Study Shows Libraries are Evolving - Fast

Who hasn’t taken their kids to the library on a rainy day?  You walk home with a stack of books that are immediately devoured by hungry little minds.  Often you search high and low for those darned books when it’s time to return them, often to find them under a sofa or a bed. 

Would it surprise you to find out that libraries are changing?  Probably not.  What may surprise you is how fast they are changing.  How much they will change and whether our children’s children will have the opportunity to build fond library memories is under debate. 

A recent study conducted by independent analyst Joe McKendrick, based on the input of 730 library managers, found that libraries are no longer just big boxes of books, but that they are fast evolving into largely virtualized, digital resource centers.

In an article Joe wrote for SmartPlanet, he tells readers that “There has been a notable — and huge — surge in the past year in adoption and offering of ebooks and other digital materials, while scaling back on print. Overall, 54% of libraries report increased demand from patrons for ebooks, and libraries providing such access jumped from 19% to 36% over the past year. The trend was even more pronounced among public libraries, with 52% now offering ebooks — three times the number from just a year ago.”

Further, patron demand for other types of electronic content, such as Internet, media streaming and audio downloads, is prompting libraries to turn to the cloud to support operations, provide content and back-end support – from 20% using or planning to use the cloud a year ago to 34% today.

These are certainly interesting times for libraries.