Video killed the information star
Inspired by a series of threads on Web4Lib, I'm thinking today about libraries and their future place as information providers. The traditional model of libraries has been that other people create the information and libraries act as benevolent, non-judgemental distributors. We're a clearinghouse. But suddenly people's attitude toward information has changed. They no longer have to go out and get it, it comes to them - they expect it at their fingertips. And in this information climate, libraries are starting to lose their footing. Here's the crux of the matter as I see it, FREE is no longer an ace in the hole. Now, people are willing to pay a premium for convenient and FAST. The recent Web4Lib thread points out that there's a whole generation of information-seekers who will gladly buy a book from Amazon instead of crossing their campus to get it at the library. How can libraries compete with that when the fact that they've always provided good-enough service (sure we'll get it, in ten days) for free? Well, we have to do better.
I can think of two ways (and I'm super inspired by the subsequent Web4Lib discussion). #1 Get stuff faster. How? Mmmm, what about on-demand purchasing? When I directed a teensy public library, this was my informal pattern: If a patron wanted a book and we didn't have it, I'd first check the state-wide catalog, if no else else had it, I'd buy it. I'd make every possible effort to get it as soon as possible. Sometimes B&T was good enough, sometimes Amazon, sometimes I'd go to the bookstore on my way home. I'd process it and hand it to them within a week. This accomplished two things, not the least of which was the good mojo it got from the community. People came back for that kind of quick and FREE service - they told their friends. It also rounded out the collection for everyone else in the state or nearby, for ILL purposes. Yes, maybe it has some questionable implications for collection development, but I think the community service outweighs that. Note: if it was *really* off the wall, I didn't buy it, I'd wait for long-distance ILL. Now, what would this mean for larger, say academic, libraries? I think they could do something similar, of course it would take a bit of workflow shuffling AND a hard-nosed policy AND quick moving AND good communication… those things are not really what libraries are good at, but no time like the present to start, right? I'm thinking that a policy could indicate that a patron's need should be satisfied within five business days, no matter the cost. So, try ILL, but monitor it so if it's going to take to long, another avenue is tried. Buy stuff for the patron. I know, it's a bit out there, but I do think it could work. I'd keep a giant poster board on the wall with tick marks for five-day-or-fewer victories and failures.
Next up: delivery. Bring the books to them. I see no reason this couldn't work on a campus, where people are pretty much localized. Mobilize some of those workstudy students to do book delivery. Many off-campus students have local PO boxes and campus mail is free! Send 'em there!
To summarize, we could be doing this… we'd need a policy, a plan, and an evaluation technique. other people are doing it. We have the resources, it's just a matter of moving faster and getting them in step.
ps. I *really* need to practice brevity, I know.