Boston and ALA Midwinter

I just returned from the ALA Midwinter Conference in Boston - I left an icy and wet Boston to come home to a chilly, wet and windy California. Currently, we are on Tornado Watch here in HB and the County EOC has been activated. I have a new appreciation for Sandbags.


But back to Library topics - Midwinter seemed to be fairly well attended, even with the cold weather. (Cold for me that is. I am a native Californian, so I am a temperature wimp.) I toured the exhibits, found some new things, went to committee meetings and saw old friends. Unfortunately, what I heard everywhere was how we are all dealing with budget cuts...


ALA published a study on the condition of libraries just before Mid Winter and it affirms what we were all talking about at the Conference - Library use is up, with more people coming in and using our services, but our budgets are suffering. We are all looking at reductions in hours and spending in general. Here's a good summary of what all public libraries are facing.


What does this mean for our library clientele? When times are tough, people turn to their libraries for books, programs, help with finding a job, homework support, etc. Every hour we have to pull back means that many more people don't have access to what they need.


So what do more budget cuts mean? It means longer lines, fewer resources available, fewer computers, or at least fewer computers that work. It means fewer people to help fill requests, shelve books, fewer books on the shelf, fewer programs, etc.


As a library director, my challenge is to figure out how we can still provide our essential services with less money. What is most essential? Is it our computers? Is it our books? Is it the building? Is it the programs?



I'd love to hear what you think it is absolutely essential in the modern library.

Libraries, reading and E Readers

As we start 2010, there is a lot of discussion and talk about the future of reading and the future of libraries. There is a lot of media buzz right now about E Readers - Amazon's Kindle did booming business over the holidays, and Barnes & Noble's new Nook reader essentially sold out after it was introduced.

More E readers are on the way, with new ones from a wide range of companies. Some of the new readers are bigger, some are thinner, some look a bit like a book, some are very modern and streamlined. From the sound of things, this is just the beginning.

So what does this mean for libraries? In a recent post I talked about what makes a library a library - well, what makes a book a book? What is the reading experience? I think we are beginning to see some real changes in the reading experience and the new E Readers are a manifestation of this change. People are getting used to viewing content in all sorts of ways.

What do the new E Readers mean for the library? We are already getting inquiries about E Books and content for E Readers. We are being asked which reader we support and which ones we might recommend.

Recently the Go to Hellman blog talked about a new future for libraries where we facilitate access to content. The forecast is for more library consolidation to provide greater access to a wider range of content, while at the same time more outlets opened to facilitate that access. So are we looking at "Super" library systems, but with lots of small outlets with computer access and pickup facilities? It is an interesting question.

As the owner of a Kindle, I do enjoy the device and use it regularly. I now read the newspaper on my Kindle, and I really enjoy the convenience when I travel. But I still read "old style" books.

So the New Year looks like the year of the E Reader - the buzz is hot and it gives us lots to think about, while we all grapple with maintaining service and budgets.

I'd love to hear what you think about all the E Reader buzz and what it means for reading and libraries. Is this just gadget enthusiasm? Or are we seeing a fundamental shift in how we read? What does this mean for libraries?

I'd love to hear what you think.