Public libraries more popular & more digital than ever

Kristin Proctor

This article includes a ton of data about how public libraries' collections have changed. My summary focuses on the overall shift from print to digital use, but the article also includes information about the changes in costs and costs per use of digital versus print collections as well as information about the wages of public library staff toward the end. Definitely worth a read.

Rizzo, N. (2022). State of US public libraries - More popular and digital than ever. WordsRated. https://wordsrated.com/state-of-us-public-libraries/

Using data from 1992 through 2019 (i.e. right before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down many libraries for in-person visits) and a series of informative graphs and charts, Rizzo describes why some people mistakenly believe "libraries are dead" because overall visits to public libraries and checkouts of physical books have declined.

However, libraries have increased numbers of borrowers, programs, program attendance, and use of digital collections. Total checkouts (digital plus physical) have increased as libraries have shifted their collections to more ebooks, audiobooks, and digital audiobooks. In addition, more people visit the library specifically to attend the increasing number of library programs, which in turn correlates with increased circulation numbers.

Overall, the data illustrate a story that library staff and visitors are already keenly aware of: libraries are very much alive and thriving. Public libraries are clearly shifting their collections in response to the needs of their patrons. They are providing more information and collections in digital format which serves the needs of those who don't visit the library in person as often while they are also providing community connection through library programming attracting visitors to the library.

Hatcher, Rachel

Winter, J. (2019). Equity through diversity: Their importance of LGBTQ titles in our elementary school libraries. California School Library Association Journal, 43(1), p. 5-8. Retrieved from: http://csla.net/publications/journal/

Winter stresses the importance of a diverse collection, including adding LGBTQ titles to the collection. She makes an insightful recommendation: libraries should have plenty of LGBTQ titles as ebooks for checkout. In a school library setting, students may not want to advertise what they are reading to other students. Having both fiction and nonfiction titles available as ebooks allows for a level of privacy students may appreciate.

Winter also suggest using Teachingbooks.net. I like to use their “Find Resources For” buttons to learn more about LGBTQIA+ books. This site offers the ability to narrow your results based on grade level, curricular area, genre, cultural area, award-winning books, and more.

eBooks and Digital Collections for the High School Library.

Sanborn, L. (2014). eBooks and digital collections for the high school library. School Library Monthly, 30(6), 14–18. Retrieved from http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=97266167&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Sanborn wrote an update to the 2011 eBooks and Digital Collections guide that was published in School Library Monthly. Her suggestions reflect the shift from eBooks to eContent, including distinctions between scholarly eContent, eReference and eFiction. She gives recommendations and estimated price ranges (from 2014) for each suggestion.

I found many of her suggestions very useful, especially suggestions for streaming of video content. Managing our movie collection has become a challenge as we have DVDs, but none of our teachers have CD drives in their computers anymore.

Digital Weeding

Weeding. [Fine Art]. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. 

https://quest.eb.com/search/163_2961979/1/163_2961979/cite

DiBello, Amy

Moroni, A.E. (2012).WEEDING IN A DIGITAL AGE. Library Journal, 137(15), 26-28

Permalink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=80445399&site=eds-live

Ebooks may not require shelf space, but librarians are not exempt from weeding their digital collections. Alene Moroni's article about weeding in a digital age encourages librarians to retain useful materials, strive to keep the most accurate information, and consider whether or not what they keep is meaningful to patrons.

Removing an ebook from a collection requires several steps, such as contacting a vendor and manually removing the bibliographic record from the catalog. Collection maintenance tools can reveal which titles are in demand and as platforms become more sophisticated, developers are proving themselves to be receptive to librarians' needs for collection management tools.

A digital library for everyone

Leslie Fox

INFO 266

Cottrell, M. (April 15, 2013). A digital library for everyone. American Libraries. Retrieved from: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2013/04/15/a-digital-library-for-everyone/

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is a project, spearheaded by Maura Marx, to digitize the nation's little known cultural archives and share them for free with everyone.

DAPL will be a portal to a fraction of what's out there. An array of digitized special collections from the Smithsonian to the National Archives. It sets out to unite these materials in a single virtual space. 

The Digital Hubs Pilot Project is a confederation of seven digital libraries (six state and one regional) that make up the beginning of what's available at DPLA. Several other cultural and educational institutions are also involved in states such as: Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah. Harvard University is on board to share their digital collections as well. DAPL will be more of an aggregator of existing collections than a repository. "The purpose of the DPLA is to establish a platform of resources that will help libraries and other cultural heritage institutions to succeed in the digital area," says John Palfrey, president of the DPLA board of directors.

Here's a link to the now launched site: Digital Public Library of America .

Technology Connections: Online Tools for Primary Resources

Amy Woods
Fall 2016

Citation: Moorefield-Lang, H. (2016). "Technology connections: Online tools for primary resources." School Library Connection, Nov/Dec 2016. 35.

Summary: In the Instructional Leadership Column of the latest School Library Connection, author Heather Moorefield- Lang, an associate professor of Library and Information Science, highlights a few helpful sites with great online sources for primary sources:

• Library of Congress features "historic newspapers, digital collections, photographs and veteran histories." With tons of easy-to-search, digital archives, this is a great resource for students. 
• The Smithsonian site contains a variety of resources great for language arts, history, science, and other K-12 courses. This site is vast, so librarians will want to share searching strategies with students before they delve into their research. 
• Digital Vaults is an interactive site "where users can work with photos, documents, and popular media from the National Archives." This interactive tools provides great opportunities for students to create a story with their sources. 
• DocsTeach features primary sources from the National Archives. Teachers can access letters, photos, speeches, posters, maps, and videos, spanning American history, to create rich learning experiences for students. 
• IWitness is an excellent resource for first person accounts of the Holocaust. The site features over 1500 videos from survivors and witnesses. 
• Zoom In is an interactive site that features both primary and secondary sources. Designed for U.S. history students, the site also provides lessons and ideas for teachers. 

Evaluation: There are tons of online resources available to teachers and it's hard to keep track of all of them. Although this article is by no means exhaustive, it does provide a "best of" list for primary sources. 

Collection Development and Management

Chase, Matthew
Fall 2016

Citation:

Lehman, K. A. (2014). Collection development and management: An overview of the literature 2011-12. Library Resources & Technical Services, 58, 169-177.

Summary:

This article provides comprehensive insight into the collection development literature published during 2011 and 2012. The author examined the issues confronting librarians as budget cuts, space limitations, and the increasing emergence of digital resources arise. In order to thrive in the new digital world, Lehman pays special attention to how collection development and acquisitions strategies are shifting toward patron-driven demand. The issues presented by the author have also provided libraries with the opportunity of innovative thinking as they strive for balance between print anddigital collections with open access resources, shared collection building, and re-purposing space beyond ownership.

Evaluation:

In addition to being a bibliographic treasure of citations on collection development trends, the article also proves to be a valuable glimpse into the ever-changing direction of the subject. In particular, it offers innovative strategies drawn from other libraries on how to address issues affecting many communities today such as budgetary and space limitations. Yet these very limitations, as the author points out, have led to new ways of building collections that better reflect their intended users.

Digital Heritage, Local Connections, and Library Collections

McGuire, Morgan

Farkas, M. (2016, May).  Our Digital Heritage. American Libraries, 28.

            Creating Library Connections through Digital Heritage

I recently came across and interesting article in the latest issue of American Libraries.  The article written by Meredith Farkas, entitled “Our Digital Heritage” discusses the value of local heritage and the libraries role in preserving community history.  The author states that many patrons and community members have a rich ties to their local communities and would be willing to share this heritage with local libraries.  In an effort emphasize connection development, some libraries are offering free digitization of photographs and memorabilia in an effort to get patrons evolved with local history and preservation.

Many multi-functional copy machines have scanning and digitizing options.  Low cost hand held scanners are also an available option for public libraries.  For an relatively low investment, libraries can offer to scan and digitize photographs, letters, newspapers, and community information which can become part of a “digitized local history” either online or ready for display in the library.  This is an active way to get patrons into the library and connected with community. 

Bringing local history on line or into the library is a project that goes beyond regional areas.  “In many states and regions, libraries and other organizations have banded together to form digital public library services hubs to consolidate collections from diverse organizations in their area”.  Following the lead of the Digital Public Library of America, smaller libraries can contribute diverse digital collections that add to the cultural heritage of local areas, states, or the entire country.  This is a super example of creating strong collections through strong connections.

Beyond the scanned image: A needs assessment of scholarly users of digital collections

Kimura, Camden

Green, H.E., & Courtney, A. (2015). Beyond the scanned image: A needs assessment of scholarly users of digital collections. College & Research Libraries, 76(5), 690-707. doi:10.5860/crl.76.5.690

Summary: In this article, Green and Courtney (2015) report the results of their research on the needs of faculty in digital collections. Through the course of interviews with fine arts faculty and a survey of English and history faculty, they discovered that digital collections are not created with faculty needs in mind. Among the highest needs for image, text, and multimedia collections were better metadata, searchability, searchable text, and the ability to download images and multimedia (Green and Courtney, 2015, p. 695).  Overall, these interviewed and surveyed academics were not satisfied by the functionality of the digital collections that they used. This has very little to do with content, but rather with usability.  Green and Courtney conclude that digital collections need a “user-centered focus” to be of most use to academics (2015, p. 701).

Evaluation: The bad: this research probably has interesting results and implications, but Green and Courtney watered down the presentation of results so much that there is not nearly enough information for the reader to do much of anything. I would have liked more information so I could properly assess whether or not their conclusions were reasonable or even have some deeper context for their conclusions. The good: what little they do present in the paper is extremely valuable for those creating and curating digital collections, even outside of academia; usability is the most important part of digital collections. Green and Courtney conclude that users must be engaged at nearly every point in the creation of digital collections. I think this is good (albeit a bit obvious) advice for any creating digital collections. We must be first with concerned users, almost over content; if our digital collections are not created in such a way that users can use the collection the way they need to, then we have failed to create a good digital collection. Once we have determined what the users need and especially how the users will be using the collection, then we can focus on curating content. This will create the best digital collection for our users.

A View from Outside the Box

Lederer, Haylee

Bradford, R. (2015). A View from Outside the Box. Library Journal, 140(12), 50. 

Summary: This short article discusses a particular problem that a lot of libraries face today: music licensing. It brings attention to issues that the digital age is producing for libraries. The author claims that "Many librarians may not be aware that playing music during programs, or for most purposes, requires a license" (pg. 50). This has the capacity to bring unnecessary legal issues to libraries, who may or may not have the means to handle them. The author expresses surprise at this problem, because of how wholeheartedly most libraries embrace digital content.

Evaluation: This article was really short, but it served as a good source to start looking into libraries and digital issues. It presents the reader with a specific library who is dealing with this issue. It could also be used as inspiration for other libraries who maybe dealing with the same thing. I found the article really interesting, because music and copyright are not things that I think about very often. Because of the radio and internet streaming, music just seems always readily available, as well as free. As librarians, I think it's important to remember that there are legal hoops that need to be jumped through if the institution is interested in providing music for its patrons.

The Bookless Library

Kumar, Amy

NPR. (January 15, 2013). A New Chapter? A Launch Of The Bookless Library. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2013/01/15/169412670/a-new-chapter-a-launch-of-the-bookless-library

Summary
One of the recent trends in the library world is the rise of the bookless library. Compared to an Apple Store, these bookless libraries feature personal computer stations, laptops, tablets, and pre-loaded e-readers, along with various other digital resources. Such a library has opened in San Antiono, at the cost of $1.5 million and is located in a community with little access to technology. While this new move has both opponents and proponents, the idea behind it is to bridge the digital divide and provide access to digital resources to those who do not have such access at home.

Evaluation
While I certainly appreciate any attempts at bridging the digital divide, libraries can always create areas within the existing collection where this is possible without the loss of books and other reading materials. One aspect that is lost when non-digital collections are made away with is browseability. The joy of finding materials through browsing is replaced by having to know exactly what one is looking for in order to locate it digitally. Also, while I agree that digital resources are a must in the modern era, there is no reason to replace one avenue of learning with another. As there are multiple forms of literacy, libraries must provide multiple resource formats. We cannot assume that the public can or should only get their information in one format, just as we cannot insist that libraries remain as hard-copy repositories forever. While the bookless collection is an innovative idea, it stops short of a truly inclusive community resource.

Metadata For Image Collections

Casso, Gillian

Metadata For Image Collections

Woodward, E. e. (2014). Metadata for image collections.  American Libraries, 45(6), 42-44.

Summary:  This article talks about digitizing materials and making them accessible on the Internet. While making these resources available to the public makes patrons happy and makes the library even more visible to the community it can also be a burden to library staff. Many of these resources haven’t been properly prepared and the quantity of these images becomes more important than the quality of the descriptive metadata. If the item is minimally described or the if it is tagged inappropriately then that makes the item difficult to find in search results. Minimally described images are easier and faster to upload, but when each item is unique then an item level description is more desirable.  Before any launch of a large collection low-level descriptive standards should be in place before the collection is launched online.

Evaluation: I believe that in an online environment materials should be tagged and described in the most comprehensive way possible. This makes each item fast to find. If an item is tagged in a way that I wouldn’t logically think of it being tagged then I won’t be able to find it, unless I just happen to chance upon it. Items that have little or no descriptive metadata aren’t useful to anyone because they won’t be found. Items must be described adequately if they are to be useful to those looking for them. The library that I work at recently digitized a photography collection and unfortunately the only easy way to find the collection is if a patron knows the exact name of the collection. This makes it difficult to find for our patrons. It is unlikely that a patron will just happen to come across the collection.

Collections Are for Collisions

Casso, Gillian

Collections Are for Collisions

Bell, S. J. (2014). Collections are for collisions. American Libraries, 45(9/10), 46-49

Summery:
This article explains that serendipitous discovery in the stacks is a good thing for patrons. Even though many libraries are moving their collections more towards digital access, technology solutions can present ways in which patrons can still have those serendipitous collisions that they have in the stacks.  For instance, the Digital Public Library of America's Bookshelf, simulates shelf browsing and uses colors and different size bars to help with the browsing experience. Even making changes within the physical library itself can be rewarding. Moving different collections to areas that have high access, such as near the computers or the cafe or even meeting rooms can help with these serendipity discoveries.

Evaluation:
I think the more that libraries can do to help patrons find what they might not have been looking for is great. I usually don't browse through the stacks anymore. More often than not I know what I want to read and look for that particular item. I use to browse the stacks all the time and it would make my day when I found a book that truly intrigued me. I loved wandering the shelves, my fingers running along the spines of books, and pulling them off the shelf to read the dust jacket. This article brings up several good points. He mentions studies that MIT did in determining productivity. They discovered that by putting people into situations where they could easily collide with different perspectives and new ideas increased productivity, new ideas and innovation. I liked how the author describes that these experiences don't have to be defined by a physical space, that while it is tougher, it can work just as well in a digital environment.

How Graphic Novels Became the Hottest Section in the Library

Casso, Gillian

How Graphic Novels Became the Hottest Section in the Library

MACDONALD, H. (2013). How graphic novels became the hottest section in the library. Publishers Weekly, 260(18), 20-25.

Summary:
This article describes how the circulation for graphic novels has increased over the last several years, but still remains low in the amount of materials the library owns. While there are still stigmas attached to reading graphic novels stemming from the 1950s, concerns that they are poor literature have dissipated over the last several years. Interest in comics and graphic novels took off in the early 2000s due to manga becoming popularized. Acclaimed books such as Maus and Watchmen broke the ice and circulation numbers began to rise. This article explains that while librarians are getting on board with comics, publishers are still a little behind the times and it can be difficult to build a robust collection, especially when publishers themselves aren't sure about the comics and graphic novels being published. Because circulation numbers are rising, libraries are continuously adding to their graphic novel collections. While e-book lenders, such as Overdrive have graphic novels the collection is limited and can be costly.

Evaluation:
I have to say that I love graphic novels and in fact my favorite one is Fables by Bill Willingham. Over the last several years, the library that I work at has drastically expanded the graphic novels collection and it tends to be the most looked at section of the library. It was great to read an article that touched on some great points, such as how until recently it graphic novels were looked at as poor literature. I thought it was interesting how the article describes the relationship between librarians and publishers and how in the past very few publishers catered to libraries. An important point brought up in this article is how publishers feel that libraries are still prejudiced about comics and that they could be subjected to removal due to book challenges. I also find it interesting that e-book lenders have a smaller collection of graphic novels especially since the popularity has increased.

User Journey in the Digital Age

By Terry Funk

CA

Huwe, T. K. (2014). Building digital libraries: Here’s to a better ‘user journey’.  Computers in Libraries, 34(4), p. 27-29. Retrieved from: http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/may14/Huwe--Heres-to-a-Better-User-Journey.shtml

Summary: The author explores three themes from a recent Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) white paper entitled “Meeting the E-Resource Challenge: An OCLC Report. 

First he points out the need for increased collaboration between information professionals (librarians) and commercial partners (vendors, publishers) to enhance the user journey by first understanding the complexity of the journey (a jungle of websites, dozens of platforms) and then working on the interoperability of systems (a crucial element to success). Trends include working with legacy systems and attending to the quality of data describing resources (e.g. MARC can be used in new ways) and ‘pushing the limits of existing user interfaces to look for better solutions.’ Another theme discussed is data synchronization (not having to rekey everything over and over) and making records portable (portability = a better chance for pieces of data to travel together). Finally the author explains the use of high value collection metrics using COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources), a software that helps to gather collection statistics.

Evaluation: Many library systems did not start out with an emphasis on interoperability and are now playing ‘catch up’ because they cannot do without it. Collaboration across professions is stressed to ‘enhance interoperability, open access, publishing, better link resolving and conceptualizing web-based solutions.’ This article reminds me of Steve Jobs and the need for beautiful design – which can smooth the way for evolving technologies, and enhance user experiences. Sometimes the best design is the simplest. It also introduced me to the idea of Collection Development software/statistics and its many possible uses. 

Collection Development in Cyberspace: Building an Electronic Library Collection

Casso, Gillian

Collection Development in Cyberspace: Building an Electronic Library Collection

Elkordy, A & Kovacs, D. K. (2000). Collection development in cyberspace: building an electronic library collection. Library Hi Tech, Vol. 18 Iss: 4, pp.335 – 361

Summary: This article describes the importance of expanding resources for patrons including those that are available in electronic format. As web based resources become more prevalent, librarians need to develop new skill sets and awareness. Librarians need to be able to identify, facilitate and educate library patrons on how to access electronic resources and when to use them. The creation of an e-library collection is one way of making sure libraries and patrons have the same kind of access to electronic resources as they had to traditional print resources. This article is a practical discussion of developing and implementing a collection plan for building a Web-based e-library. The article will also discuss patron needs, service levels and patron expectations. It will also discuss how and where to find, identity, evaluate and select appropriate information resources.

Evaluation: In the years that I have worked for public libraries I have seen electronic resources grow and expand. As these resources have grown librarians as well as libraries have had to adapt to the change. I liked how the authors defined what e-libraries and digital libraries are. It makes it clear to those readers who may be unfamiliar or unsure of the definitions of these terms.  I think that this article is a great resource for those who are interested in e-libraries and digital libraries. The steps that they give for developing an e-library and defining the patron base are logical. I found this to be an insightful article.  

Librarianship in Practice- Making Personal Libraries Accessible: The Example of the Robert Menzies Collection.

Bailey, Rachel

Stone, C. & Berryman, J.  (2014). Librarianship in practice- Making personal libraries accessible: the example of the Robert Menzies collection. The Australian Library Journal, 63(3),       238-246. Doi: 10.1080/00049670.2014.915499

Summary: This article addresses a relational database mapping technique librarians at the University of Melbourne used to organize Robert Menzie’s (former prime minister of Australia) personal library.  From the process, library staff learned that organizing a personal library is much more complicated than indexing and cataloguing items in a traditional library.

Evaluation: I found this article interesting. It made me think how fun and challenging it would be to manage a collection at a personal library. I like how each book or artifact in the collection can be tied back to Menzies’ interests social network or big events in his life. Online access to the collection can be found at www.menziescollection.esrc.unimelb.edu.au.