10/28: What is library’s role in age of iPad, Kindle?
Moderated by Tom Sabulis
Georgia’s state funding of public libraries ranks eighth in the nation. But local support lags, so systems face big budget cuts.
Gwinnett County has turned to raising private funds.
University libraries, in turn, are moving to make their research more accessible to the masses.
Both make a strong case for the continued viability of libraries in the age of Kindle and the iPad.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
26 comments Add your comment
William Anderson
October 28th, 2011
7:56 am
Brick and motar libraries are inefficient hold overs from the 20th Century. Most large libraries, including the Library of Congress and even the Vatican Library are digitizing their books and putting them on line as fast as they possibly can. The days of the old library are over and wasting money building more is senseless.
Samantha
October 28th, 2011
12:28 pm
I prefer a book I can hold vs a kindle or any other pad. Books do not break down, however if the kindle breaks down or the air waves it uses so a person can read – then you are out of luck! Give me a book anyday!
Mary
October 28th, 2011
12:42 pm
In the age of increasing information technology, libraries play an even more important role than ever. Regardless of the format, libraries provide free access to information and librarians provide guides to access that information. eBooks for Kindle, Nook, etc. are all available from the library for free. Homework help, adult literacy classes, job searching and resume help, GED testing, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, children’s story times, adult programs of all varieties, computer and wifi access, research databases, etc. are all available to anyone with a library card for free. It definitely is not senseless to support brick and mortar libraries, which are so much more heavily used in these times of economic downturn.
The Hole at the Bottom of the Sea
October 28th, 2011
12:51 pm
Libraries are needed now more than ever. Yes, much content is being transferred to a digital medium. However, much of the public requires education and assistance with the identification, location, and use of digital resources. The use of the physical public library is booming in these trying times due to many having dropped their web access due to job loss or financial straits, opting to use the largely free services of the public library, which they have already paid for through their tax dollars.
markie mark
October 28th, 2011
1:08 pm
@William Anderson….William, if you thought more dynamically and less statically, you would be able to realize that libraries do more than just warehouse books….
Lisa Macklin
October 28th, 2011
1:13 pm
Yes, libraries are actively digitizing their books, but many books from the 20th Century are still protected by copyright and can’t be digitized in their entirety. This means library collections will remain both print and digital for the foreseeable future. Libraries serve many functions for their communities, including providing a physical space for people to gather, study, work, read, research, use library computers, job search, get research help and have community group meetings. Many people crave a quiet, comfortable place away from the distractions of their sometimes chaotic lives. Those of us who work in libraries know that magic can happen in a library, when someone discovers a new idea or finally figures out that difficult math problem or gets to hold and read a rare book hundreds of years old.
Butler9
October 28th, 2011
1:17 pm
I love aimlessly browsing the stacks — “Hmmm … this looks interesting … oh wow — this looks really cool … funny — I’d have never thought to read something like this if I hadn’t have chanced upon it here … “, etc. But, then, my reading choices tend to be capricious. I do no ‘focused research’. I lose myself in the joy of unexpected finds, leading me down paths of adventure that sometimes take many months or even years before they peter out. For example, almost five years ago I pulled down an old book whose dust cover — mind you — happened to catch my eye. Written by Emil Lengyel in 1939, ‘The Danube’ captured my imagination to such an extent that I have since visited Hungary twice (through which the great river flows), and toured the German towns along the Rhine. These visits, in turn, gave me the opportunity to see another dozen countries in Europe. I had not traveled much before I placed that book in my hands. I suppose that kind of thing can be done in the digital age, but it seems less likely to me. Alas, @William Anderson may be right. But it’s a damned shame.
Chiquita Bonita
October 28th, 2011
1:29 pm
Not everyone can afford a Kindle or any e-reader, and buying books can get expensive. Just last weekend, I engaged in one of my favorite activities – I went to a bookstore and browsed, got totally absorbed in a book and made note of the title and author, then went to a library and checked it out.
Tom
October 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
My response to “Homework help, adult literacy classes, job searching and resume help, GED testing, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, children’s story times, adult programs of all varieties, computer and wifi access, research databases.”
My county library system is well funded but homework help is not performed by the paid librarians – outside non-profit groups perform this service and may use the library space. Same for adult literacy classes. Our employment office helps with job searches, preparing resumes, and even sends applications by mail free of charge. Our librarians point to the computer and tell you how much it cost to print copies. GED testing is offered by outside groups and they often use the library meeting rooms for this function. Librarians are not involved beyond unlocking and locking the room. The public is no longer allowed to use our meeting rooms in any of our new facilities – businesses selling products are. Story hours are held in the mornings when the poor are working – if they are lucky enough to have jobs and can not take their children. Nannies find the story hours a great help for parents wealthy enough to afford a nanny or have a stay at home parent. The commute to our libraries by taxi is a minimum of $3 each way – not a small amount for the poor. Our libraries also do not have ebooks, few audiobooks, and even fewer DVDs and CDs. The main draw to our libraries are the computers for free Facebook, Farmville, and email time. I believe all these services could be accomplished through a community center with tiny staff instead of post-grad librarians sitting around bored while unpaid volunteers work the stacks, check out books a few books (we have an automated self service system) and answer patron questions.
tsabulis
October 28th, 2011
1:54 pm
So do you think libraries should be more aggressive soliciting private funds? Would you, or do you, contribute?
itsme
October 28th, 2011
1:56 pm
Probably 25 years ago a local politician said that libraries were obsolete. He said everyone should just do what he did — buy books. He was as out of touch with the real world then as some folks are today. When everyone who wants one can afford to afford buy and maintain a device, plus the cost of the books… when some other entity provides the programming that libraries do, then MAYBE libraries will be obsolete. Until then, they are vital.
Tom
October 28th, 2011
2:02 pm
Libraries should be more aggressive soliciting private funding if they plan to continue operating in their present manner. Personally, I am disgusted when I walk into our local libraries and see the only activity being performed by the volunteers while the paid staff is reading books – and we have a very large paid staff here in Coweta. So no, with this current system I would not donate money to keep the paid staff employed while we are unable to access ebooks because their salaries have eaten away at the money that should have gone towards purchasing digital materials that could be accessed at any time and from any location.
Peter
October 28th, 2011
2:19 pm
What we need is a Tea Party revolution within local governments to make sure that tax money is no longer wasted on public libraries and their staff. In an age when so many people are suffering financially and we struggle to pay for necessities like roads, we shouldn’t be throwing money at a bygone institution.
Libraries function now, basically, as a welfare system providing internet access to ne’er-do-wells who can’t afford it at home and unnecessary jobs to staff who have nothing constructive to offer the community yet still collect a paycheck.
If libraries can find private funding, that’s fine. There may be some communities that find a good in public libraries and, if so, the local marketplace can pitch in money to pay for it. But to squeeze the money out of taxpayers for this unnecessary service is wrong. I don’t know of any neighbors or friends in Forsyth County who use the library. They could disappear without causing a blip on the radar of daily life here.
Eric
October 28th, 2011
2:31 pm
Peter, you are heartless! I think it’s great that the poor or unemployed can use the library for free internet access. What if you were in their situation? We need to keep the libraries just as they are for public use and to ensure democracy. If everything goes the way of technology and privatization that some are advocating, we have lost the soul of our great country!
Eric
October 28th, 2011
2:35 pm
Chiquita Bonita is right! Not everyone can afford e-books (nor do they want them!). Besides, a library is the only sane, quiet place to read or study anymore. Are we so desparate in this county to squabble over every penny that we’d gladly dismiss our libraries? I would hope not!
Katzkrach Phever
October 28th, 2011
2:41 pm
People who have Kindles, etc., are going to download a specific book that they decided to read. The fun of going to a library or a book store is to walk around, browse, and discover a book you never knew about and certainly wouldn’t have decided to buy on your Kindle. It’s how learning becomes fun. If all we do is buy books we know about, and program specific music we choose instead of listening to the potluck that is radio, what a boring, predictable world this is going to be.
What my daughter reads
October 28th, 2011
3:07 pm
My 15 year old daughter reads about two books a week and still is an honor student taking honors classes at a great private school. We gave her a Kindle, but she still likes the feel of paper and books. So we have a caravan to the local library picking up and returning books. The Kindle’s advantage is that you can have many, many books in it, but it mostly sits around charging. Let’s hear it for the public libraries and the great contribution that make to help everyone without cost. I don’t know the numbers for usage in the last 10 years or so, but our main library here in Athens is always busy and crowded.
Mary
October 28th, 2011
3:45 pm
In July alone (the last month I have stats handy for at the moment) the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System circulated 392,145 items and had 346,862 library visits. Just because you may not be an active library user does not mean that others in your community don’t see this as a valuable resource. I’m pretty sure these numbers speak to the fact that if libraries disappeared it would be a very big blip on a lot of peoples radars.
SIGMONICUS
October 28th, 2011
3:48 pm
In the past two years, I’ve re-discovered the library. I stopped buying novels & utilize the library system’s very efficient book transfer system to save money. My wife was shocked that I was able to check out her book club selection for free. E-readers are OK but hard-copy books don’t run out of batteries. It’d be a shame to see the library system phase out.
What my daughter reads
October 28th, 2011
4:59 pm
Clarke County (Athens) is the poorest county in Georgia, but the library is always full of people and I’m not talking about the wealthy either. The “public” library a great service and one tax dollar I will never complain about. Everything is positive about people going to the library. The worst thing they can do is expand their minds. The fact that they take the time to go to the library versus hanging out is a tribute of their desire to better their mind and themselves.
Jack
October 28th, 2011
6:41 pm
I’ve bought Kindles for my grand kids, but I still prefer the heft, the paper, the odor of real hard backs and paper backs. I’ve got a room full o’books and they are my best friends. Just can’t see myself dozing in my Lazy Boy without a book falling in my lap and waking me up. Long live libraries and book stores. (And ham radio.)
Woody
October 29th, 2011
8:55 am
I live in a tiny little town that has a branch library. It’s amazing to me what the town citizens are willing to go through to keep their library open. It means something to them that is not quite expressible, and I think that is part of the lack of defense against library-haters and library-closers. Libraries, even little ones, are used in so many ways by so many different people. If we lose them, we lose something inexpressible. But if we lose them, the people will grieve all the same.
Dr. Pangloss
October 29th, 2011
9:44 am
Libraries do much more than house books. They’re the place you go if you need to know something and don’t want some BS from the Internet. They’re the place that holds GED classes. They’re the place where senior citizens go to get help with their income tax returns. If you’re out of a job and don’t have the Internet, that’s where you go to use the library’s free computers.
And they have books.
Dr. Pangloss
October 29th, 2011
9:47 am
Tom
October 28th, 2011
2:02 pm
Libraries should be more aggressive soliciting private funding if they plan to continue operating in their present manner. Personally, I am disgusted when I walk into our local libraries and see the only activity being performed by the volunteers while the paid staff is reading books – and we have a very large paid staff here in Coweta.
—————-
My wife and I worked in various types of libraries for over 40 years. Nobody sits around reading books. That’s a silly, pernicious myth. In a library the work never stops.
Library Lover
October 29th, 2011
5:43 pm
I look forward to my days off…I head to the library and have a glorious day there! I use the computer to surf and make copies, ect. I’ve earned a Kindle and IPAD from my employer and have access to technology; still the library is so much more!
Charles Forrest
October 30th, 2011
12:44 pm
The role of the library has always been to use the best available technology to collect, organize and present the inscribed cultural record, from the clay tablet and papyrus scroll, through the illuminated manuscript and printed book, to the internet and world wide web, and beyond to the next wave of emerging technologies. The public and academic library of today is a common good, and a center of community activity and engagement.
As the concentration of wealth continues in this country, and the gap between the haves and have-nots becomes wider, it is a civic responsibility to support free, equitable and reliable access to the resources need to guarantee an informed citizenry. As technologies proliferate and evolve at an ever-increasing pace, the mission remains constant: open access to information. The library is a cornerstone of democratic government.