January 2008
State Librarian’s Report
Jo Budler
State Librarian
Library use and the Internet: Friend or Foe?
The Internet has brought dramatic change to our lives and our libraries. There were people who said that the Internet would make libraries go out of business. But we now know the reverse is true. With the huge amount of information that floods a person on the Internet, the organization skills and expertise that one find at one’s library has become MORE appreciated.
You hear a lot today about the “digital divide” and how the library bridges that divide for those who do not have Internet in their homes. We are fortunate in Ohio to have OPLIN – the Ohio Public Library Information Network – so that all public libraries in Ohio can offer broadband access to their residents.
But libraries have always been about closing divides. There was a time in our country when only the very wealthy and the clergy had access to books because books were so expensive. Benjamin Franklin has always been my hero for many reasons, one of which is that it was he who founded the first public library in Philadelphia in 1731 in the form of the Library Company – which closed the “divide” between those who could afford to personally own books and those who could not. Franklin and his group of friends pooled their funds to purchase books which were then accessible to them all. They made a commitment to continue to contribute to the purchase of books so their collection could grow.
The library was then and is today an institution of learning. The Cleveland Public Library calls itself “the People’s University” and indeed it is. I believe that every library presents this opportunity to everyone that enter its doors. From the toddler who attends story time and is filled with wonder at the words she hears and the pictures she creates in her mind – to the teen who gets homework help – and to the many who learn a new skill through a book they check out – book groups, parenting videos, I could go on and on about the tools for learning that are contained in libraries.
I read and hear people talk about the drop in the use of libraries but statistics show that library use is increasing. We hear that people are reading less than they did 10 years ago yet library circulation is going up, not down.
The Pew Institute on Internet and American Life recently published a report of their research on Online Activites and Pursuits. Their most recent national phone survey revealed that 53% of Americans visited libraries in the past year for all kinds of services. In addition they found that members of Generation Y, those born between the years 1981 and 1995 (13-27 year olds), were the “leading users of libraries for help solving problems and in more general patronage.” In fact this age group reported using their libraries more than any other age group.
But today’s library is about more than finding information and books but it is also a place – a destination within a community. In another study by OCLC, the library was identified by those who were surveyed as the “third place” – not home, not work, but that other place that you go. We know that people seek out space where they can be with others. As I visit public libraries across Ohio, I find that this is truly the case. We have wonderful third places, just waiting to be discovered.
