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Internet Revives Public Libraries
securitas writes "The New York Times' Steve Lohr reports on the effects of the Internet on public libraries, namely that the installation of Internet-connected computers have been largely responsible for a rebirth in public libraries and increasing attendance, particularly by 'teenagers, people age 50 and older and members of ethnic minorities' as well as low-income patrons without computers at home. According to a University of Washington study, 'A year after computers are put in libraries that do not have them, visits rise 30 percent on the average and attendance typically remains higher'. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - which funds PC-based Internet library projects - features prominently in the article, including the criticism that it is 'a Microsoft marketing exercise masquerading as philanthropy.'"
The local library where I live only gets 12yr olds because that's basically the age group they target. They have put in computers with net access but mostly it's the parents of the 12 yr olds that use them.
Here's a tip, want to keep visitor nerds-types like me? Keep relatively modern books and journals. Nothing like seeing "how computers work" published in 1985 as the only computer related book they have....
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Many libraries do offer ebooks, albiet for use only on computers. My college's library has a wide selection of ebook material available as part of a statewide program.
That's how I wrote a research paper on different theoretical forms of future computing. (DNA, quantum dot, and regular quantum computing, IIRC)
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In discussing public libraries and the internet, I'm reminded of Cliff Stoll's book Silicon Snake Oil. In it, amongst other things he discusses that libraries that spend their money and time putting in computers for internet access aren't spending their money and time finding and buying new books for people. Thus, the library doesn't grow, it becomes a subsidized internet service provider.
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The Linux Terminal Server Project is ideal for Libraries.
Not Windows XP - yuck.
then could someone please explain what the Gates foundation actually does that could be construed as shady?
I think you'll find few complaints about the Gates Foundation, other than possibly charities who wish to receive funding who don't appreciate the stringent requirements to receive funding from the Foundation.
The shady sentiment mentioned in the article is probably confused with Microsoft Corp. "donating" software to schools out of goodwill or as a result of various antitrust trials. Donating $1 Billion of software is a misnomer when the cost of donation is a tiny fraction of the retail value of the items. Air would probably cost more to donate and deliver than a stack of license keys and CDs.
In the case of the Foundation, it is an independent charitable organization that is delivering hardware and software that the organization paid for. True, Bill G. probably got really deep discounts for Windows and Office, and likely discounts for the Dell PCs, but this is much closer to a true donation at retail value than MSFT donating pieces of paper (licenses) to schools which will have to upgrade later.
The Gates Foundation has had a tough time with legitimacy because it came about after Ted Turner basically called Gates out publicly for not donating any of his billions (Turner donated a third of his value, or $1Billion to the UN around 1998). A combination of pressure from Turner, Gates' father, and his wife reportedly caused the foundation to be formed. Gates initially ran the foundation much like Microsoft where he was heavily involved in the operations and ran the foundation in a fairly rigorous manner, so it was questioned in the mainstream press whether he was truly a philanthropist, or was this just another challenge/problem to solve for him. Time and money will eventually solve the image problem, and it already has improved in the last several years.
Er, libraries have been selling off books since they were started. If they didn't get rid of old ones, where would they put the new ones?
Just a thought: maybe people are borrowing the popular books?
Any book you want is available, even if it's not on the shelf - check the catalogue to see what's in other branches in the county or in the stack at county HQ, as these can normally be in your hands next day. If the one you want isn't there, it can be sent over by inter-library loan from another county (may take a few days). The library may even buy it specially for you.
All libraries should be able to have public access internet PCs under the People's Network scheme. If yours haven't yet it may be a local politics thing: I know of one County IT department refusing to support the PN themselves as it would take too much time, but refusing to authorise any other support as it would erode their power base. YMMV.
These allow libraries to have access to a lot of internet content that would be useful for research, but can only be gotten with a subscription. I also allows small town public libraries (like my mom's) to carry information that would usually only show up in college science+tech libraries.
I suggest asking your librarian if they provide access to any of these online repositories before deciding on the usefulness of internet access at public libraries.
WWJD? JWRTFM.
the point of a library isnt to increase raw attendance, it's to provide access to a large quantity of books that the majority of people could not purchase or conveniently locate on their own.
It is? And here I've been working in public libraries for years under the mistaken assumption that we were here to provide information!
Seriously, though, public libraries provide a lot of reference and information services--not just books. Certainly our books, cds, videos, graphic novels, etc. get a lot of use for both research and entertainment, but so do our people.
I'm employed full-time by a public library to teach computer skills. We have about 50 public computers with internet access and assorted software (word processing, spreadsheet, database, photo editing, scanning, CD burning, etc.) and a staff of 6 people who teach classes and are available to answer computer-related questions. That means finding a tax form online, or giving advice on buying a new computer, or explaining how to get spyware off your computer, or showing people how to get out of some computer jam. We teach classes on everything from the basics (turning a computer on and using the mouse) to the specific (genealogy databases, selling on eBay, or PowerPoint, for example.)
We have about 15,000 people use our computers every month. I've taught 20-year-olds and I've taught 95-year-olds (seriously). Heck, I got to sign an 83-year-old nun up for e-mail and teach her to use it. The kicker? We're a medium-sized public library, and we're doing this even after having our state funding slashed by 50%.
So if you haven't been to your public library recently, you might want to stop in and see what all they offer. You seem to be under the mistaken impression that we're only here for the books.
Actually, to make my original post complete, I should also explain WHY we offer these services.
Our Computer Center originally began as a job center. We began teaching computer skills to help people with their resumes and help them get better jobs. That's still a lot of what we do. PowerPoint was added to our curriculum due to the large number of job seekers who needed to know it, and we offer classes on job-hunting using the Internet. We also provide one-on-one help for those who need help formatting their resume for various needs.
I'd also like to point out that many government programs now direct people to their Internet sites for services. In the past week, I've helped 6 people who needed to sign up for unemployment and who were directed to the state's Web site to do so by the unemployment office.
By the way... circulation of books has increased along with public library use in every library I've worked in.
Libraries without enough books could always have a link to Project Gutenberg on their start up page.
A link to the Baen Free Library could be good too.
Trouble is the PCs may end up even more hogged that way.
Would be helpful if libraries could print books themselves from free/public domain material.
I live in a rather prosperous small city in NW Ohio USA. Since childhood I've made great use of the city library's resources, and I'm quite pleased with the librarians' attitudes towards things like censorship (they have 'banned books' display once a year) and the use of the Internet. The library has a room with perhaps a dozen PCs, reservation and sign-up are required, but I know nothing of their usage policies (I never use the machines there, I have one at home). I do know that the computer room is always filled with users, and yes, they do fit the profiles named by the article. Teenagers, seniors, and low-income folks are constantly using the computers, which I consider a Good Thing.
The library has also seen an enormous rise in checkouts, primarily due to their stock of DVDs and videocassettes. Some of my friends who work there have implied that book checkouts are not so numerous, but they admit they don't know any actual revealing statistics. The New Books section is always receiving new items, the library is quickly respnsive to interlibrary loan requests, and I can request any book/video title for permanent addition (no guarantee they'll get it though).
So I'm pretty bullish about my local library. It's been valuable to me for many years, and I don't mind contributing a little money towards their efforts. Their existence is essential for many people who simply cannot afford the cost of technology and/or the printed word. I should also point out that my hometown doesn't have a bookstore worth squat, and the library is often the only place I can find certain titles.
Kudos to librarians ! They may yet stand as a last bastion of free access to information before Ashcroft & Co. (aka The Pious Bastards) are done dismantling the Constitution here...
I think it's great that libraries are seeing a rebirth, and I'm pleased that Melinda is spending some of Bill's enormous wealth helping some of the worst off.
The NYT and/or the University should also pay a visit to the Remdond branch of the King County Library, here in Micro$oft's backyard. I estimate they have about 50 internet surfboards running Windows XP Embedded. They've removed quite a few stacks of dead-tree books over the years to make room for more kiosks.
On a recent weekend trip to help my daughter with a school report, about an hour after opening, more than half of the workstations were unusable - clearly booted, but hung. While my daughter was writing notes, I rebooted several nearby workstations using CTRL-ALT-DEL. A woman with her child was power-cycling the ones in her area to help frustrated patrons. The librarians were busy restarting the ones near their desk, and obviously trying hard to spend time actually helping patrons find information instead of supporting the systems....