Haves and Have Nots
Today I was trying to catch up on some professional reading during lunch, and pulled out an article I’d been wanting to read from the January 24, 2011 issue of Library Hotline. It was a summary of the Top Tech Trends discussion that occurred at ALA this past January, and is something I look forard to every year.
This year, the top trends as recorded in this summary include:
- Personal Digital Archives – providing people with a place to store data AND archiving it as a library collection.
- Digital Decisions – How are we making decisions on space and storage based on what we digitize, or should we keep the print copy of what we digitize?
- The Cloud Solution – how cloud computing will change the face of academic research.
- Meeting Patrons at Their Devices – Yes, yes, and yes. We have to have the knowledge and skill to be able to assist our users no matter what device they own.
- More Content Development – Yes again.
- ILS’s not a Key Differentiator – Again, yes. Finally, someone recognizes that one ILS is very like another. It’s what you do with it that counts.
- Closing the Financial Gap – The panel was asked to address the widening gap between the “haves” and “have nots” when it comes to ereader usage. The answer to this one made me choke.
Panelist Monique Sendze from Douglas County Libraries in Colorado is quoted as saying that while libraries see themselves as “the people to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots,” it is nonetheless important to consider the needs of the “haves,” who are also library users.
Really Monique? Is that all you have to say? Really?
Why is there no authentic discussion happening about this issue? I can’t be the only person out there truly worried about the widening technological and informational gap between our citizens. We are in danger of creating a subclass that is cut off from access to information and communication, much like the poor of 200 years ago. The creation of public libraries bridged that gap then, and 200 odd years later we are in danger of turning the clock back as more and more public libraries lose funding and close, thereby cutting off the only access our poor have to the road out of poverty. Does this worry anyone else???
What aren’t we talking about ways to get ereaders into the hands of *all* our patrons? Why aren’t libraries talking about and finding ways to provide those readers to our customers? Why can’t a low cost ereader be developed that replaces the library card?
There are some interesting things happening with this basic idea. For example, Clearwater High School in Florida has distributed Kindles to all its students in place of textbooks. See this article with their Principal for details on this innovative project.
I wasn’t at the Tech Trends discussion, so perhaps I’m over-reacting to a poor summary of the answer to this question. Maybe there was meaningful discussion about the issue. Anyone?
But I come back to the quote from Sendze. I’m not terribly concerned about the “haves” since my guess is that anyone who can afford an ereader can afford the content for it. What I am concerned about are the people who will never have the opportunity or the means to own an ereader. How can we help them?
- Posted in: Advocacy ♦ Customer Service ♦ Innovation ♦ Technology
I didn’t get to attend this session because of my committee meetings, but I was sorry to miss it. When I get to them, they’re always interesting.
My thought about the ebook readers is that it’s important for us to be able to use them and help the patrons who have them for the time being, but at this point there isn’t anything much you can do with an ebook reader that you can’t do without one. It is not yet a critical format or skill for success in life. To me, the more critical technological issue is easy access to the Internet. People who don’t have that are missing something. It’s how you apply for jobs, benefits, schools, scholarships–all kinds of things. As ebook readers (or maybe they’ll all become tablet PCs?) come down in price and become more mainstream–or as more books become available only in epub format, that’s when we’re going to want to start concentrating more on outreach-type programs with them. Maybe it will be our project for 2012.
I agree with Adrienne — ereaders are not a critical format at this point. In fact, I think they are unlikely to be the format of choice for most users. It’s easier for me to use Overdrive on my phone to get ebooks than it is to connect an ereader to my computer, download books, transfer files, then lug around another device.
The price of smart phones will come down reasonably soon and we’ll see an increase in their use. Now that most service providers require a data plan when you renew your contract, the use of smart phones is already on the rise. Mobile phones are the preferred internet connection for most of the poor and disadvantaged in the world, and they are also the preferred connection for the more tech savvy “haves” among us.
I think the best way to ensure the gap between the haves and haves nots remains as small as possible is to provide as much digital content as we can, and be sure that patrons know how to access it — especially those who fall into the category of “have nots.”
Right now, there is a fairly wide digital gap because the cost of smart phones is still high. So even though I think that’s the trend we have to be aware of, we still have many people who are not there yet. I’d rather see the library lean toward small mobile readers, like PSPs, rather than Nooks and iPads. The PSP is a lot less fragile, so we’d feel less wary of loaning them out. PSPs are not on Overdrive’s list of compatible devices, but it seems like an ideal device for them to connect with. In fact, they probably do work, Overdrive just hasn’t listed them. I suddenly feel a device test in my very near future.
Pat, If you test the PSP, be sure to let us know what you find out. That’s an interesting idea.
I agree with Adrienne and Pat too. I believe it is our responsibility to provide our patrons with the technology and information they need to reach their dreams. Having the opportunity to work at the Information desk at Central has made me realize that what our patrons need right now is to have their basic needs met. They need jobs, food, and many are looking for a place to sleep. E-readers are not on their radar. For the kids, many of them only get to use a computer when they come to the library so at this time the best thing we can offer them is to be here, doors open, and Internet available.
I agree with everybody, at least to some extent. I am seeing more people come in with E-Readers, but I also see a lot of people who still need to learn basic computer skills. With so many people out of work and struggling, my focus has been on trying to help with online job applications, setting up e-mail accounts to e-mail resumes to employers, updating resumes, or anything else the patron needs.
As far as digital content goes, yes we need to provide access to it, but we also need to maintain traditional access to the printed word. Our patron population isn’t ready to make the leap to an all-digital world yet. We are still in a transition phase between print and digital, and we cannot yet leave the printed page behind entirely.
The main point is people who don’t own their own computers and need access to them – for looking for jobs, filling out applications, applying for benefits, etc.
We have people coming into the library who are in their 40s and 50s who are getting laid off from jobs they’ve had all their lives and they never had to learn how to use the computer or put together a resume or needed to know Word skills and now they do if they want to be able to rejoin the workforce.
Not that e-book readers aren’t becoming more prevalent, it’s just that right now there really isn’t a surge of people clamoring for access to the Kindle or Nook (at least not where I work). Right now, in my experiences, we have more people who want there to be software on the computers that will allow them to download music to put on their ipods or mp3 players.
Thank you all for starting this discussion with me. You are absolutely correct about the need for libraries to continue providing free and easy access to computers and the internet.
I hadn’t thought about the ereader thing from Adrienne’s point of view – that they are not a critical device for most of our users, and I am really intrigued by Pat’s thought on how access to digital content will eventually concentrate on mobile devices. I would love to know if Pat’s experiment with PSPs will work with Overdrive. I might use a PSP to read a digital book, but I won’t use my Blackberry. Too small. And even with a PSP or iTouch, that’s not the format I would choose to read in *when I have the choice.* I might choose PSP or iPhone/Touch/Droid if I’m stuck somewhere without something to read but not for everyday reading.
It annoys me no end that the national conversation on ebooks and ereaders is SO concentrated on the Haves. I believe that public libraries exist to provide equal access to information for all people, and that idealogy seems to be the one getting left in the dust by the talking heads of our profession.
My guess is that it is the case in most professions that the talking heads are grossly out of touch with the actual reality of day-to-day operations, or what is often called the “front lines”. Look at public education – I have sometimes asked teachers about their opinion of the No Child Left Behind Act, and heard long descriptions of the havoc it has caused to their efforts to be effective in actually helping children to learn.
I attended a seminar at NYLA on this very subject and I have to agree with Cathy that a lot of these trends are so above and beyond the actual needs of the patrons that we lose sight of the real day-to-day issues facing librarians in the ‘real’ world. I doubt that many of our patrons know what a “Cloud” is and most of the “Haves,” much less some library staff, that I know don’t know the first thing about eBooks and eReaders. The seminar I attended was given by techies that had most of the attendees befuddled and thinking that they were still working on the trends from 2 years ago. We need to look at our own libraries individually and assess the trends and address the needs; however, it is also good to keep in step with technology in the world. Libraries will be left behind if we don’t get on board.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a huge techie, so forgive me if this opinion has no basis in tech reality, but to me, one of the biggest things we could do for our patrons right now is to somehow offer the ability to download ebooks and audiobooks here in the library. I would think it would be easier for our patrons in the City to purchase an eReader than a home computer and monthly internet access.
So as long as they had the portable device, but could do their downloading here, we would be offering them a ton of content and access that they might not otherwise be able to get.
I don’t know whether the ability to download in the library is more a problem with digital rights management or library computer security or both, but figuring out how to offer it seems to me to be the best way forward to offering more to the “have-nots.”
I don’t know if anyone will see this comment, since the original post was 5 months ago, but I’ll post anyway.
This just came up on my twitter feed today regarding smart phone use:
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones/Summary.aspx
“Several groups have higher than average levels of smartphone adoption, including:
The financially well-off and well-educated – 59% of adults living in a household earning income of $75,000 or more are smartphone owners; 48% of those with a college degree own smartphones.
Those under the age of 45 – 58% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 now own a smartphone as do 49% of those ages 18-24 and 44% of those ages 35-44. Even among those with a household income of $30,000 or less, smartphone ownership rates for those ages 18-29 are equal to the national average.
African-Americans and Latinos – 44% of blacks and Latinos are smartphone users.”
I still think smart phones will be sort of a “great equalizer” between the haves and have nots, and these numbers show a significant trend. I think it would be very worthwhile for libraries to spread the word that your phone is an ereader, rather than trying to supply people with devices.
PS: I never got a chance to try downloading an ebook to a PSP. I don’t own one of my own, and the person I’d hoped to borrow one from no longer had one.