‘Library Lovers have strikingly positive views of public libraries compared with other groups, and with the U.S. population as a whole; they use libraries and library websites more than any other group, and believe libraries are essential at the personal as well as the community level.’ ~ The PEW Center’s Library Services Survey 2013
As it is South African Library Week from 17-22 March, I got to thinking about the last time I entered a library. And the truth is – I’m ashamed to say – I can’t remember. I like to think of myself as a ‘Library Lover’ but I don’t own a library card and don’t have a public library close to my home. I do, however, belong to a book club and so I do have access to books which I read for pleasure. In a very real sense my book club has replaced my need for belonging to a library. I also have a mini library of my own at home consisting of hundreds of books I have acquired over the years and happily lend them to others. (Just don’t ask me to get rid of them as I can’t!) I also own an iPad with a Kindle App and buy e-books online. And… Google has replaced my need to do research at a library. As a result I don’t need to visit a library any more. I think I have become what the PEW survey referred to as an ‘Information Omnivore’! (Except that I have not been into a library for ages.)
‘Information Omnivores are more likely to seek and use information than other groups, are more likely to have and use technology; at the same time, they are strong users of public libraries, and think libraries have a vital role in their communities. However, they are not quite as active in their library use as Library Lovers, or nearly as likely to say the loss of the local library would have a major impact on them and their family.’
But this hasn’t always been the case. When I was a teacher and a much poorer young mother, I used the library frequently and encouraged my own children take out library books every second week and the whole family always came home with a pile of books. The library offered variety and access to books I couldn’t afford to buy. At school, when learners needed to do research for a project I took them to the media centre where our very efficient librarian set aside books related to the assignment. The media centre offered information that was not available anywhere else.
When the school got a computer with dial-up internet access in the media centre, the librarian was very helpful in assisting learners to look up information through search engines such as Aardvark – of course that was in the days before Google and smartphones!
Now that I am no longer in the classroom, I wonder whether the library still plays such an important role in other people’s lives. I image in schools, universities and poorly resources areas the library remains the major repository of ‘free’ information – both in paper and electronic form. A lifeline to knowledge and reading for pleasure.
What is your experience? Would you be devastated if your local library closed down?
The PEW Centers’ Library Services Survey [2013], which involved a sample group of 6224, differentiated between ‘Library Lovers’, who make up 10% of the US population and visit the library at least once and week and ‘Library Omnivores’ who make up 20% of the population and use a combination of libraries, library websites and other technology to keep up to date. A further 39% of the population visit libraries, but less frequently
MacKat