Week 9 Readings

Cooperation in Rural and Remote Libraries: The Promise of Technology by Leanne Clendening

           

The article discusses the importance of the library within small communities and the revolution the internet has created within these communities.

The article was interesting with the stress the author placed on the importance of having the internet available within small communities. I did find it interesting how the author stressed that the librarian must be innovative in order to succeed in meeting the needs of the needs of the patrons and the internet was a successful tool in accomplishing this goal. The emphasis placed on partnerships not only between the library and the community, but the library with other libraries is also interesting. The fact that multiple movements are in place to enhance the library through multiple initiatives would be interesting to observe their progression and adaptation with the implementation of social networks and other internet resources.

Changes in Rural Libraries and Librarianship: A Comparative Study by Robert Flatley and Andrea Wyman

The article presents the comparative results of a survey performed on rural libraries serving a population of or fewer than 2,500.

I found the survey to be interesting in terms of the results of the demographics of people working in the library. The fact that librarians have always tended to be thought of as women is interesting. In my research class, we were discussing surveys that had been done in the past and one discussed one such instance of discovering why males were less likely to be found in such a profession. Their reasons tended to be similar to what women said, like the love of reading and working with people. The major difference though was that males tended to be branch managers or have higher positions within the library infrastructure. I’m curious to see if this will continue to be the case in the future or if the changes will occur at a more “rapid” pace in the future.

Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries, 1997-2007 by Everett Henderson

The brief dictates the various increases and decreases for over a decade. The goal of the article is to provide a clear and better rounded understanding of where the library stood in 2007.

            I felt that this is relatable even now to what is occurring in various libraries now. I tried to apply many of the concepts that were in 2007 to the discussion the Monroe County Public Library had recently in their discussion about the state of the library. Based on many of their statistics and what was shown in the charts within the brief there was a lot of similarity. In fact, MCPL has continued to increase in all aspects of service and circulation presently. I think what this proves in a sense is that the library has been able to keep up with the constant changes and adapting to them to meet the needs of the users as much as possible. I think that if these figures continue the library will remain a presence within the communities.