CLOUD UNBOUND

Libraries, ebooks, publishing, and all the sublimely prickly stuff in between as viewed by Heather McCormack, Collection Development Manager, 3M Cloud Library

Library Patrons Want More E-books, But They Want to Keep Print Books, Too

booksyarnink:

In addition to use habits, Pew compiled a laundry list of items patrons want from their libraries:

  • The ability to borrow books (80%).

  • More e-books (83%).

  • IPS navigation for locating books (62%).

  • Access to reference librarians (80%).

  • Redbox-style kiosks for renting books in public spaces outside the library (63%).

  • Free access to Internet-connected computers (77%).

  • An online “ask a librarian” service (73%).

  • Access to library materials via apps (63%).

  • An area to try out new devices (69%).

  • Amazon-style recommendation engines based on past checkout history (64%).

  • Free literacy programs for young children (82%).

Yet when asked whether they would be willing to give up existing resources to make room for these things — to move some books to off-site storage centers to make sense for a device-testing center, for instance — only 20% of survey participants said they were in favor. Thirty-six percent said libraries should “definitely” not move books off-site.

Which sums up the whole problem, really.

—- 

All of this makes me shake my head when I see the stories that have come out about “bookless libraries”. 

Patrons want to have their cake and eat it, too, and why not?

  1. canatime reblogged this from cheshirelibrary
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  6. msbooksy reblogged this from librarygoddess
  7. btmullis reblogged this from shrinkinglibrarian
  8. librarygoddess reblogged this from mollyglot and added:
    Of course people want both. I wonder when we will see a shift to wanting less one way or the other....
  9. shrinkinglibrarian reblogged this from libraryjournal
  10. andersoncountylibrary reblogged this from libraryjournal and added:
    What’s wrong with wanting it all?
  11. cobaltlove reblogged this from libraryjournal
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  13. exquisite-artist reblogged this from progressive-librarian
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  18. onceread reblogged this from libraryjournal and added:
    Sometimes it’s a bummer that my library elected not to save checkout history (privacy issues and all) since people ask...
  19. gloriousclio reblogged this from megzam
  20. progressive-librarian reblogged this from libraryjournal and added:
    We all want more books, in every format! But we also want our local governments to stop slashing our budgets…
  21. megzam reblogged this from libraryjournal and added:
    Format-agnostics want it, and they want it NOW!
  22. libraryjournal reblogged this from cloudunbound
  23. cloudunbound reblogged this from booksyarnink and added:
    Patrons want to have their cake and eat it, too, and why not?