Libraries must prepare for tomorrow

For generations, libraries meant one thing to most people—books. But today’s libraries have changed. Wooden card catalogs are gone, replaced by public access computers. Items are checked in and out through automated circulation systems. DVDs, audio books and music CDs are as much a part of libraries as print materials. Reference questions are answered through electronic databases. Patrons use library computers to compose resumes and do online job searching; to research and write school reports; to connect with old and new friends via e-mail and social networking websites. People can renew and reserve items, search the library catalog, register for a library program, and learn about their community and the world from their homes through interactive library websites. And hardly a day goes by without someone walking in with a laptop asking,

“Do you have wireless?”

Many of the changes mentioned above have happened within the past decade and, as new technologies appear, libraries are expected to keep up with the times. The Information Age and today’s global outlook has created new challenges, some of them costly, for our public libraries.

Perhaps no group will be affected more by these changes in technology and society than our youth. Libraries have always served an educational role in communities, introducing children to literacy through programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers; providing homework help to students after school; or suggesting age-appropriate reading or reference materials.

But the task today is greater, as the young people today—our workers and parents and leaders of tomorrow—face competition on a global level. Libraries must be able to provide the support they need. As librarians Susan Hauer and Debra E. Kachel so aptly wrote in a recent op-ed piece in the (Harrisburg) Patriot-News, “Our children are 20 percent of our population, but 100 percent of our future.”

Ask any librarian in this country and you will hear that more and more people are using their libraries, and asking for increased services. It’s a fact that in times of economic downturn people look to their libraries for materials and information. This greater demand comes at a time when libraries across the country are facing declines in funding sources.

Despite funding shortages, libraries must still look to tomorrow. Here at Pike County Public Library, we envision a future with a vibrant, up-to-date library system that truly meets the needs of county residents and helps to prepare our children for a competitive world. We see a library that helps businesses to succeed and brings jobs to the county; one that will bring career training and higher education opportunities. In order to do this, we are taking a proactive approach.

On November 3, our community has an opportunity to help its library system by voting yes on a dedicated library tax question. We need adequate funding to ensure that our library system survives and flourishes. The people that we serve deserve no less.

(Ellen Schaffner is the Director of the Pike County Public Library in Pennsylvania.)

This monthly column is a part of a valley-wide initiative to encourage an engaged citizenry. visit upperdelaware.com For a complete archive of visioning statements and for more about the visioning initiative.