Staying relevant in a rapidly changing world
by Terra Osterling
Victor Lipka from Hamlin reads an e-book on his Nook E-Reader device at the Seymour Library E-Readers Made Easy Program. Area public libraries are adapting to the rapidly changing world of technology and meeting patrons’ needs in unique waysOne of the hottest gifts during the 2011 holiday season was the e-reader. Amazon reports selling over one million of their Kindle devices per week throughout December, not to mention the countless millions sold of Sony’s e-reader, Barnes & Noble Nooks and other e-reader devices.
For people who enjoy reading, a new world has arrived. And in that new world is a familiar place: the public library. While rising demand for access to technology and non-print media has spurred significant change for libraries, their relevance remains constant.
Donna Haire has been the director of the Newman Riga Public Library in Churchville for 28 years, a time period that she says has seen “incredible, incredible change.” E-readers add a new facet to book-borrowing and regularly Newman Riga hosts a class on downloading e-books from Overdrive – a web-based service used by the Monroe County Library System to meet the book-borrowing public’s increasing demand for access to e-book titles.
“We’ve watched our video collection morph into DVDs and our Books on Tape morph into Books on CD. We stand on the brink of more change, watching Books on CD morph into downloads,” says Haire, as she considers the shifts that have occurred over her career. To cope, Newman Riga keeps their collections basic. “We embrace the fact that we cannot afford to be ‘state of the art.’ Books remain our focus.”
Lisa Rice (second from the right), evening librarian at the Newman Riga Library, answers questions from library patrons during her session on how to download e-books to a personal computer. Photograph by David Knox.Even so, the Newman Riga Library also offers for check-out several portable and easy to use Playaways, a device pre-loaded with a digital audio book. Four computer workstations are equipped with basic office programs and supply internet access. Free wireless hotspot is also available on-site for internet access on personal devices (laptops, e-readers and smartphones), as it is at most member libraries in the Monroe County system.
The expense of Playaway devices, DVDs and Books on CD, computer equipment, not to mention print materials, is significant.
With state aid to Monroe County libraries flat over the last decade after being slashed to 1993 levels, and town aid flat for the past three years, Newman Riga is run purposefully like a small business on a modest annual budget of $180,000 and a wisely invested endowment. Haire draws on a philosophy that combines “fiscal prudence” and focus on the core mission.
An expansion in 1989 doubled the size of the library to about 3,200 square feet, with most of it today still dedicated to what Haire calls the library’s reason for being: books.
“When money is limited, we can’t be all things to all people. We stick with the basics, those fundamentals that … fall under the general heading of education.” Repairs, projects and programs are all second to providing access to print material, computers and the internet.
“Our board has tried hard not to reduce our book budget,” says Haire, and in turn Newman Riga specializes in reader’s advisory (i.e., recommending the right book to the right patron) and promoting a summer reading program, with all prizes donated.
Barbara Maleski from Brockport and Pauline Brown from Hamlin learn how to navigate the Monroe County Library System to download e-books on a laptop computer at the Seymour Library E-Readers Made Easy program.The small business strategy and focus on books has paid off. In fact, circulation at the center-village library has increased over the years, with 28,000 materials checked out in 2011.
While the wave of technology washed out card catalogs a decade ago to make way for computer workstations, libraries continue to function both as the local depository for books and non-print media, and as a community-based education hub.
“Our role has not been diminished by these changes, but has become more important as people try to sift through an abundance of information and technology,” states Becky Tantillo, director of the Parma Public Library, where e-readers have been embraced along with other new technologies.
“We held classes last year in the spring and summer (on downloading library books for e-readers), and will probably do it again.” Tantillo will also personally assist patrons with downloading to an e-reader from Overdrive if online instructional YouTube videos linked to the library’s home page still leave users perplexed.
The Parma Library’s website, Facebook page and six desktop computers showcase the library’s role in accessing technology.
“The limited space in the library prevents us from adding more desktops (computers) for our patrons, so to expand the number of patron access computers, we recently purchased five laptops.” Tantillo adds that the laptops will be available for patron use in February and will connect to the internet via the library’s free wireless hotspot.
The Parma Library also recently increased the number of large-print books available in response to high demand, circulating in all over 142,000 items in 2011.
Matt Krueger, Adult Services Librarian at the Brockport Seymour Library, demonstrates to his patrons how to download e-books as part of his E-Readers Made Easy program. Photograph by David KnoxAgain, computers and books (even downloadable) cost money and the Parma Public Library experienced the same reduction in state aid as all Monroe County libraries. But their 2012 budget is up 10% from last year, thanks to a partial restoration of the materials budget. Patrons didn’t suffer from the cuts in prior years as the library’s endowment fund was used to supplement materials purchases.
“This is only a temporary solution,” concedes Director Tantillo, acknowledging that the fund balance will be needed for potential future improvements, such as to the library’s HVAC and structure. Outside efforts also help the library to make ends meet, including the “Friends of the Parma Public Library”-run used bookstore located across the street, where half of the profits go to the library. Money raised by the Teen Advisory Board through candy sales was used to purchase a café table set and wall art for the teen section.
“They’re in here a lot,” Tantillo says of local teens. “They jump on the computer, log into Facebook, and borrow all kinds of things,” including Japanese manga (a style of comic art), checking out “stacks at a time.”
The youth of the community benefit from much of the Parma Library’s programming. The Teen Advisory Board pushed to have the “Get Locked In @ The Parma Public Library” program last fall where 21 teens attended a night of scavenger hunts, movies, games and food. It was so successful that another lock-in is planned for February. Tantillo highly values this relationship, saying, “These teens essentially become ambassadors for the library.”
Youth-oriented services provided by the Parma Library don’t stop there. “We do have a large home schooling population,” explains Tantillo. To help support that segment of the community, the library offers a Family Book Discussion group during the day and grant-purchased “subject kit bags,” filled with books and CDs on topics such as music and art, are available for check-out.
A popular evening story time held last fall, in addition to the standard twice-weekly morning story time, fills a need for working parents and their children of all ages. So popular was the evening story time that registration has opened for another series.
Barbara Dodson from Brockport works on her smartphone e-reader device at the Seymour Library E-Readers Made Easy program. Photograph by David Knox“Often it is listening to the needs of an individual patron and meeting that one person’s needs,” says Tantillo, reflecting on the library’s role in the community.
The idea of the library as a community hub was a major focus when the Seymour Library in Brockport relocated to its 18,000 square foot facility in 1996. Here a patron can use one of more than a dozen desktop computers yet still thumb through the repair manual for a 1980-1987 import car.
“It isn’t just about the books,” confides Patty Good, interim library director at the Seymour Public Library. “It’s not the same as it used to be … which makes it exciting!”
Benefits of having built a facility in the last 20 years include both being well-prepared for the technology shift, and positioning the library as a community meeting place.
Meeting rooms (space offered free of charge) are used by local non-profits, scouting troops and groups of all ages. The library also hosts an active community on its Facebook page. Interim Director Good emphasizes the point saying the Seymour Library strives to be “a community place — ‘your’ place to come.”
The Teen Scene, renovated and expanded in 2010, is café-like: along one wall are four desktop computers equipped with quality headphones and situated at a high countertop with stools. Restaurant-style booths along a glass partition separate the teen area from the rest of the library. A large section of Young Adult books flanks an open area of soft seating and a coffee table stocked with board games.
There is a room for local history research and in one corner of the children’s book wing an area for stimulating pre-literacy play. And there are lots of electrical outlets throughout the library for patrons visiting with their laptops to access the free wireless hotspot.
In what has become a familiar link among libraries, the Seymour Library hosted an “E-readers Made Easy” class in January, with pre-registration for the session filled well in advance. Additional classes will likely be offered as Good feels that this provides the opportunity to demonstrate for patrons the library’s role in the new technology landscape. The Seymour Library, which circulates nearly 200,000 materials a year, even has an e-reader available for check-out.
A long capital campaign provided the funds for the new construction in 1996, and aggressive fundraising continues to be the norm. With a budget of over a half million dollars, the Seymour Library still relies on help from outside sources. A “Friends” group has in the past purchased fixtures, furniture, Playaway devices, office equipment, and food, t-shirts and prizes for youth programs.
The annual $25-per-ticket “After Hours” is an evening-long food, wine and entertainment event that raises money for additional major purchases – the 2011 event proceeds were earmarked for new computers, computer seating and an electronic message board. Community groups and business owners contribute to the library’s financial well being, including donations for specific needs such as new book purchases or needed equipment.
The costs to keep up with technology advancements, as well as rising costs for employee benefits and retirement plans, will continue to strain library budgets. But based just on the activities and programs of these local libraries, the return for communities cannot be overstated.
Aside from overdue fines and nominal hold fees, every book and non-print item available for check-out, computer equipment and software for use on site, wireless hotspot internet access, as well as entertaining and educational programming, continues to be free and open to the public.
Whether it is the pre-literacy play area at the Seymour Library, a teen lock-in program at the Parma Library, or the one-on-one relationships built over book recommendations at the Newman Riga Library, it is obvious that the Kindle won’t be putting libraries out of business anytime soon. If anything, e-readers might introduce new patrons to their local library.
“The library will continue its commitment to provide free and open access to information for all people,” says Parma Public Library Director Becky Tantillo. “The role of the library in the community is to inform, educate and enrich lives. These values are timeless.”
Editor’s note: The libraries asked to participate in the content of this article were chosen to represent the various size facilities within the readership of Westside News Inc. newspapers, Suburban News and Hamlin-Clarkson Herald.
