Nice article from the Globe and Mail about public libraries in Canada: Libraries turn page to thrive in digital age. Basically it talks about how libraries are changing to keep up with different demands; offering services to teens (including the obligatory DDR night), spending more of their budgets on electronic resources. Nothing we librarians don’t already know, but it’s nice to see it written for the public as well. Includes some interesting circulation numbers at the end of the article.
I feel sorry for Meredith and Adam, who seem to have a poor PL system in Vermont; the Public Library system here in Calgary is just great. New branches are being built on a fairly regular basis, and they’re being built right! (though I sure would like to see a drive-up book drop for returns). And I can place requests for items held in any branch and have them waiting for me at my local branch. And CDs, and downloadable audio books, and good hours, and good children’s sections… Sorry, I’ll stop bragging now – it could all go to Hell if the price of oil drops someday (snort).
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2 Responses to “Canadian libraries are doing just fine in the digital age”
I read this article, and thought it was SUCH old news — every two years or so the Globe runs an article about how libraries are actually high-tech places, with computers and Internet! My reaction was, “This has been the case for years — let’s move on.” The fact that it was on the front page was even more ridiculous.
I seriously thought about writing a spoof article and sending it to them. The headline would read, “Newspapers Turn Page to Thrive in Digital Age,” and it would talk about how newspapers are creating web pages so they won’t become irrelevant in digital age. It would breathlessly report on newspapers’ use of such cutting-edge tools as web polls and reader comment sections — it’s not just about Mr. Cranky typing and mailing his letter to the editor any more! Think readers would be interested?
Yeah, go for it Heather! 🙂