OMG, I'm going to have to start listening again. I sort of gave up on him when he moved everything to New York City and carried on for months about that girl who couldn't decide between living in New York and marrying her sweetheart which meant moving to Seattle or something. It got deadly boring and stupid and I just moved on. We've listened to him occasionally since then, but I've completely missed this library stuff.
Unfortunately, he has his finger right on the truth with this. I've been fighting that battle for more than a decade, starting with the college library back in the 90s. Believe it or not, we had a college board of trustees that thought in 1995 that "everything is on the internet now anyway, so why don't we just abolish the library to save money..."
The conflict between serving users who want traditional print materials and users who are only interested in the internet is often very abrasive and difficult for us, and only seems likely to grow worse. This is a very polarized situation too, with few who are in both camps at the same time. My position, that the internet is fine for what it is but does not yet and may never replace traditional reference tools and printed materials, is extremely unpopular in general. I would never have put "public access" internet stations in public libraries. It has only contributed to that confusion and created endless headaches for us. Internet users are vocal and demanding. They expect us to drop everything and give them what they want immediately. They seem to think they are entitled to top priority over all other library patrons, and that they should never be thwarted in any way.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 05:04 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, he has his finger right on the truth with this. I've been fighting that battle for more than a decade, starting with the college library back in the 90s. Believe it or not, we had a college board of trustees that thought in 1995 that "everything is on the internet now anyway, so why don't we just abolish the library to save money..."
The conflict between serving users who want traditional print materials and users who are only interested in the internet is often very abrasive and difficult for us, and only seems likely to grow worse. This is a very polarized situation too, with few who are in both camps at the same time. My position, that the internet is fine for what it is but does not yet and may never replace traditional reference tools and printed materials, is extremely unpopular in general. I would never have put "public access" internet stations in public libraries. It has only contributed to that confusion and created endless headaches for us. Internet users are vocal and demanding. They expect us to drop everything and give them what they want immediately. They seem to think they are entitled to top priority over all other library patrons, and that they should never be thwarted in any way.