"Is It Time to Get Rid of Libraries?" FrontPage Mag / David Greenfield."Despite the general leftward trend of librarians on an organizational level, libraries once served a useful function. Once."
"A librarian is considered to be a specialist in the care and management of a library, trained in library science and engaged in library services. A librarian has many important roles to play. Unfortunately, their lot remains neglected due to varied reasons, including the indifferent attitude of the policy makers, perhaps because of their lesser numbers. SR Ranganathan, considered as father of library science, developed five laws in 1931. He said:
Books are for use
Every reader his or her book
Every book its reader
Save the time of the reader
The library is a growing organism
With a few simple adaptations, Ranganathan’s laws hold good even today. ... Librarians are considered not more than clerks. Even the authorities concerned have failed to implement a proper service structure, and have not come up with an effective promotion formula till today. Further obstacles that hinder the recognition of librarianship as a noble profession enlist the attitude and working habits of supporting staff in libraries."
"For librarians to understand the perceptions of faculty and students and know how to reach and influence them, requires effective marketing - but this isn't just a question of promotion. The research found that in delivering shared services, Purdue University emphasizes the importance of framing services from a faculty rather than from a librarian perspective."User-centric framework!
"But more than that, it may just be the last free space that is truly free and there for everyone — homeless, young, old, rich, poor, and any race under the sun. We are all welcome there. We are all equal there."
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"Beyond the sheer fiscal capacity of governments to keep paying for them, the case for libraries remains surprisingly solid in the online age. The Canadian Urban Libraries Council commissioned Lumos Research to analyze the trends. The report, released last spring, found that for every person in a given Canadian city, the public library on average loaned out 11.3 books and other items in 2008-2009, up from 9.7 in 2000-2001. Over the same nine-year period, the number of visits to the libraries’ websites jumped to five a year per capita from only one. More loans and Web hits refute the easy assumption that Google searches and cheap online book-selling must be rendering libraries obsolete. "
"Over the next 24 hours more than a hundred civilian deputations would be made, directed mainly at the mayor, who swiveled in his chair, downed the occasional Red Bull, and made not-so-comfortable eye contact with angry disputants. “Save the libraries” and “Shame” were among the more popular epithets slung at Ford, whose fiscal mission—to distinguish Toronto’s “need to haves” from its “nice to haves”— has clearly put neighbourhood libraries in the latter category. His Worship’s older brother Doug—also a city counselor—helpfully poured gasoline on the library fire, making an unlikely opponent of Canadian author and T.O. resident Margaret Atwood by asserting that a) there are more libraries than Tim Hortons outlets in his neighbourhood (there aren’t), and b) he doesn’t care what Atwood has to say about his erroneous assertions because he doesn’t really know who she is."
"In its most recent annual report, Toronto Public Library boasts it is the “busiest public library system in the world.” More than 18 million people visit the 99 branches, taking out more than 32-million different items. Circulation has been on the rise, increasing by 3.4% in 2010 over the previous year. Borrowing e-titles jumped an impressive 70%, but still only represents 0.8% of overall circulation. The circulation of print materials was stable, while audio books and DVDs increased. Since 2006, visits to the libraries website have increased by 26%. A survey shows that 73% of Torontonians use the library, said KPMG, a consulting firm that provided councillors with several reports on what services the city might consider cutting for budget reasons. The Toronto Public Library offers more than 27,000 programs, most of them for children, that support early literacy and book clubs."
"And as city council looks for places to cut, councilor Doug Ford, the brother of Mayor Rob Ford, started counting library branches and Tim Hortons outlets. Now, his math was off. There are actually about three Tim Hortons for every one library branch in his neighbourhood.
But his comments have unleashed a fierce debate over the value and the future of libraries ... a debate that is already being fueled by questions about the role libraries play in the internet era, when so much information is readily available from just about anywhere."
"We have more libraries per person than any other city in the world.I’ve got more libraries in my area than I have Tim Hortons."
"Whether we are talking about the major library systems in a Canadian city, the small, beautiful rural library branch, the happy school library, the major research library at a university, the technical library of a college, the proud library on a reserve, the hospital library for patients and medical pros, or a fresh law library in Canada’s newest territory Nunavut, we can clearly recognize that libraries support nearly everything we care about in Canada:* Learning and schools for our whole lives* Preparing children for their futures* Medical care and good health and nutrition* Peace order and good government* Healthy and effective communities* Entertainment, the arts and culture* A great democracy* A wonderful country."
"Kitsap Regional Library is working with health clinics and the nonprofit organization Reach Out and Read to promote early literacy this summer through a program called Libraries Are Doctor-Recommended."
"These are centres of learning, not only for kids or teens. The library is a centre of learning for everyone, regardless of age, gender, race or the amount of income they have."
"As budget constraints continue to endanger school library programs, Assistant Commissioner [for the Colorado State Library Eugene] Hainer encourages communities not to give up the fight. "I think this is a critical issue for our country -- [libraries are] essential," he insists. "We can't lose this resource."
"Last week I was invited to address a congress of librarians. I discovered all over again why they are some of my favourite people.
There is something subversive about librarians and libraries. The library remains a place where information isn’t bought and sold. Even if you think of them as being fussy and discreet, what librarians do radically empowers ordinary people, enabling them to use information outside the control of elites. ...
In an age of information glut, no algorithm can replace intelligence and analysis. ...
In Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Italy and Finland, there are big national programs to improve school libraries, not close them, as we are doing."
