Table Of ContentThe Transformed Library
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E
H
T
E-Books, Expertise,
and Evolution
Jeannette
An imprint of the American Library Association • Chicago • 2013
Jeannette Woodward is a principal of Wind River Library and Nonprofit Consulting.
After a career in academic library administration, most recently as assistant director
of the David Adamany Library at Wayne State University, she began a second career in
public libraries as the director of the Fremont County Library System in the foothills
of the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. Woodward is the author of several books,
including A Librarian’s Guide to an Uncertain Job Market (2011), Countdown to a New Library, 2nd
ed. (2010), Creating the Customer-Driven Academic Library (2008), Creating the Customer-Driven
Library: Building on the Bookstore Model (2005), and Countdown to a New Library: Managing the
Building Project (2000). Woodward holds a master’s degree in library and information sci-
ence from Rutgers University, with doctoral study at the University of Texas at Austin.
• • •
© 2013 by the American Library Association. Any claim of copyright is subject to appli-
cable limitations and exceptions, such as rights of fair use and library copying pursuant
to Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act. No copyright is claimed for content in
the public domain, such as works of the U.S. government.
Printed in the United States of America
17 16 15 14 13 5 4 3 2 1
Extensive effort has gone into ensuring the reliability of the information in this book;
however, the publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the mate-
rial contained herein.
ISBNs: 978-0-8389-1164-8 (paper); 978-0-8389-9628-7 (PDF); 978-0-8389-9629-4 (ePub);
978-0-8389-9630-0 (Kindle). For more information on digital formats, visit the ALA Store
at alastore.ala.org and select eEditions.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Woodward, Jeannette A.
The transformed library : e-books, expertise, and evolution / Jeannette Woodward.
p. cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8389-1164-8
1. Libraries—Aims and objectives. 2. Libraries—Forecasting. 3. Libraries and
electronic publishing. 4. Libraries—Information technology. 5. Libraries and the
Internet. 6. Librarians—Effect of technological innovations on. 7. Library
science—Philosophy. 8. Libraries and society.
I. Title.
Z678.W675 2013
020 —dc23 2012023767
Cover design by Kirstin Krutsch.
Book design by Adrianna Sutton using Cartier and Bonveno typefaces.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
To my family: Laura, Chris, Lowell, John, and David, with all my love
CONTENTS
Introduction :: ix
1
GUTENBERG MEETS KINDLE: The Arrival of Digital Books :: 1
2
LIBRARIES vS. E-PUBLIShERS: The Library’s Point of view :: 13
3
ThE AGE OF hIGh ANxIETy: Threats That Fuel Library Nightmares :: 31
4
ThE LIBRARy IN CyBERSPACE :: 44
5
WILL ThE COFFEE ShOP SA vE US?: The Library as Place :: 55
6
LIBRARy CAREERS ThAT WON’T GO A WAy :: 68
7
SURvIvAL STRATEGIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES :: 78
8
SURvIvAL STRATEGIES FOR ACADEMIC LIBRARIES :: 94
9
SURvIvAL STRATEGIES FOR SChOOL LIBRARIES :: 111
Conclusion :: 123
Index :: 127
INTRODUCTION
Looking back on the first decade of the twenty-first century, we can’t be blamed
for feeling somewhat depressed about our libraries and the situation they are
facing. During a decade that will always be known for the most dramatic eco-
nomic downturn since the Great Depression, libraries have fared badly. On the
one hand, library budgets have been slashed and some libraries have disap-
peared in a puff of smoke or a blot of red ink. On the other hand, pundits loudly
announce the death of libraries. All the materials that libraries select and catalog
and house and lend will soon be digitally available, they say, making libraries as
extinct as the dodo.
THE DIGITAL TRANSITION
Is this true, we wonder? What else could possibly provide libraries with a reason
for being if not these information-bearing objects? Think of the library science
courses, the conferences, the workshops, the manuals, the billions or perhaps
trillions of staff hours that have been devoted to the care of library materials.
Those of us in denial respond that no e-reader will ever replace the comfy, cozy,
tactile experience of paper and ink, but is this merely wishful thinking? If digital
files do replace most physical media, can libraries and librarians simply regroup,
restock their virtual shelves with virtual media, and continue to play much the
same role as in years gone by? has the dismal economy clouded our vision and
made us view the future through unnecessarily dark lenses? On the other hand,
is the financial crisis actually propelling libraries toward a bleak future? Such
speculations inevitably lead to musings about our profession and the possibility
that we will be outsourced or become an extinct species. This book is intended
to provide a balanced assessment of the situation that confronts both libraries
and information professionals. It will present some possible future scenarios,
moving beyond rosy visions of patrons lovingly embracing handsome examples
of the printer’s art and Fahrenheit 451-spawned, apocalyptic nightmares of a
world without libraries.
DEFINING THE LIBRARY
Although it may at first seem unnecessary, I’ll need to establish some boundar-
ies around my subject matter, and the best way to do that is to define clearly
:: ix
