Preparing libraries for the future

A critical review of:

Ministry Advisory Council on Public Libraries. (2012, February). Tomorrow's library [Discussion paper].

In a society that is becoming increasingly dependent on information technology and social media, the role of public libraries has changed considerably. It is therefore important to come up with effective and relevant strategies to develop the services of these libraries so that they can anticipate and be ready to adapt to the public’s needs.

In their discussion paper Tomorrow’s library, the Ministry Advisory Council on Public Libraries encourages a variety of people to contribute ideas to, and consider the challenges of shaping the future of public libraries in Victoria. The target groups for this paper are key stakeholders in the delivery of public library services and the library-using public. The council is of the opinion that by asking for input from these groups, they can create a ‘future focused and forward thinking’ (p. 3) plan to be used in developing Victorian public libraries.

The document is divided into several sections, with the body of the text covering what the council considers to be key areas of development: library buildings, technology, service delivery, collections, resources and programs. Each segment begins with statistics taken from other Victorian Government publications and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to provide an introduction to and justification for the council’s ideas. The section then tackles why the area under discussion is a key area of concern, and lists challenges for participants to consider when contributing to the general public library development plan. Each section ends with questions to the readers about how their own library services relate to those challenges.

As the nature of an article like this is to inspire discussion, Tomorrow’s library contains very general information on the key topics presented; this can be a disadvantage. As the Municipal Association of Victoria (2012, p. 3) points out, the article doesn’t discuss the specific objectives of library services. Without these, it is difficult for group members to identify which objectives and goals would be appropriate for their individual libraries. The omission could lead to decisions resulting in wasted funds.

Something that is missing from this document is a detailed study of the challenges surrounding public libraries and e-books. Since Australia is ‘one of the leading markets for e-book adoption’ (ALIA, 2013), it is essential that this topic is addressed. Library Journal (2012, p. 4) found that public libraries ‘are on the front lines of the unresolved tug of war between book publishers, e-book vendors, and libraries.’ As information professionals we need to be aware of this battle and its implications.

Funding is always an issue when it comes to expanding library collections, and there are hidden costs involved with the circulation of e-books. It’s not as easy as buying a copy of an e-book file and lending it out electronically. Publishers such as Harper Collins restrict their e-books to twenty-six circulations—after which the library must buy a new licence (O’Brien, Gasser & Palfrey, 2012, p. 9). E-book prices have also risen considerably; in March of 2012, Random House publishing tripled the price of many of its library-licenced e-books (Kelley, 2012). Although Tomorrow’s library mentions e-books needing to be part of future collections, the authors have not considered these costs to be part of their challenges. In addition, there is no consideration given to how issues such as privacy, copyright and ownership will impact e-book collections in the future.

The cost of infrastructure for supporting electronic resources is also not mentioned in the article. Burke (2009, p. 130) points out that (as well as the cost of the resources) libraries need to consider the time and expense involved with operating, maintaining and updating the e-book software database. Exploring these issues in the discussion paper (even briefly) could have given increased the knowledge of the stakeholders, letting them make informed decisions on how to improve their libraries. I was disappointed in this discussion paper as it glosses over many of the issues that I consider to be essential for developing plans for ‘tomorrow’s libraries’. I realise it is the nature of such papers is to generate ideas, but not mentioning issues such as those surrounding e-books can be detrimental to planning the needs of libraries in the future.

Additional references

ALIA (2013, January). Ebooks and elending issues [Paper]. Retrieved from Australian Library and Information Association website.

Burke, John J. (2009). Neal-Schuman library technology companion: A basic guide for library staff (3rd ed.). New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Kelley, Michael. (2012, March). Librarians feel sticker shock as price for Random House ebooks rises as much as 300 percent. Retrieved from Library Journal, The Digital Shift website.

Library Journal (2012). 2012 E-book usage report for U.S. public libraries. Retrieved from Library Journal, The Digital Shift website.

Municipal Association of Victoria. (2012, May). Municipal Association of Victoria Submission to the Tomorrow’s library discussion paper. Retrieved from Municipal Association of Victoria website.

O’Brien, David., Gasser, Urs., Palfrey, John G., Jr. (2012, July). E-Books in libraries: A briefing document developed in preparation for a workshop on e-lending in libraries. Retrieved from Harvard University, Berkman Center for Internet & Society website.