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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.'"
Do you have to log in to use your card catalog? (No for the ones in my area)
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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.
This is where the serious fun begins.
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.
I hope this newfound popularity doesn't cause the libraries to neglect the books. At my college, this happened. They hyped their new "information center" and talked about how high-tech it was, but all they did was replace the books with connections to the internet. It's hard to write a paper when the best reference you have is the Internet. The information is so sparse on the Internet, compared to a book which tends to have pages and pages on a topic. Luckily, I was on my way out when I transferred there and never needed to write any heavy-duty papers on anything that wasn't computer-related. Books beat out PCs any day.
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
I've never shoed a horse, but I once told a donkey to piss off!
If there is going to be a comment on this story like "This is a secret Microsoft plan to steal your puppies", then could someone please explain what the Gates foundation actually does that could be construed as shady? From what I've seen, the guy, who happens to be one of the richest people in the world, is giving away a lot of his money to help put computers in schools and libraries that can't afford it themselves. OK, so they're not running Linux. OK, so they're not Macintoshes. It doesn't cost the guy a dime to put Windows in these places, does it? Also, remember what desktop operating system has 90% of the market and as a result most people would be familiar with.
Never hit your grandmother with a shovel, for it leaves a bad impression on her mind...
What are the stats on checking out the books? If no one is doing any more reading, then I don't see this as having any beneficial effect on libraries; they're just convenient places to put terminals, sort of like internet cafes without the coffee.
Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
Seriously, there are hundreds of them in stock, but you never see them on the shelves, because they are ALWAYS out. You have to search the catalog just to see what's available, and place holds to get them.
A woman at the 'checkout' said that she feels like she works at Blockbuster, more than at a library...
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)
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?
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.
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
"In prison you just have to shut your eyes and take it. Here you have to shut your eyes and give it."
The increase in book loans from drawing in the extra people is probably minimal.
However, so long as it doesn't adversely effect the availability of books then it's not a bad thing. Providing free internet access to people that don't have it is a good thing, as well as the assitance that library staff can provide to people who aren't quite
Many communities in the modern western Europe and the USA lack any real community or cultural centre. If a library can fulfill this role in a greater way then more power to it. I personally would love to see libraries take on greater roles as centres of information, learning and debate. They were once greatly respected by the public.
The introduction of a network of public libraries in the UK in the 1850s was a landmark of progressive thinking and it nearly didn't happen.
One Consrevative MP argued (and had a lot of support in his party for this)that:
"people have too much knowledge already: it was much easier to manage them twenty years ago; the more education people get the more difficult they are to manage."
Society would be much the poorer if the libraries hadn't been approved by parliament, and by the same measure, society will become much richer if they recieve more support in the future.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
By the way, how often do corporate philanthropies NOT have marketing at their heart?
Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
Have to agree with what a number of people are saying here. As much as I like computers, and libraries, I'm not sure I really favour so much the current combination of them that we're seeing. Often, I've noticed they are not being used for research, and the people using them are not actually getting books out. 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. Libraries are for books, and consequently to increase literacy amongst the public. This does not seem to further that goal. Not to mention that things like this, and videos for instance, do eat away at libraries funds, both for connection and computer costs, and also because libraries sometimes need an extra staff person to monitor what's going on there. (Though in all fairness, I have used the internet in libraries before, it was helpful for me when I didn't have it at home and I can only think that there are others out there who are also using the system in a good way, and yes, I have quite often borrowed movies from the libraries (great when you have kids)).
Oh and the point someone mentioned about comp books in libraries being hopelessly out of date. Yes it can be pretty bad, plus, do they really need yet another book on their shelf on how to use Office?
here in georgia. Only one required a picture ID to login. All of them had sign in sheets, but you could put any name you chose I guess (except the pic ID one of course). The machines have definetly been the donated microsoft gates foundation machines. I have asked at two libraries if they would take donated computers that I would provide running linux, they said NO very emphatically, they run a windows network remote administered. The machines themselves are usually chock full of spyware/adware as near as I can see. I have not seen any of the librarians to be very computer competent besides logging and booting the machines up, all the work is done remotely by who knows who. One library I was in had installed cameras facing the screens. The most common uses I see glancing around is people use email and chatrooms. Next is research for papers or for people (stuck) inside the legal system doing research, then genealogical research.
The demographic split in the article is VERY accurate from what I have seen: teenagers, the over 50's (like me) and "recent arrivals to these shores".
One thing I have seen is their censorware is highly subjective and inaccurate, and frequently blocks sites that are in no way pornographic,etc, but are political, I have seen some sites come up as blocked because they are called "hate speech" sites when they are not, but they are on the blocked list anyway.
Now, as the economy is at an all time low, we've been seeing the same pattern. The usage of the library is increasing. Back when I was a page, the books that I noticed going over the desks very frequently were books on job hunting and resume writing. Now that I am in the IT department, I no longer have the opportunity to see what books are in high usage. However, I would hazard a guess that job boards and career networking web sites are prety high up there in internet usage, as would be e-mail (the top use from our perspective) and blogging. Where else can someone walk in, get access to the internet and begin to post their opinioons on politics, pop culture, business or whatever floats their boat? Free of charge? As an added bonus, many of us are placing wireless access points out there for the public. They are highly restricted to make certain that people can only use the web and read their e-mail (ports 80, 110, 143, https, etc...), but they are free access nonetheless.
Support your public library. They are really cool institutions and if their funding gets better, encourage them to grow their IT departments. I got my start in IT in a library and I've always seen libraries as a great place to start a career in IT. With the right attitude a lot of the smaller places are perfect for a high school graduate with computer skills or a college grad with a Comp. Sci. degree to start out and gain some really good experience.
Un-news
Oh, come now. I'm as much an opponent of the Beast of Redmond as any other guy, but this goes a little far. There is a time honored tradition in this country of leaving a man be when he is giving back the money that he stole from the public fair and square. Hell, Carnegie practically built the same American public library system with his contributions, and that was just so folks would forget that he used to like using the pinkertons to club everything that moved in his company slums. I say as long as billy boy is writing checks, big checks, we give him all the huzzahs and attaboys he deserves and stop questioning his motives.
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal...
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....