The 12 Big Items On Librarians' Christmas Wish List

This is the season where wishes and dreams come true. Where little ones hop onto a jolly old man's lap and give a list of all the things they dream about all year long. Librarians are no different. Yes, its true many may be older and wiser. The case can be made that librarians share the same child like curiosity and wonder as those little ones who sit in storytimes. Of course, the "real" Santa does not normally grant wishes to grown ups but perhaps this might be the year where the jolly old man from the North Pole might find it in his heart to grant a wish or two from the dozen presented here. (By the way for the little ones who are wondering who the "real" Santa is, here's a hint: He's not at your local mall.) So Santa, for librarians everywhere who are hoping for a little Christmas miracle in their libraries, here is a list of Christmas gifts that is sure to put a smile on every librarians' face and for their patrons too. 1. A big spacious library that offers everything for everybody. A spacious children's room for youngsters to explore or find a quite spot to read. Plenty of study and meeting rooms for group discussions. Programming facilities that provides good views from any seating area and comfortable seating to boot. 2. Two great conferences for the library professionals to grow, exchange ideas and bring back to their communities a whole host of exiting ideas that will help their patrons receive the very best library service possible. 3. Three wise and wonderful library advocates that represent the community either locally, statewide or nationally. Yes, librarians would love community leaders such as mayors, state representatives, and congressmen to not only understand the challenges of libraries today but also be the voice needed to represent libraries on every level. It would be wonderful if the entire legislature were pro-libraries but at this point, librarians aren't greedy. Three to start with would be wonderful. 4. Four more hours in the day to read all the wonderful books that stir the imagination and make reader's advisory a joyful part of the profession. As it is now, reading book reviews are the closest that librarians get to reading the actual books. As the saying goes, so many books so little time! 5. Five incredibly awesome Author visits that can make any dull book discussion group rock! Many authors are the best advocates for libraries. Having them visit libraries is like having Madonna go to a music store to promote music appreciation. 6. Six publishers (and they know who they are) who finally see the light that libraries are not their foes. Libraries are indeed their friends. The gift that would be best here relates to e-books and pricing. If all six publishers would re0think their pricing for libraries and make it economical for everyone involved what a much nicer world it would be to see print and electronic text coexists in the library. 7. Seven generous philanthropists who would not only donate funds to help libraries meet the demands of a changing digital information driven world but help in annual fundraising campaigns also. 8. Eight weeks of Summer Reading Programs that are wonderful, creative, inexpensive and suited for every age. Who wants to cut summer short because the funding was not there? Rhetorical question but if anyone is still trying to figure out the answer they are not a true library lover. l 9. Nine teens leaping to get to computers that have all the resources plus the opportunity to "like" their favorite library on Facebook. Maybe they might even retweet a librarian or two? 10. Ten year millage that is renewed every ten years without fail and with full community support --- and that would be for every library in every city in every state. Well, that may be extreme but perhaps settling for our own communities would be acceptable. 11. Eleven pipers who daily sing the praises of libraries and help with free positive PR that every library needs on a daily basis Social media has made getting the positive word out about what libraries offer. Get those eleven pipers pipping away in the real world as well as the virtual one 12. Twelve months of library programming that keeps the patrons begging for more. Which in turn, will inspire the librarians to come up with twelve more months of wonderful programming for the the next year. Without a doubt, Santa can handle these requests. As Christmas Eve approaches, librarians will hang their stockings with care, snuggle up with a good book and wait for Santa to arrive at their library. Hopefully with at least one of these big items in his bag.

Thinking Out Loud: The Library of the Future

On a Saturday afternoon most libraries are buzzing with activity. Children are exploring their areas and favorite books. Computers are constantly on and the printers are just as busy. Adults casually browse books or movies for something to with the family or for quite time. The scene as it is played out here is similar in every public library. It's a very nice scene but a nagging question keeps turning up like a bad penny, What happens when everything goes digital? Will citizens want or need to go to a library? To put it bluntly, how will the library survive? This is by no means a gloom and doom post. It is merely observing the changes that have come about in the past ten years, taking note at the technology of today and predicting what may become a reality ten years from now. For example, the iPod gave music lovers the ability to carry all their favorite tunes with them everywhere they went. The demise of audio cd was close at hand. Are they still used today? Absolutely, but iTunes has made purchasing and downloading painless. How long will physical audio CD be around? Hard to say but it would be a guess that it won't be much longer before children today will be telling their kids what a CD looked like and how it was used. Another example that pops to mind is the GPS systems that help drivers navigate their way through unfamiliar areas. Again, a tool that has made life simpler but has not destroyed all print formats of maps. At least not yet. Books too have become questionable in the next several years. Frankly, it is hard to believe that e-readers and tablets have made it at least conceivable that printed books are on the way out. So again the question remains how will the library survive? Perhaps the best way to answer this question is to think about the needs of the typical public library patron. They need and want information as quickly as possible. Entertainment, whether it is reading, viewing or listening, is also important. They like to be self-reliant in retrieving their information yet on certain occasions when they've hit the proverbial brick wall, they seek the advice of a library professional. Put all of this together and it becomes a very interesting future indeed. Indulge these questions for just a moment: !. Will the "physical" library card be needed in or will it be a digital card? 2. When will publishers stop printing books switching totally to digital form? 3. When the majority of the library's collection is digital, will patrons still need or desire hard copy editions of books? 4. More importantly than questions one to three: Will patrons still come to library for their information or entertainment needs? These questions are quite loaded to be sure, However, they are important to explore. Taking on the library card issue, there will always be a need to issue a identification number for each patron in order to give them access to the library's resources The question here is whether the library card will be an e-reader encoded with the library's information and GPS given to patrons to use to download materials they desire. First reaction is that e-readers/tablets are very expensive. Yes, they are now but in five to ten years there could an economical e-reader produced just for the libraries purpose to buy in bulk and provide them to their patrons. Especially those who do not have the means of purchasing their own e-reader. Books are still be printed today obviously, but go to any bookstore and check out their inventory on display. Just as with the library, there is a mix array of books in the traditional forms, e-readers and the accessories that go with it, games, toys, and stationary products. The book areas are getting smaller due to the fact that technology is claiming more space. This is especially true in the libraries. At the moment the collection development budgets of most libraries are split down the middle to pay for databases, subscription to services like Overdrive, and printed books. It won't be long before the printed book budgets will be smaller due to the lack of printed books to buy. This lumps in to what the patrons will desire. Sales of e-readers are increasing, not decreasing. Sales of printed books, are not on a decline at the moment but as more readers get comfortable reading digital books, will they still want the printed. Think of the die hard vinyl record fans. There are those who claim they would never go to a CD, the music didn't sound the same. That's true, it didn't sound the same, it was better. Once audio CD were accepted, the rest is history. There will be those who will cling to the pages and hardcover books, and to be sure there are plenty of them out there. (Myself included) As time rolls on, even the diehard fans of books will be looking at e-readers as an acceptable evolution of the written word. If everything becomes digital, it may be a harder sell to get patrons into the door. This is where library programming will have to become the top service they provide. Storytime, book clubs, discussion groups and other programming will be the only reason why the community will come together at the library. In essence, the library will become a social gathering place. However, that is not as bad as it may seem. Books and stories have always had the ability to bring people together and libraries will always be the conduit for authors to get their message out. No doubt that the staffing of libraries will be greatly effected by the change. This is not the time to fret over what's the come. This is the time to plan to make the future what librarians' envision it to be in order to serve future patrons. If the profession as a whole ignores the planning process, and goes along with the flow then surely the libraries will fall into the pages of history as a really wonderful place that use to be there for everyone. For the librarians, who are not afraid of what the future holds, than this is the time to plan. Whether you are in a position of leadership or not, the moment is ours to carve out the future and make it a good one. Think of it this way, future library lovers are depending on this generation of librarians to bravely go where no librarian has gone before. The devoted library patrons deserve no less than the very best planning now for the future.

National Children's Book Week -- Going Digital!

In the article "Reaching the E-Teen" in Publisher's Weekly (February 21, 2011) Karen Springen explores how teens are adapting to e-readers. It may be surprising to learn that 80% of teens still prefer print copies of their favorite titles. In the age of texting, tagging and tweeting, one would think that e-readers would be the next big "thing" with teens. It's not. At least not for the moment. What is keeping teens from making that technological jump into the digital pool? The big five letter word that everyone wants more of but in a sagging economy, very few have a lot of it. MONEY.

With that said, will e-readers ever take off with teens or transitional generation? More than likely yes. More and more YA titles will become available in digital forms, not only that, as with all technology, there will be a time when the price of e-readers will go down and it will become more affordable. In a previous post, the suggestion that e-readers will be likely die off was met with strong comments to the effects that the post was not dealing with reality. The reality is this: as stated previously, if the e-reader is only going to allow for digital downloads from sites like, Overdrive and Amazon, then it will be the end of the e-reader. If however e-reader users will be able to use it socially or use the device for other uses like the iPad allows than there is a chance for survival. The Kobo e-reader's Reading Life allows users to post updates on what they are reading and share excerpts from the book with fellow Kobo users. Are we not that far long from conducting book discussions via e-readers? Not really. The technology is in place, now it has to bee tweaked.

Picture books have made their way to the iPad with much success. These books suffer the same fate as the Young Adult titles. While most parents believe it is a good idea to purchase new technology which will prepare their child for the school years to come, the thought of spending $499 dollars for one device makes it a luxury not a need for most households. Working with the iPad's digital picture book is a treat because the colors are indeed vibrant. However, the print version of the books are just as vibrant as the digital. Sharing the e-reader is difficult, but not impossible. Most librarians have found that the e-readers are easier to hold up when reading stories to a group. However, for one on one reading, it is not as easy as sharing a print copy. (On a side note, for disabled children, this device may be perfect for them in that it is easy to turn the page, and the bright colors attract their attention. This is a discussion for another day.) Perhaps, this is one of the many reasons why publishers will be offering all types of formats for the growing readers to choose from in the years to come.

In the future, National Children's book week will still be around to celebrate great children's literature and authors. However, it just may be that the book of tomorrow will be digital with the "feel" of a traditional book. That should take the guilt away from teens who feel its "sacrilegious" to read off of a e-reader, (see PW article mentioned above). Which ever way children read books in the future, the main objective will remain "every child a reader" This is why we celebrate this week. Reading is too important of a skill to take for granted. As for this librarian, this week's celebration will include sharing a new favorite with little ones. Carroll's The Boy and the Moon is a delightful read and at the moment not available in digitally. That's okay, I'm sure the children won't mind a bit!