Reversal of Fortune

Wow, Didn't See that One Coming!

Jennifer Pinkowski -- Library Journal, 1/9/2008

A northern Illinois library will move into a space vacated by Barnes & Noble—and it's planning to keep many of the elements that have made B&N so popular with readers, including the café. Next month, the Rockford Public Library (RPL) plans to start reworking a 23,000-square-foot space for its new East Side branch, which will replace the much smaller Northeast branch. The move relocates the five-branch system's busiest library from the back of a bilevel strip mall to a stand-alone building in a centrally located shopping district. Moreover, Barnes & Noble is donating to the library most of the bookstore's fixtures, including shelves, desks, seating, and a checkout counter, which will help to reduce costs. The B&N relocated to a larger space in the local mall.

For all of us who champion libraries and their causes this is the kind of thing we want more of. I doubt that it will become a trend, however.

How often have you cruised through a superstore like B & N or Borders and felt guilty about not using the library instead?

Well, keep in mind I often see students in the cafes at B & N and Borders hard at work on their notebooks. I doubt they ever think of institution loyalty. Also keep in mind that many small branch public libraries become dumping grounds for homeless people, and that they are not any quieter than a cafe in a bookstore. This can make the public library a mixed bag and not always reliable place for peace and quiet. I hate typing that. I love libraries. But facts are facts.

Many professionals in the industry now admit their are lessons to be learned from bookstores when it comes to customer satisfaction. Its easy to find a book and you can have a lovely cup of tea or a cup of java if you prefer while reading it!

One of the reasons I believe libraries are holding their own (as mentioned in a recent PEW study) may be that Americans think of free libraries as being part of their inherited public services available to them. Free public libraries are more American than they are universal. That is Americans may simply assume that it will always be there for them.

That same report sadly finds use of public libraries drops as its patrons get older, however.

I just loved this news story. Winning one for our side is great!

Any thoughts?


Here are a couple of good links:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6517947.html

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/231/report_display.asp