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2011-02-06 06:10:33
By Peter Jackson BBC News
With more than 400 public libraries under threat of closure, the campaign to
save them is gathering pace. But in an age of downloads, cheap books and easy
online shopping, can this great British institution survive?
Some of the UK's best-selling authors have joined the fight against "cultural
vandalism" by backing a national day of protest read-ins against library
closures on Saturday.
But no matter how eloquently Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy or author Colin
Dexter extol their virtues, the fact is library visitor numbers - like their
budgets - are falling.
Campaigners say they are irreplaceable doors to learning more relevant now than
ever before, but for others the speed and breadth of the web has rendered them
obsolete dinosaurs.
So what can the internet provide that a library can't, and when is there simply
no online substitute for a trip to your local library? Here are five examples
on either side:
Only at a library
1. Specialist research As tempting as it is to view the web as a panacea for
gathering information, there are gaps only library documents, books and maps
can fill.
Local and family historians as well as academic and historical researchers are
among those who still rely heavily on paper and print.
Historian and author Andrew Dalby, 63, who edits pages for online encyclopaedia
Wikipedia from his home in France, says he still needs regularly visits to good
libraries in England.
"It's amazing what you can find online and also amazing what nobody managed to
produce yet," he says.
New chapter for UK libraries
Sources: Chartered Institute of Public Financing & Public Libraries News
"Those libraries that have managed to retain older collections need to go on
retaining them... we need that evidence of ingenuity, originality and
inspiration that we can lose if we only look at things produced in the last few
years."
2. Environment to learn Sometimes there's no substitute for human contact. Mr
Dalby says just being in a place surrounded by books and information with help
at hand to access them is invaluable.
Whilst some will crave the refuge of silence libraries offer, others such as
the vulnerable and isolated have a place to interact, learn and meet people.
Librarian and campaigner Lauren Smith, 23, says some lonely people would be
even more isolated by being left on their own in a room trying to use the
internet.
3. Expert staff Anyone who's spent five minutes trawling the thousands of
medical and health websites will know the perils of misinformation.
Librarians have specialist knowledge and are trained to find reliable
information and evaluate it - a skill as relevant in the digital age as it has
always been.
Mr Dalby says simple Google searches are hit and miss, throwing up websites
edited to varying degrees of academic rigour and professionalism. Librarians
can help navigate through the "labyrinth" of information and around these
pitfalls, he says.
4. Free internet access With 30% of the population still without a home
internet connection, libraries are for many their first and last online
experience.
Books Libraries allow dialogue to flourish and enrich local democracy,
supporters say
Although some charge after a certain period, all libraries should offer at
least some free online access.
Ms Smith says libraries reduce the "digital divide" by offering free access to
those who can't afford a pc or monthly subscriptions.
5. Engage in local democracy Community forums in libraries are the perfect
place to meet and engage in local politics because they're neutral,
non-judgemental spaces, Ms Smith says.
"The problem with the internet is people flock together and have similar views,
there's no real dialogue between people who have different views," she says.
"Libraries do so much more than just give information, there are community
discussion groups... and reading groups where you can talk about green
initiatives or economic issues."
Only online
1. Searchability The speed of research and interactivity of the internet make
it an altogether richer experience than traditional libraries.
Mr Dalby says: "You can get lost in the world of information on the internet
but we gain and lose.
"We tend not to read things all the way through anymore. You find a link,
follow it and never go back to what you were originally reading, which is
perhaps bad for the attention span.
"On the other hand, it's serendipity. It's wonderful that you can leap on from
one source of information to another, from one question to another series of
questions, it is a wonderful resource."
Kindle E-readers like the Kindle take the weight off book lovers
2. Digital books Forget catching a bus to the library to carry home a limited
number, yet heavy stack nonetheless, of books.
For those who can afford a portable reader like a Kindle or iPad, the
convenience of accessing books on a beach, up a mountain, or anywhere else for
that matter, can be irresistible.
But with sales of e-books fast catching up paperbacks, the full impact on
traditional publishers has yet to be revealed.
3. Comfort in numbers OK, forums and social networks can be an impersonal way
to interact, but sometimes magic happens. Mr Dalby explains: "Sometimes the
right answer just comes when people ask each other questions on forums.
"One adds one bit of information, another something else, and that information
could be questioned by a third or fourth person.
"You create something together like bees in a hive, like bees building a
honeycomb".
4. Brings niches together If you had a niche interest in something, it wasn't
always easy to find someone with the same niche interest, now it really is,
says Mr Belam.
"If you were, say, a Leeds United fan in Croydon, you used to have to join a
club or put leaflets in your local library, then hope you find people in
common.
"Community activity used to revolve around notice boards in town halls and
libraries, now your notice board is global."
5. Self-publishing Mr Belam says the traditional barriers to publishing have
been shifted by the advent of do-it-yourself e-books on the internet.
Whereas information in libraries has been limited to the books on its shelves -
the information which managed to get published, sites like Blurb allow you to
print on demand, he says.
Various sites allow you to download software which will format your
manuscripts.
"You used to only be able to publish news by owning the printed presses, and
you needed a publisher to agree to publish your book, now you can publish books
on demand," he says.
11. katy
4th February 2011 - 19:45
Libraries are busier than ever. In addition to books, they provide access to
the internet, reference databases (very expensive) and even ebooks (more
expensive than a book for a library and only one patron at a time can check
them out). Not all can afford or have the knowledge to use the latest
technology. Books are much less fragile and they don't require electricity.
CharlotteL
4th February 2011 - 19:23
As a student I and many of my peers would be utterly lost without the library.
It is a haven of peace that allows us to work quietly and efficiently with all
the information of the internet AND that of maps, journals, books and slides at
hand. It is so much easier to write an essay when all the information is on the
table in the form of open books, rather than flicking between internet pages.
4. rsplenum
4th February 2011 - 18:48
If the searches on the internet became more accurate and tablets became cheap,
then we really don't need libraries. One can carry thousands of e-books, that
would be such a convenience and one doesn't has to care about the wear-n-tear
of the e-book. Libraries should be converted to museums and should be preserved
for the future generation. We should promote digital books and reduce paper
demand.
2. Agankan
4th February 2011 - 18:13
There are sound arguments for both sides but there is no doubt the power of the
Internet will win - newspapers are showing the way because they have to change
if they want to survive.
Its time to think of a new model for libraries - let Amazon et al provide
library access electronically - pensioners and kids get free access and cheap
Kindles or readers. Wanna socialise then join a 'people' club!