Skip to main content

The Disappearing Need for Libraries in a World Gone Digital

By Andrea Li


Books are the gateways into discovering fantastical universes and infinite, profound knowledge, making libraries havens of endless opportunity. Rows and rows of tall shelves span the buildings, filled with countless books in any shape or form. Libraries are a safe space in many different ways to many different people. I can remember begging my mom to take me to the library every time one of the books I put on hold was ready for pick up. I used to order so many books that they had an extra basket on the shelf just for us. We had a mandatory trip to the library at twice a week, until I got older and the trips grew more and more sparse, our book bags less and less full. 


Historically, libraries served a fundamental role in communities. Libraries contained exclusive knowledge and worked to preserve and protect information. The Library of Alexandria, considered to be the greatest library of the ancient world, guarded thousands of works of literature: all lost in a supposed fire. Nowadays, I don’t even know of a time when information had to be found in a library. Within seconds, a simple Google search yields thousands of answers, and information circulates on a much greater scale. 


Modern day libraries function as free access to information. Anyone is able to check out books and access computers and the internet. Libraries are a place to gather and socialize, or provide a quiet space for learning. Children participate in storytimes and activities, teens are curled up in corners engrossed in novels, and adults are typing away on laptops. They are shelters for the homeless and a welcoming place to anyone who needs it. 


To me, there is something to be experienced in spending time at a library. There is something to be experienced in physically turning the pages of a book, with the weight of it in my hands and the booky smell, but the world doesn’t seem to agree. We are moving towards a world of Kindles and ebooks, and libraries are fighting the waves to stay above the surface. Libraries have to adapt to stay relevant, but providing other forms of media presents a larger dilemma. Libraries receive discounted rates to supply copies of books, but the same access and pricing does not apply to digital books. Many major publishers do not even sell ebooks to libraries. Others operate under a strict set of rules that makes it unsustainable for libraries to provide ebook services. This includes limiting the number of loans before the library has to purchase a new copy license, or charging multiple times the cost of a physical copy. 


On top of it all, the COVID-19 pandemic adds even more restrictions to library resources, as typical interactions present opportunities for transmission of the virus. The Champaign Public Library, similar to others across the nation, has been offering curbside pick up options, computer time reservations, and virtual webinars or storytellings. These services are difficult to maintain, pressing library systems into further financial deficits. 


With all the cards stacked against them, libraries face a difficult future. As with everything these days, the fate of libraries is unknown. 




Sources: 

https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-can-libraries-survive-ebook-revolution.html

http://www.ala.org/tools/research/librariesmatter/category/social-role-library

https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2012/04/article_0004.html#:~:text=As%20gateways%20to%20knowledge%20and,a%20creative%20and%20innovative%20society.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-24/how-coronavirus-is-changing-public-libraries

https://champaign.org/service-updates


Comments

  1. Khadeejah R.February 22, 2021 at 11:21 AM

    This was a really interesting blog post! Personally, I have always loved going to the library. The environment there was something I really enjoyed. But, as I got older and I could just search things up for research and read old books that my family already owned, I stopped going to the library as often. You made some really good points in this post about the future of libraries!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LisaFebruary 23, 2021 at 11:27 AM

    Great post! I still love going to the library. For me, seeing all the books on the shelves beats seeing a list of names on a screen. :p The library also encourages young kids to read with summer reading programs and prizes. It is true that we can just look things up instead of reading a book to get information, but having the book in your hands is so much more satisfying, especially when you finish reading it. You're right that libraries are struggling, but I really hope they don't get shut down. You also covered the basics of libraries really well and how that applies to us now. Nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Faisal A.March 4, 2021 at 1:13 PM

    Very interesting and great post! I like going to libraries, and it gives you a feeling of togetherness as a community. In the COVID era, I barely go to the public library since ebooks are easier and safer to access. I agree with you that libraries may have a struggling future, but I hope they don't go out of business and shut down. Again, nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. MaddieMarch 8, 2021 at 11:53 AM

    This was a really unique post!! I can definitely relate to going to the library often when I was younger. It was a place that I have a lot of memories associated with. I agree with the points that you made about books slowly shifting to the digital world, leaving libraries behind. I do hope that libraries can stay afloat in the midst of the pandemic and all of the changes going on, but I can see how there is a dwindling future for them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. GT ChenMarch 8, 2021 at 5:15 PM

    I can relate to much of your experiences, since when I was younger I would check out truckloads of books and then consume them in a few afternoons. I still go occasionally, but check out less and less books each time, and my trips have basically disappeared due to the pandemic. I don't think eBooks and Kindles can ever replace real-life libraries. There's just a better experience in checking out a brand-new, fresh-smelling book then pirating one off the internet. Hopefully the business increases after the pandemic is over.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Aryan SMarch 21, 2021 at 8:46 PM

    This was a very eye opening post into how libraries have been struggling over the past few years to keep up with the rapidly growing market for digital literature. It is easily more convenient than going to a library and finding the book you need, and in some cases, more cost-efficient. However, I believe it's hard to replicate being in a building with books all around you with different topics everywhere you look. Great post!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Introduction to the SCP Wiki (Karl)

    The SCP Wiki is an expansive public creative writing project housed on  scpwiki.com . The SCP Foundation (the Foundation) is a secretive fictional organization inside the SCP universe which contains thousands of people, objects, and places that have anomalous properties. These range from a cardboard box which origami dragons fly out of to a deer god that can turn any matter into a hexagonal column. The anomalies that the Foundation contains, how they are contained, and the stories linked to them are detailed in Special Containment Procedures, which take up the majority of the content on the wiki. Currently, there are six "series" of these procedures, each with a thousand articles.     If you go into a random article on the wiki, you will probably be overwhelmed by acronyms, numbers, and unfamiliar names. There are a few articles that detail what some of these things mean. Useful links are always provided in articles whenever they're mentioned. Object classes...
3 comments
Read more

Why Do Writers Use Pen Names?

By Andrea Li Pen names, also known as a pseudonym, literary double, or nom de plume, are made-up names adopted by an author that they use on their works in place of their real name.  A simple Google search reveals that a surprising amount of well-known authors use pen names, including J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Lewis Carroll, and Dr. Seuss. Daisy Meadows, from the childhood-favorite and never-ending Rainbow Magic series, is disappointingly a collective pen name for the four different authors that wrote the books (it was too perfect to be true). Then for the opposite effect, you hear the name Rainbow Rowell and are inversely betrayed to hear that Rainbow Rowell, is in fact her real name. The next time you are wondering why famous people all have cool names, the answer is that they might not!  Pen names may seem like a surface level change and simply for aesthetic purposes, but pen names have existed for centuries and have historical significance. In earlier times, when women w...
9 comments
Read more

The Aid of Illustrations to Writing

By Rose Benjamin Illustrations in books, especially novels, can either be useful visual aid or unnecessary. Sometimes, the charm of the story is how the reader can envision the characters and setting themselves. When a character's physical appearance has little do with the story or the mood of the book, vague verbal descriptions (or none at all) are enough. Other times, however, visuals can help set the mood of the story and give characters personality. When the text already provides extensive description or properties of the environment are written to be vague, illustrations break the intent of the text, providing detail that should have been imagined by the reader. Unnecessarily showing how characters look can also ruin the reader's unique experience and make it more similar to everyone else's. People may have in their heads a certain design for a character, and be set on it. An illustration of said character would ruin their perception of the character, especially if the...
4 comments
Read more