and in some rural areas, high speed is not readily available to individual households. Try visiting the most popular sites today with dial up!
However, what may be even more surprising is that internet use is not confined to, nor even used mostly by, people who cannot afford internet connections at home. The primary users are people who have, or can afford, connections at home. They come to the library to access the internet for other reasons, such as technical assistance, job searching, or simply for the social interaction. The study shows that 45% of the 169 million people who visited a library last year made use of their internet services, despite the fact that 75% of these individuals had access to the internet at home or elsewhere. Nevertheless, library access was particularly beneficial to those of limited financial means. It found 44% of people living below the poverty line used library computers, including 61% of students and young adults (ages 14-24).
While youth seeking help with their studies is the largest age group using library computers, the study found substantial usage across all age groups. This can be explained by the primary use of library internet connections being social connections, with seeking employment opportunities almost as great a use as furthering one's education. Learning about health and wellness was also right up there, likely of greater concern to older people than youngsters. The study points out, "Library technology services are not used by a chosen few." It notes that libraries have come to play the role of the old "town square," where people came to connect with others, exchange ideas, and learn. Finally, the study concludes, "this is a moment when federal, state, and local governments should invest more, not less, in the computing capacity of the nation's libraries."
Libraries not long ago may have looked distressingly like dinosaurs, but like those lumbering giants of yesteryear, they are rapidly evolving into swift birds. They deserve our support.
