The Future of Libraries

I want to share with you what we've been discussing at this year's board meetings. We've been talking about a long range plan and I have been asking, "Just what is the future library going to look like?" In 10, 15, 20 years, will we even have books on shelves and stacks and racks? 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit to you that the future is already here. The future is...now. Let me count the ways. Here are some examples from our library. 

My friends and I play Mahjong twice weekly on the square tables in the back of the library. There is also a Canasta group on the other table. Your library is a Social Room.

Elderly couples sit in the comfy stuffed chairs in the corner by the windows with plenty of daylight reading the USA TODAY and The Wall Street Journal. Your library is a Living Room.

Five guys sit at the library's computers on the south wall. They are reading their email, working crossword puzzles, playing card games...looks like poker? Your library is a game room.

In the Quiet Room a young man is sitting across the table from a young woman. He is interviewing her and taping the conversation using the smallest movie camera I've ever seen. The camera is sitting on a tiny tripod on the table between them. Your library is a recording studio.

An Instructor with three tables of lady-students uses the library's lanai. Your library is a classroom.

On any given day you'll find men and women bringing in their own computers and plugging into the library's Wi-Fi system. They are running a business. Your library is an office. 

Every day you'll see one or two people putting together the Community Puzzle at one of the front tables. Their slogan is "Find Your Piece." Your library is a Community Room. 

Our Librarian, Brenda, has a popular children's story hour on Friday mornings. Moms and toddlers enjoy the story and afterward learn to make a craft. Your library is a pre-school. 

You'll see students studying with their computers in the Quiet Room. Students don't have paper and pencils and books like we had. Remember...we had stacks of books. One day I saw a college aged gal in the quiet room with FOUR electronic devices. She had her laptop, her iPad, her iPhone, and her headphones. And they were all plugged in. I can't keep track of one electronic device - she had four. Your library is a study hall. 

The Library recently received three model Coast Guard Cutters from the Friends of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 95 on a long-term loan. The cutters are encased in beautiful plexiglass displays. One of them is four feet long! The library staff tells me veterans and children are the patrons most interested in the cutters. Your library is a museum.

The Collier County Friends of the Library, of which Marco Island Friends is a chapter, recently donated $100,000 to the Library for electronic books - that's for your Kindle and your Nook. They also contributed $100,000 last year - 200,000. Your library is electronic.

Finally, we have Rose Hall. We have speakers, we have movies, we have concerts. Your library is a theater. 

You can probably think of other examples. Your grandchildren - do they use textbooks in elementary school? Mine don't. All learning is done via laptop. Who would have thought this would be possible, even ten years ago. In your own kitchen - do you look for a new recipe in a cookbook? We don't. We Google it. How many use AAA TripTik anymore? Anyone? No? Your new car has GPS and a computer screen built into the dashboard. 

So, given all these activities, will we even have books, stacks, racks on shelves in 10, 15, 20 years? Or will they fade into history like the papyrus in Egypt, and the scrolls and codices in Rome? Good Question. Join the Friends of the Library and come along for the ride. You can join the Friends of the Library on the Collier County Friends website. Collier-Friends.org. For those of you from Marco Island there is a Marco Island drop down menu. Click on that and a portion of your dues comes back to Marco Island Library. I just renewed my membership last week. Come join me.