Final Essay

Libraries Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

An average student walks across campus, wondering to herself what topic to choose as the subject of her next paper for an English class at school, called Composition 106. Several ideas come to mind, but she doesn't know enough to choose one. She strolls past the library and considers walking through the doors to explore research ideas there. On second thought, she keeps walking toward the parking lot, deciding to leave instead and search for topic ideas online later that day. Then a question emerges: How has library use changed over time? As more and more students find resources available at the click of a mouse, surely the library feels the influence. Libraries have been around for ages, but with the spread of technology, some worry what will happen to the buildings that provide a home for dusty old volumes and worn and well-loved paperbacks. Fortunately, libraries have been changing ways of making information available to students and the public in order to grow and expand with the changing technology of modern society.

The establishment we would consider a “library” has been around for centuries. In fact, archaeologists have found clay tablets thought to be over 5000 years old and collections of Egyptian papyrus scrolls from as early as 1300 B.C. Aristotle himself might have been the first person to accumulate and organize books, teaching kings of Egypt how to collect their own libraries. From clay tablets to wooden boards to leather or parchment rolls to bound books, libraries have always been around to provide access to printed information (Krasner-Khait).

Most people are familiar with typical libraries of the 20th century: rows of bookshelves, a certain musty, papery smell, quiet readers hunched over a book they just found, novels covered with plastic jackets or printed with numbers, muted colors on chairs and carpeting, and the distant sound of date stamps at the front desk as people wait to borrow books for themselves. Some love the cozy feeling of that library, and many, specifically several college professors, worry that it will all disappear with the advance of technology. Memories from elementary school came to mind as I read online about these concerns. The public library seemed endless to me on class field trips when I was younger, and colorful book covers and little tables decorated with characters from juvenile fiction provided an entertaining break from the monotony of kindergarten. A matronly librarian would have chosen a book, and my classmates and I would cross our legs, sit on the ground, and stare at her as she created voices and expressions for every character and plot twist. After story time, we were allowed to wander among the shelves and pick out a book to check out. If I think closely, I can still hear the laminated covers that crackled as they opened, feel the cool metal bookends, and remember the pleasant tension created by the library's quiet. The thought that computer software and other technology could ever replace elements of the setting so vivid in most minds is alarming.

Indeed, fewer people depend on the library the same way they used to. More people use Google and online searches to find answers to specific questions. Yet some aspects of the library of yesterday have not changed, and probably never will. The library often also takes on the role of community center, a gathering place. Director Linda Arbaugh predicts, “Libraries aren't going to go away. There's always going to be a place for them” (Dremann). Librarians will be more in demand than ever. The traditional librarian will be replaced by the kind who understands networking, websites, and technology. However, librarians' talents will be more sought-after than ever as searches and tools get more expansive. One website presents a petition for the printing of the first postage stamp to feature a librarian. Other professions and notable figures have been featured in this way, and fans of the website feel it only fair to represent libraries' hardworking and sometimes inspirational contributions as well. Many aspects of libraries of yesterday had to change to evolve with society, but so much of what people value will stay the same.

Libraries of today are changing to keep up with the students and public who seek information, places to congregate, and resources. Already the effects can be seen: Mardigian Library at UMD has service available so students can email and even instant message their questions to get answers from the library. Computer stations can be found at most locations. Most libraries have comprehensive websites that include search engines, databases, and resources to make information convenient and accessible. Today, students can research a wide range of topics at all hours of the day or night from their own computers instead of waiting to look up a particular book located on a shelf. Also, books are tracked electronically instead of date stamped each time they're checked out. Often library patrons can access their account from home to check what they've borrowed or when books are due. Another advancement is the connections between libraries. If a resource is desired in one city, but the card owner wants to check it out from their own library, they can use a website to request that material. The connections between libraries have multiplied the resources available. Online books and articles can be accessed by computer, even if that particular library doesn't own a copy. In these ways, libraries have already adapted to the changing technology.

In the future, libraries will not become obsolete. Throughout history, people have felt the need to seek out information, and this will not change. Libraries will continue to be irreplaceable as community centers for gathering or as quiet places to study. More resources will be available online, but likewise librarians will be more in demand in order to make sense of the masses of information just mouse clicks away. Milpitas Public Library is an example of a new library with adaptations for changing needs: over a hundred computers, a conference room with a flat-screen TV, homework and activity centers, automated check-out counters, comfortable furniture, and Internet access. (Dremann). The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in North Carolina has added an interactive blog and space for kids to record music and shoot video (Sutter). More and more information will become digital, especially with the use of eBook readers and Google's book project to digitize books, but the libraries plan to change along with technology. Libraries aren't just about endless bookshelves; they're about connecting and learning. More connections will happen in a virtual setting, but students and the public will always need what libraries have to offer.

A survey of mostly juniors and seniors in college gave me an idea of how other people with circumstances like mine feel about libraries in a modern setting. Everyone who completed the survey had a library card and about 70% reported going to a library “sometimes” or “often,” according to the survey. A closer look at the results show that about 85% of respondents use the library for quiet study or to find research materials, but every single individual has had some experience with Internet databases or search engines connected to the library. This lets me know that what I've read and heard from librarians seems to be true: even if people aren't walking through the doors of their library, they are making use of 21st century technology and resources. One surprise for me was the lack of interest in hand-held reading devices like the Amazon Kindle. Almost half decided they would rather read a book on paper. The unanimous opinion among respondents was that “Technology will minimize [libraries], but they won't disappear.”

Libraries of yesterday might have been cozy, but the days when flipping through pages of old books arranged by the Duey Decimal System was the only way to find the answer to a question are long gone. Today, students and library patrons find themselves surrounded by resources without even stepping through the doors. They can connect to the library in ways never thought possible. Yet, the library of the future will use technology to serve many of the same purposes: helping to make sense of vast supplies of information, providing places to gather or study quietly, and connecting people with the answers to their questions.