Libraries in the traditional sense have been a major market source for the publishing industry, being usually large buildings packed full of both new and used books of various kinds. I remember when I was little, going to the library was like an adventure and I was always excited to go. I want that for my children, but after reading several articles on insidehighered.com, I am not so sure that the library as I knew it and the publishing world knew it will be around much longer.
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| Photo from Wilton High School Library website |
Some university libraries, in particular, may be making the change from traditional to a more 'modern' design sooner than later. Though university libraries and libraries in general have served a number of functions over the years, from places of study and group meetings to places to interact with technology, student and university needs are changing. However, with the world of education and publishing both taking drastic turns to incorporate new media and new technology, it's no wonder that university libraries would evolve and change as well.
According to an April 27th insidehighered.com article by Kevin Kiley:
The article explained that during the libraries’ renovation, the university plans to house the some 1.1 million books (including government documents and microfiche and other materials), in a storage facility roughly 10 miles from the campus. Although the university plans to bring back some of the books, most will be left in storage and only about 20 percent of the current collection will be returning to the renovated library in the end.Recent plans at the University of Denver to permanently move four-fifths of the Penrose Library’s holdings to an off-campus storage facility and renovate the building into an “Academic Commons,” with more seating, group space, and technological capacity, are under way and could make the university a flashpoint in the debate about whether the traditional function of storing books in libraries needs to happen on campus.
The University of Denver library project is estimated to be finished in December 2012. In the mean time the university will monitor the use of books to determine which will remain in the new library and which will be sent off to storage.
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| Photo from detocquevilles Daughter blog |
A similar plan was in progress at Syracuse University in 2009, where low-use texts were planned to be housed in a facility 250 miles from campus. This plan received high levels of disapproval and the library now plans to build a new storage facility closer to campus.
Certain major research universities, as a November 6, 2009 insidehighered.com article by Steve Kolowich explained, have moved their books to off-campus storage facilities because of space issues and diminishing need for on-site books.
The article also stated:
I wonder how this will affect the publishing industry as a whole if libraries suddenly aren't in need of hard copy books and turn entirely to digital media texts and resources?Libraries everywhere are eliminating pricey subscriptions to printed academic journals, often opting for less expensive digital versions.
Will the publishing industry be able to keep up with the rising use and sales of digital eBooks and the diminishing interests and needs in hard copy texts and paper bound books?
I know that my college's library is in need of a renovation, but I would hope that we would not lose the library as we know it in the process.
Amanda, your blog has made for an interesting read over the last few months and I have come up with a few suggestions to put into your final portfolio!
ReplyDeleteJan 27th: the entire topic of this post rings true to almost anyone who could stumble into your blog, be they able to relate to the movie-books or the cliff notes situation. In the world of publishing, I think this aspect is rarely mentioned. The advent of the e-reader is big, but it isn’t the first thing to challenge the old paper & binding.
March 6th: E-readers are the big thing these days, it’s crazy to think that people are already finding a way to go full circle and make them more reminiscent of paper media. This could also be seen as a potential rebirth of “print” journalism is the concept of silk e-reader newspaper catches like it sounds like they plan it will.
April 1: I stand by what I said in my comment about this post, I am drop jawed at Amazon being able to interact and essentially censor the content of Kindles. This is an important even that pretty much anyone should be made aware of.
April 29th: Libraries are important, as you stated in this post. Since a heavy plenty of your readers for this blog attend universities with libraries, the content of this post can invariably be reflected in each reader’s life with personalize ramifications to the digitizing of libraries
self-publishing and ipads: A great look at how self-publishing and new technology are coming together. good research and analysis.
ReplyDeletea history of the espresso machine - very relevant to your topic, i liked the speculation at the end, and the amount of background put into the post
the kindle... - great tie to the main theme, and brings up some interesting arguments about how publishing and collecting are changed by new tech.
advertising on the kindle - a great topic, and one that brings up some fascinating arguments about the realities of publishing, and the future of the business.
the changing library - a great article, that ties into someting that isn't always looked at - the connection between libraries and publishing.
a great set of posts! good job.
Like our "partners", I think you have improved since day one as a blogger. I would pick your latest 4 blogs and then my favorite blog which was "Technology summarizing books: No 'Need' to 'Read'."
ReplyDeleteAll of your posts have been very lengthy, with lots of good links, videos and pictures. I can't tell you what I would improve on your posts, they are very well written. Make sure to include the "No Need to Read" blog! That one had great content, talked about famous books that a lot of people can relate to (and movies), and it was just a great blog. Other than that I think you would be safe with any of the others as well! Great job
Great posting.This post will help many times I actually like read books.When i read a book and i get more glad .thanks for making it.It is really super.
ReplyDelete