More ramblings on change and paradigm shifts

It is almost August and things are booming here at the Library in Huntington Beach -

We have over 4,000 children signed up for Summer Reading, and our Teen and Adult Reading programs are doing well. Staff have launched their own reading program, to join in the fun. So things are busy, with lots of good reading going on.

We are also once again in the middle of the budget process, gearing up for presentation to the City Council. There have been so many changes through the budget over the past 2 years, that it is hard to deal with more. But more changes are coming. Things just keep getting tighter and tougher.

So how do you deal with all this change? I've taken to asking key questions - what is a library? What do we do? What is most important for us to do here in HB?

Some other questions have come up recently due to changes in the outside world - what does the rise of the Ebook mean for libraries? New services, like Freegal, are a different model for libraries. (Freegal is a really exciting new service from Library Ideas, where the Library subscribes and then library patrons can download songs from the Sony Music catalog. The downloads are free of DRM). Libraries are founded on the idea of "fair use" and "first sale" - in layman's terms, if you buy the item, you own it and you can lend it out. This allows us to lend books, DVDs, CDs, etc. We own the item, but we can lend it out to anyone in the community.

The new Digital environment doesn't handle this idea of First Sale very well - the DMCA has built in DRM and protection elements that make it VERY hard and in many cases nearly IMPOSSIBLE to use the item/piece of intelletual property in the way you want to. Amazon clearly doesn't see a role or place for the library model with E books. The Kindle and content for the Kindle are tied to the device, and the device belongs to someone. You can't loan the device or the items on it. Barnes and Noble's Nook lets you loan an E book a few times to someone else that has a Nook, but again, it is more tied to the device.

Anyone out there looking at Device Agnostic content that allows for loaning? Maybe the Library paradigm has to shift. Maybe we have to become aggregators for the community, and then individuals can access or download items, and they get to keep them, like with Freegal. Community resources again being pooled for the greater good - not too far removed from our original idea. This time we are dealing with digital content rather than physical items.

What I'm saying here isn't new - others in the field have posed these questions and are taking a hard look at what we do and how we do it. Maybe it is just the sense of urgency that seems to be associated with all the changes right now, or maybe it is because as all of these changes are coming together, libraries are in the news, showing up on YouTube (as part of the Old Spice Man campaign) and on Facebook.

NPR thinks we are about to have our Pop culture moment, like cupcakes. Maybe they are right. Shoot, Libraries are better than cupcakes - we don't have as many calories. :)

I'd love to hear what you think -

Are Ebooks at the Tipping Point?

This week there has been a lot of news and discussion about E books -

The Los Angeles Times had a front page article about the rise of the e reader and the increase in digital books and digital content. Amazon announced this week that they are selling 143 e books for every 100 print hardcover books. And they are predicting that this gap will grow. Last Christmas, e books were the hot seller as were the various readers. With the launch of the Ipad, there are more options. Digital content is growing all the time.

What does this mean for reading? What does this mean for libraries? As a profession, librarians have been watching the e book and e reader shift for quite a while. I personally always thought it was just a matter of time - after all, once we moved to producing the work (the intellectual product) with digital files, someone was bound to look at the cost associated with the production of the physical paper book. Digital production is much cheaper and doesn't require paper, ink, etc.

There was a recent report that reading on an electronic device is slower than reading on paper -
The biggest stumbling block to e readers has always been the reading surface. Paper is easy - our eyes like it. Computer screens don't work as well - how many of us have had tension, eye strain headaches from our computers? But the new E ink technology is making the computer screen more and more like our traditional paper.

So what does this all mean? For libraries, we need to tackle the question of what we do and how we do it yet again.

I'd love to hear what you think - E book or Hardcover? What kind of reading experience do you want?

The Old Spice Man likes libraries!

Library Advocacy can take many forms - here's the Old Spice Man talking about how valuable libraries are. What fun!

Musings on Conferences, Washington DC and comfortable shoes

I just got back from the American Library Association Conference in Washington DC. The Conference was a busy one for me - I am a member of a few ALA Division Committees, and I had lots of meetings while I was there. I was moving from Hotel to Convention Center to Hotel to meeting all weekend. I was lucky this year - I had learned my lesson and brought a variety of shoe choices - all comfortable and field tested. (I still managed to get a blister on the top of both feet. In Danskos no less. Even good shoes have trouble staying comfortable in DC weather!)

I enjoy conferences for the new ideas and inspiration that are always part of the conference buzz. The exhibit halls are full of new products and services - I saw everything from a new mechanized library kiosk called Branch Everywhere to traditional book trucks and library furniture. I saw new Self Service Check out systems and complicated library sorting systems, that automate and streamline some basic functions. I spoke with lots of vendors about what they do and how they can help us.

One of the newer vendors is a company called Library Ideas, and they have a new music service called Freegal. Freegal lets library patrons download songs from the Sony music catalog. For free. The Library subscribes and sets up the number of downloads everyone is allowed during a week. A few California libraries have already signed up for the service. I think it is worth watching - we buy music CDs, but with the IPods and the IPads out there, downloading music is the way things are going. So why not provide library patrons an opportunity to download content?

This summer there was lots of commiseration at Conference - about the weather (HOT and muggy. DC was built on a swamp) and about the economy. All libraries, of all kinds, are tightening budgets and really taking a hard look at what we do, how we do it and how to move forward to better support our communities. Not all the news was grim - people love their libraries and they are using us more and more. On Tuesday, I was wearing a bright red t shirt urging people to VOTE FOR LIBRARIES as I was visiting legislators in the Capital, and a number of people asked me about the T shirt. They all expressed their appreciation of libraries and wanted to know where they could get the shirt! Tax measures specifically to support libraries have passed in Marin County, San Rafael, Ohio and in many other parts of the country. Some budget cuts have been put off in places like Boston and New Jersey. So there are some signs of hope.

One thing I know for sure, we have to keep on doing what we do because we do make a difference and our communities are enriched by our efforts. Libraries all across the country are making a difference everyday thanks to the efforts of my peers and colleagues in the profession.