The Assumption That The Internet Can Replace Libraries

For libraries to remain a place for a lively exchange of ideas, librarians should be armed with the right knowledge and strong conviction to preserve people’s rights.

The author starts off with a rhetorical question: “What kind of problem is a library?” urging the readers to think about this question as they continue to read the article. The question grabs the readers’ attention, and intrigues them to read on to find and answer. She further utilizes this technique of rhetorical questions throughout the article for the same purpose of emphasis on the vitality of the role of public libraries. Moreover, Smith extensively employs the use of metaphors and personification. For example, she describes the internet as libraries’ “universal death knell”, which portrays the internet’s negative impact on the development of

Just like any library, ancient special libraries, also known as archives, where created to preserve and keep records of specific materials, such as business documents that were written on clay tablets at that time or papyrus scrolls that were about personal or business matters. At first, general libraries were mainly focused on providing educational materials for the adult population; however, libraries have gone through great transformations. Now-a-days, the libraries’ purpose has widened and now they focus on providing any needed information, educational or leisure materials to people of all ages and types of their communities (Rowland, Collection). Also, now public libraries have partnerships with school libraries and academic

This source was important because it allowed us to see what is ‘legally’ considered a bill of rights for a library. As this is from a national association for libraries, it can be inferred that our own library would have shared the same ideals. This was important for the usefulness of for the Strategic Plan as it allowed us to outline the rules that the library would have to follow and how it would likely deal with events in the library.

The final stakeholder could be students who attend college now. The students now want the same thing as the students back then, to get good grades and study hard. Students now believe that libraries are used for the internet and a quiet place to study. Most students only use library databases if it is required by the teacher. Students today would say that Google is a reliable source and that it is easier to use than databases. Current students have more available options than the other stakeholders because they are a part of the new generation. Like the other stakeholders, students still use the library even with the technology changing. Jenny Platt is currently attending CSU and is in the class of 2015. She doesn’t go to the library but if she did she said she would get on her computer and go to google to start her research. She said she does not check books out from the library because the internet is easier (Platt). Platt says “The library has better information but Google is just faster and more convenient.” After taking a survey on the Facebook page for the class of 2015, at CSU, the students were more likely to start their research by using google instead of library databases and books. Out of the 32 students who responded, 27 said google, 4 said library databases and only 1

The London Public Library is an organization spanning the city of London, delivering services from 16 physical locations. The core services of the library include reference, reader’s advisory and referral; collections and lending; technology services; programming and community outreach. The library is focused on literacy, learning, culture/leisure/recreation, information and community meeting place. The past few years have seen significant resources pegged towards fund raising strategies, resulting in other areas of the organization being neglected and

As public libraries struggle to remain relevant in today’s society and respond to the changing needs of older adult patrons it is important to become more

The author of this article Mrs. Denise Davis is the director of the Office for Research and Statistics of the American Library Association. This means that Mrs. Davis is able to access and is responsible for the reports mandatory for each library across America to turn in each fiscal year, these reports are used to determine what changes the libraries need to make to better serve the public. Given her credibility to write on such topics she then chooses a topic each year to write on to prepare libraries and librarians across the country for the upcoming years. In 2010 Mrs. Davis choose to write on eBooks and their increasing popularity throughout the American population as well as the difficulties libraries have encountered in the past fiscal year to compete with eBooks. Because this article is written in 2010 it shows just how long libraries have struggled with the topic of eBooks and can demonstrate the new policies that have been used by the libraries throughout the past four years. This information can help my research in showing how eBooks have affected the library's behavior, and consequently give me the statistics needed to show the effects of eBooks on the libraries throughout the recent years. Understanding this source is outdated other sources will also likely be used in my final project from the American Library Association websites of statistics of more recent years.

The decision to promote the library as a “place for everyone” comes from an understanding of the diversity in my community and a strong belief that library resources should be accessible to all, not just a particular demographic. Everyone should feel comfortable in the library, regardless of their background or personal circumstances. Therefore, we as the library have an obligation to create an environment that fosters inclusion and diversity.

The U.S. population is shifting and minorities such as the Hispanic race will soon exceed all other races in our country. We librarians have a duty to introduce our younger generation of minorities to our profession and begin chaining the view for U.S. minorities to have a better understanding of our profession. By doing this we can begin to change the perspective of our profession and to help ensure that more future minorities enter our profession.

As new technologies are rapidly introduced, people are able to find any information with the access of internet. This leads to people questioning the relevance of libraries and its true purpose. Public libraries cultivate the value of increased education and a social unity to advancing as a society.

There are an enormous amount of people in the United States that depend on the librarian to do different tasks that they cannot do. Patrons may think it is simple, but before you can become a librarian you have to learn how to conquer some patrons that come in, you have to learn how to work the desk and learn how to work the shelves.

Since their establishment, libraries have served as a gateway to knowledge and services that revolutionized the way the public attains information. Unlike many other institutions, public libraries have grown and evolved along with society by adopting new technology and offering resources tailored to the needs of their local community.

Being a librarian and one who has always “had a fascination with gadgets” (Hanson, 2011), and a passion for both information and technology, Hanson states he has been working for five years to find a better way to join technology and information. He notes “libraries and librarians have perceived themselves as subject to near-constant technological upheaval and information revolution, largely due to the rise of microcomputing, desktop computing and Internet connectivity.” (Hanson, 2011) He believes libraries are situated in a place to encourage libraries to provide mobile library services. With nearly all Americans owning cell phones, accessing the internet via their cell phones and tablets and major service providers focusing on mobile applications instead of applications for the PC, Hanson suggests it is time for libraries to also focus their efforts on providing mobile services.

The current service model employed by the Library includes limited technology-driven services and is primarily based around a reference desk staffed by information professionals during opening hours. However, due to the information and communications technology (ICT) revolution of the last few decades and the resulting ease with which users are able access information and services via the Internet, the Library is being confronted with swiftly changing behaviours and expectations from their users - as a result Curtin’s traditional services are no longer fulfilling the various users needs. To prove its ongoing usefulness and relevance to their users, the Library must redesign its services by embracing technology and Web 2.0 techniques, redesigning face-to-face services,