Response

Fall 2005 Q 3.
 * (This question is similar to Summer '06, 4 : "Discuss how information professionals remain relevant in an environment where users can obtain all of the information they need from their desks or their homes." ...possibly an indication that relevancy/viability issues will make an appearance?)

There is a debate in the field as to whether or not traditional libraries will be a viable institution in the future. In your essay
 * provide your position on this issue
 * support your arguments with analysis, examples, and/or facts to prove your point


 * What exactly is meant by 'traditional'?**
 * just the 'bricks and mortar' building?
 * a library which provides mainly books, and only a handful of computer terminals?
 * a library which devotes much of its resources to electronic platforms; gathering reliable internet resources and providing organized access, providing access to for-profit websites and databases for free or a smaller fee, offering technology classes, but still residing in a building and offering public spaces?
 * the public libraries today are already changed somewhat from the ones I remember 15 or 20 years ago (no card catalogs, for one); are they no longer 'traditional'?
 * what is a non-traditional library? the Internet Public Library? do any nontraditional local, public libraries exist at the moment? (the above are all from the public library side of the question at the moment)


 * On the "will be viable" side of the debate:**

Traditional public libraries will be viable as long as there are poor (or middle class!) people. Libraries provide: free of charge to those who cannot afford it and those who choose to not pay full-price for it. In a time of educational funding battles, libraries can help fill in the gaps.
 * computer access
 * homework help
 * technology training

Public libraries may also:
 * provide a neutral, public meeting space for the community
 * provide stewardship (either online or physically) of local information collections and community resources
 * participate in community outreach programs, such as local literacy programs and at-home service for those who need it (shut-ins, etc.)

Not everything is available on the internet. In a democratic society, it is the responsibility of public and academic libraries to provide access to things like government documents. They provide the information for "informed consent" (see the [|ALA's take] on public libraries and intellectual freedom - it is assumed "consent of the governed" means 'informed' consent of the governed). (Also consider the statement on the Boston Public Library: "The Commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty.")

//Academic libraries//:
 * are responsible for determining what scholarly databases are of the most use to the students and faculty of the university, and of purchasing the rights to use those databases. As the cost of academic journals rises (esp. for a subscription to a single journal) it is prohibitively expensive for professors (and esp. students) to subscribe to what they need on their own. This service also saves the time of faculty and students.
 * can provide information literacy classes to students to (hopefully) teach them how to find information on the internet, and how to judge the quality of the information they do find.
 * may be tasked with preserving collections deemed to be of lasting value to their patrons and the public generally (special collections)

//School Libraries://
 * help students evaluate the information they are examining
 * help students to understand how sites can manipulate their rankings on a search engines's results page. for example, one blogger sent a request to readers of his blog to help remove a hate group's web page from appearing at the top of Google's results. Students when researching Dr. King through Google were seeing this hate site as one of the top entries so many of them were visiting this site believing it was relevant to their research. This blogger wanted to manipulate the rankings so it would not longer appear on the first page for students to select.
 * prepare them for real issues they will encounter in their own life.
 * provide quality services to students 24/7--create multiple ways to deliver information to students through podcasts, virtual libraries
 * create a virtual library that emphasizes nontext features. This virtual library could be the portal that students go through when conducting research. Example: Springfield Township High School Virtual Library
 * build a collection of multiple formats (print, audio, video, ebooks) that introduces students to diversity, both sides of an issue, and information about issues that are not mainstream


 * On the "will not be viable" side of the debate**