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interesting stories

Libraries ‘must modernise’ to secure future

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Another interesting news story caught my eye this week from the BBC website- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8388352.stm. Working at the Bodleian, I am constantly reminded that major changes are just around the corner, especially now the Special Collections decant has begun. The introduction of ICT into libraries has brought about a massive change in their purpose and function and perhaps more importantly reader expectations. I know that I am very used to receiving information immediately via the Internet and often have little patience when I have to wait for documents to arrive by post when I could simply click a button on-line. Similarly, readers in the Bod sometimes look horrified that they should have to wait three hours to get the book they need from the Stack. For me, there is no substitute for curling up with a good book, even if I have to wait for it, but an expansion in e-resources and electronic learning has significantly sped up access to and sharing of information.

The article also got me thinking about previous blog posts- it definitely picks up on ideas raised by Charlie’s post about the purpose and function of a library and the last paragraph also reminded me of James’ post on rare books- a loyalty card and home delivery service? Is this simply taking customer service one step too far?

A Very Small Library in a Phone Box!

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This morning I came across the wonderful story of possibly the smallest library in the country on the When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Librarian blog, a Somerset village community have adopted the old village phone box and transformed it into a lending library.  It’s extremely simple too, people donate unwanted books, DVDs and CDs to the phone box and then borrow anything that takes their fancy.

Sounds like a fantastic way for the community to maintain some sort of library service within the village (the mobile library service was cancelled a few months ago)  and also preserve a classic symbol of Britishness in the process.  Small rural village communities are often cut off from many public services and for those without transport visiting a library can be difficult.  In the wake of the recession, have come increased budget cuts and financial pressure for local authorities and the needs of certain communities can be neglected.   I wonder if the public phone box library might spark a trend amongst similar rural communities across the country where library services are being cut and people are left without?

How quiet should libraries be?

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I was interested to see a link in this week’s Outline [OULS staff newsletter] to the following article:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408930

Should libraries be places for quiet study or should they offer opportunities for interaction and more informal work?

Personally, I think there should be a mixture, but I appreciate this approach can’t be adopted in every library. Fundamentally, though, it comes back to the question of what libraries are for. This is question with as many different answers as there are library users – and the issue has been complicated further by the increased use of computer and online resources by students (for work purposes and otherwise).

What do you think?