Why Public Libraries Matter: And How They Can Do More

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

Those who are unlikely to use e-books are hispanic people without high school diploma, the unemployed, rural Americans, and people who have an income lower than $3,000 and that without libraries the division on who reads e-books and those who don't would be greater(source C). Because of this libraries must work to meet the needs of the middle to low class with physical copies books and the higher middle class and upper class with e-books. This means a lot of money would have to go into updating and keeping accurate books and e-books which would be double the effort than what was needed previously when there were only physical copies of books. Libraries are in a tough spot a to meet these demands since there has no been many budget cuts(source F). If funding is being cut and made smaller than it's going to get harder as years past to keep things up to date in both versions. Libraries need to push to get better funding, create programs that fund themselves, updating to modern ways of reading, and keep traditional reading to keep their important role in society that is meant to advocate

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.

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.

Electronic reading devices have become popular in recent years. Some schools have even gotten rid of paper books entirely. Their students read everything electronically instead. While eBooks have their place, their use in schools should be limited.

Chula Vista became the third site in the San Diego County Library system to have an automated “Library To Go” book machine. The “Library To Go” book machine will hold up to 348 items, and the majority of the “Library To Go” book machine’s emphasis is on the newest and most highly demanded titles. The device is stock with books on parenting, healthy lifestyles, and early childhood development as well as youth and teen books. The machine is equipped to allow users to return books, download electronic material, reserve books, and pay fines. Users need only a San Diego County Library card, and the machine is free to use. Due to the demographics of the area, the device will offer a significant number of Spanish-language materials. The kiosk will be touchscreen and simple enough for kids to use. This kiosk extends the library system’s mission to inform, educate, and entertain. Patrons with busy schedules that do not regularly permit library visits will be able to visit the kiosk any time. Chula Vista kiosk is an investment in library services and an effort to remove barriers to information and knowledge.

The prevalent of e-books creates numerous platforms for the marketplace of books. For example, when Steve Jobs announced the launch of the iPad iBooks, it created an enormous opportunity for publishers.

Nowadays ,The Library plays a important role in our daily life. It’s not only provides us knowledge but also gives us the effective environment to study . The Library is really a good friend with thousands of books and modern equipment. I had a good chance to approach it and realize that we have three things to help us in our studies in the library : library

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.

One of the significant drawbacks of e-books is the issue of compatibility. Various researchers argue that most e-books are not compatible with a variety of software. For instance, a book may be readable on a Kindle device and fail to display its contents in a different device due to compatibility issues. This makes it hard for readers to access all books. It also poses a challenge for readers as all software require a constant update. This is also a major inconvenience for readers as the books they purchase an older version of the software may become obsolete over time, and thus, require them to make a new purchase (Lai and Li 458). Notably, as much as the issue of compatibility describes the disadvantage of using an e-book, it presents a benefit of using the traditional books. This is because the reader will never encounter compatibility issues upon purchasing a hard copy book. Such a book can last for a long

Digital users who are in contact with the libraries services only via "cyberspace" (Gruca, 2010, para. 2) and users who require face-to-face services