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.'"

Comments

Poll:

[vegetablespork]

How many of your libraries log who was on what machine and at what times? (Yes for the ones in my area)

Do you have to log in to use your card catalog? (No for the ones in my area)

Re:Poll:

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you have to log in to use your card catalog?

Card catalog, what century are you living in? Most libraries moved to electronic catalogs a long time ago, the ones that still have cards probably have not updated them in a decade or more. Besides when you check out a book, the transaction is almost certainly being recorded by the library's database.

Someone tell the UK...

[I confirm I'm not a]

According to the BBC, Britain's public librarires will be out of use by 2020. My local library does have a computer (one!) but the collections (books, CDs, etc) are shocking. Ordering from other libraries takes too long, etc.

Re:Someone tell the UK...

[ader]

Ack, ya beat me to it.

More interestingly, the story mentions that despite increases in funding for libraries, spending on books has sharply declined! Presumably, at least some of that money went on Internet provision instead - that's great as a means of broadening access, but not if it diverts money from a core function.

More, newer books are obviously required, but increased rotation of stock between libraries would help too. As it stands, the average secondhand or remainders shop offers a wider range.

Ade_
/

Wonderful!!!!

[Phidoux]

It's just a pity that in many poorer countries the public libraries are still a very long way from being able to afford computers. In most African countries for example, governments first priority is to feed, clothe and house people and public libraries (If there are any) come very low down on the list of priorities.

And attendance would be even higher

[mumblestheclown]

and attendance would be even higher if they gave out free beer and blowjobs.

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.

With the internet, this dynamic does not occur; I am guessing that the vast majority of people who use library PCs for internet access could reasonably get it (or, more accurately, already have it) in some other fashion at home, but prefer the coffeehouse / social aspect of being out of the house while doing their web surfing.

Re:And attendance would be even higher

[WanderingGhost]

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.

Exactly! But there's one more thing... The quality of what people read! (No, I'm not politically correct.) If all that people read in the library are crappy/superficial romances written by people who usually write one book every month, or something like that, I don't think they'll benefit a lot from that (although it's better than not reading at all, of course). It would be nice to have something less passive and more interesting: a place where people go to get together and think/discuss/etc.

Re:And attendance would be even higher

[rwa2]

Dude, the library isn't about books, it's about information. Creating a society where people without the means to access information stored in books or online bars them from advancement and self-improvement. It's about making sure everone has the opportunity to improve their situation, whether they take it or not. And even though in the end it might just be an exercise in clearing the conscience of all of us that had this stuff while growing up, it does provide a degree of equality that make it all the more apparent when the privileged upper classes still keep their positions closed to their social circles due to factors other than strictly "meritocratic" criteria.

Re:And attendance would be even higher

[Xzarakizraiia]

While it's true that probably a significant portion of people accessing the internet from libraries in general could or do have a connection at home, there are still many people completely unable to afford it that benefit from the program. The article mentions that to be elegible for Gates grants, the library must serve a community with ten percent of the population living below the federal poverty level. Even if the kids are just looking up song lyrics online, at least they're learning how to use a computer and search for things on the internet.

More importantly, internet access makes the library look more valuable in the public eye. People will consider how useful this is when it comes time to vote for a tax increase to maintain the library, so that raw attendence score is important. The library is fulfilling its original purpose of providing books by convincing people they're worth paying for. Without this, as it states in the article, many libraries would remain closed or delapidated.

Re:And attendance would be even higher

[Anonymous Coward]

I couldn't agree more. IMO the function of the library is not about books. Books (along with magazines, video and other media) are tools for it's purpose: to allow a higher level of information access to everyone. As complimentary and/or better tools become available a library should incorporate them.

Finally, attendance is one major indicator of a library's success (albeit not the only indicator).

Re:And attendance would be even higher

[hey!]

Man, you really pulled that post out of your ass.

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.

Libraries have always had more things than books in them, such as newspapers, periodicals, recordings and recently videos. The point is to make access to information universal. People want information. If you provide it to them, they will come. What people are gettign are things like access to Google, or foreign newspapers. If you're from another country and want to know what your home town paper said about yesterday's news from Iraq, where do you go? To the Internet.

I am guessing that the vast majority of people who use library PCs for internet access could reasonably get it (or, more accurately, already have it) in some other fashion at home, but prefer the coffeehouse / social aspect of being out of the house while doing their web surfing.

This is the part you pulled out of your ass.

If you are an immigrant working as a unskilled laborer or a home health aid, do you think you'd get Internet access as part of your job? Would the price of a computer and high speed access be something that would be a barrier to you?

When people like me and probably you want a coffeehouse atmosphere, we go to a coffeehouse with our wifi laptops. At the library you can't do your favorite drugs, pick up women (well maybe not) or have a conversation with other patrons.

Who cares...

[Polkyb]

If Microsoft are being criticised or not... The plain and simple fact of the matter is that the Gates foundation has helped put PC's into the hands of people who would not otherwise use one.

Whether they run nothing but Microsoft software, or something else, is not an issue, IMHO

Call him what you like (and I'm sure some of you will) he's doing a good thing here and I, for one, will take my hat of to the guy

Re:Who cares...

[agentZ]

I don't care where the money is coming from. If it's doing Good Things(tm), we should take the money. I wish I remember who said, "The only problem with tainted money is that there 'taint enough of it!"

Re:Who cares...

[YU Nicks NE Way]

Didn't RTFA, did you, guy? The Gates Foundation does not specify the software the libraries must run on the computers they buy with the money, and, in fact, only 83% of recipients use the recommended package.

windows xp?

[geighaus]

They recently upgraded the entire computer network at the local libraries here (Helsinki, Finland). Compaq mini-PCs with sleazy design, LCD monitors and a copy of Windows XP installed on each computer. The only thing those computer are intended for is web browsing. Internet Explorer is run in a kiosk mode, which theoretically makes it impossible to run anything else (but that's not true in practice). This raises a question. Do you really need Windows XP and a fairly modern computer to provide a simple interface for web surfing? I don't know if they had a deal with Microsoft about serious discounts / free copies of MS software But if they didn't, all those thousands of copies of WinXP surely seem to be a great waste of money. I am not a Linux zealot, but Linux seems to be an ideal candidant for such a task (contrary to Windows XP with all its bells and whistles)

Libraries

[Silwenae]

I regularily take my 8 year old son to our local library. We live in a fairly outlying suburb of Minneapolis.

By my standards, the library is very small (the book selection is poor at best, but you can request books from within the county's system or even the city's county).

For such a small library, they have at least 6 computer terminals, and I'm always surprised they are always in use. Just glancing at the folks using them, it's IM applications to games to research. But they're always being used.

I'm always suprised and pleased to see it. I'm so used to taking the computers I have at home for granted, I can't imagine what life would be like not having one - but to the folks using them, I bet it's a godsend.

If this is the evolution of the public library, it can only be a good thing. The other posters comments about monitoring and tracking library patrons is quite concerning, and if students are using the internet for research, are they aware that everything you read on the internet isn't true?

CIPA

[Adrian Lopez]

Meanwhile, people's ability to access certain pages on library terminals is restricted by law. Children who cannot afford computers and internet service in their homes are the ones to suffer most as they're forced to deal with a second-class Internet

MaSked Marketer

[moviepig.com]

...a Microsoft marketing exercise masquerading as philanthropy...

...reminiscent of Apple first throwing computers into public schools decades ago, in its quest for world domination. The result was a world much more computer-savvy than dominated (...by Apple).

By the way, how often do corporate philanthropies NOT have marketing at their heart?

but if someone did this to promote Linux

[ThePretender]

it would be a different flamewar altogether. Oops, it wouldn't be a flamewar though it would still be blatant self-promotion. And yes, it would be someone trying to make money, not some earthy-crunchy lovefest. Red Hat, et al, would be behind it and plastering their name all over it to get free advertising.

Re:Increasing literacy?

[CommandNotFound]

Rather, you have 12 year olds going on yahoo chat, trying to sneak some porn, look up the latest on Britney, or other such activities.

I agree with your concerns, but at the same time they are (in order with above) learning to read and type, solving the technical problems of getting around net nanny, and researching biographical information. Sure, it's pop culture, but the alternative activities for a 12yo would probably be TV or video games. And sooner or later they may get curious about all those shelves of books surrounding them. :)

I think the positives outweight the negatives, overral.

Re:I hope they don't neglect their roots

[Otter]

Absofreakinlutely. When I was a kid, the librarians were little old ladies (mostly volunteers) who checked books in and out, helped you with the Dewey numbers and told you to be quiet. Now they're Library Scientists who are too important to deal with anything as prosaic as books, and the libraries have turned into a cross between Blockbuster, cybercafes and homeless shelters.

And while there always seems to be money for new Dells, whenever there's a hint of funding cuts the first reaction is to play chicken by cutting the hours.

This subject is a big deal for me, because when I was little I could read far faster than my parents could afford to buy me books. The local library (in what was not a big city) was one of the most crucial elements in my education, arguably more than school. It kills me to walk into a library today and not see any books written before 2001.

Another factor: online catalog access

[Ellen Spertus]

I use my local public library more because of Internet access, but not in the way the article suggested. I use the Internet from home to search my library's holdings and request that books be delivered to my local branch. Requesting a book online is as quick as ordering from Amazon but doesn't cost anything, and the book is often available in less time than it would take to ship. I still buy some books that I want to keep, but I'm paying for fewer duds or read-once books. I am reading more and paying less. Win win.