An Imperative for Libraries

Abstract

In a recent essay in the blog In the Library with the Lead Pipe entitled Libraries: The Next Hundred Years, Brett Bonfield put forth many ideas about library activities a hundred years from now, including such themes as interaction, intellectual freedom, organizing the cultural record, and mitigating inequality. One of the most important of the concepts he discussed was the idea that libraries will focus much more on human interaction and, thus, on library programming. (1) Library staff cannot focus on either human interaction or on forms of programming, however, until we have a sense of our audience. I often hark back to the laws of Ranganathan, laws he first wrote in 1931 and updated in 1957. I first learned about these laws in library school in the early 1970s, long ago now, but there is no question that the laws are still alive and vital. Although they could be updated to apply to the information age, Ranganathan's laws are still a good beginning place for us as we create plans based on data for library resources and services in the twenty-first century. Ranganathan described the five laws in a book, The Five Laws of Library Science, written in 1957 and amended and reprinted in 1963: 1. Books are for use. (2) 2. Every person his or her book. (3) 3. Every book its reader. (4) 4. Save the time of the reader. (5) 5. A library is a growing organism. (6) DATA-DRIVEN INFORMATION ABOUT ADULTS AND TEENS--WHERE DO WE START? Looking into the related concepts of providing a book (or information) for every reader and of saving readers' time in providing library services, we see the importance of identifying the needs of users. As I participate in work on our library's new catalog and collaborate with my colleagues to plan our new website, I have been thinking about a number of questions: Who are our users? What do we know about them? How do they use information? What will cause them to lose patience? What will cause them to persevere? The literature includes many data sources we can use to answer such questions. I cannot claim to list here all of the resources that can help with this process, but let me suggest a few. OCLC started a trend when it surveyed people in six English-speaking countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, and Singapore in 2005. (7) The most recent OCLC study was completed in 2010 and looked specifically at the impact of the recession on patrons' use of libraries. (8) The researchers at the Pew Internet & American Life Project have developed a number of helpful resources. Although the major focus of their most recent research is on public libraries, the results contain information that will apply to school, academic, and special libraries as well. For a complete list (and to keep up with new research reports), I highly recommend watching the project's website at www.pewinternet.org. The library-related reports are gathered together at www.pewinternet.org/topics/Libraries. aspx?typeFilter=5, but there are many other reports found on the website on such areas as social media, media use, and e-commerce that will provide insights about library users. Library Services in the Digital Age, released on January 22, 2013, describes the results of Pew's Gates Foundation-funded national survey of adults sixteen years of age and older in fall 2012. The survey, and some attendant focus groups, found that American adults highly value borrowing books, the services of reference librarians to help them find the information they need, and free access to computers and the Internet in their public libraries. Demand for classes on use of e-book readers, classes on e-book borrowing, and online ask a librarian services is growing. (9) The way adults use libraries is changing, and the report identifies reasons adult respondents currently use libraries. The most frequently cited services used were browsing books and media, borrowing books, looking for information, getting help from a reference librarian, and just sitting and reading or listening, but respondents frequently cited use of research databases, attendance at events or bringing children to events designed for children or teens, and borrowing video materials as well. …