Libraries have temporarily closed for budgetary reasons in the past, but Douglas County is the first in the US to shut down an entire system permanently. Without the library, many people can’t get online. The ridiculous notion that computers have made the library obsolete has been around longer than Google .
Who makes the decision to close a library?
Closures are ultimately the decision of individual councils, not chief librarians. However, up and down the country, senior library managers are having to make decisions for their service because the Government has avoided doing so. They should all be supported as it is the most difficult time in their careers, as well as ours.
Actually, one librarian thinks a few library closures here and there might be good for libraries in the long run. The reasons he gives show what libraries and librarians ought to be doing to prevent any more library shutdowns. Last fall, voters in Douglas County, Oregon rejected a modest property tax increase.
While we were writing we ran into the query “How should public libraries prepare for reopening?”.
In drafting plans to phase in reopening and policies to govern use of the library during these unprecedented times, public libraries should take the following steps : Consult with legal counsel regarding both reopening plans and policies to govern staff and patron access to and use of the facility.
Can libraries open?
New Hours All libraries have opened for visits. Hours have changed at most locations. Many libraries have expanded open hours to six days a week, including Saturday and Sunday hours. The days of the week that libraries are open varies by location . Some libraries are no longer open on Fridays or Saturdays.
It would depend on whether the government declared libraries as ‘essential services’. If this happened, some library services may be able to remain open after Thursday. When did libraries reopen?
This begs the inquiry “Are the libraries open for visits?”
All libraries are now open for visits . All libraries have opened for visits. Hours have changed at all locations. We are open from Tuesday to Saturday. Most libraries are open five days a week.
Can I still use my library online?
There are some exceptions to this rule though, with the government stating: “Digital library services and those where orders are taken electronically, by telephone or by post (for example no-contact Home Library Services) may continue.” Many libraries offer online services – you can find out more about what your library offers by signing up .
Most libraries will be open five days a week. A few libraries will be open three or four days a week. Some locations may reduce the number of days or hours they are open each week.
Should libraries evolve?
There is no doubt that the future success of libraries depends on their ability to change and evolve to meet the changing ways that people access and use information . As director of the Institute of Museums and Library Services, the federal voice for library and museum service in the U.
One query we ran across in our research was “Will technology change the way we use libraries forever?”.
What is clear, with technology innovations and the evolution of library spaces, is that if we see these changes in academic libraries they will change the way libraries are used forever.
This begs the query “What is the future of the library?”
Regular visitors to libraries expect them to continue to provide the services they have provided for many years. And rightly so — the ‘ traditional’ library of books, journals and quiet reading spaces shouldn’t just disappear. But libraries also need to respond quickly to real changes in how people live their lives.
Can public libraries stay relevant in the digital age?
But our need for shared, community-centred spaces to find information and connect with others is unlikely to change any time soon. To survive in the digital age and stay relevant, public libraries need to be brave and innovative. They must embrace both the physical and virtual.