So, Seth Godin has recently shared his two cents' worth about the future of libraries.
Firstly, I want to skip to the end, and say that, yes, libraries should spend money on developing leaders, teachers - nay, sherpas - to guide those in the library community to climb the mountains of digital media, and conquer the peaks of information literacy, in order to maintain community connectivity with information. Which is pretty much what librarians already do. If you're not doing that, then you're not doing it properly.
But what worries me are the earlier statements:
1. That libraries cannot survive simply as community-funded repositories for books. Last time I checked, book circulation statistics at my library were thriving, with no sign of decline.
2. That the number one thing [libraries] deliver to their patrons are free DVD rentals. See above comment regarding book circulation. Furthermore, these collections are enriched through incorporating community-oriented programs in the library.
3. The net turns things upside down. The information is free. Depends on your definition of free. It's free if you have access to a computer. It's free if it's not locked behind an online subscription, or only published in print media. It's free if you actually have the skills and knowledge to access the information online. But do you know what *does* make these things free - a library.
It concerns me greatly that somebody such as Godin would be making these statements, along with his accompanying advice to train people to take the intellectual initiative, as he puts it. It says a lot about the current state of libraries, if the opinion is that librarians do not currently do this.
And, finally, first thing last - his question.
What should libraries do to become relevant in the digital age?
Well, who says that they're not?
