Public Libraries: One Size Does Not Fit All

Why Public Libraries Matter:  And How They Can Do More.   (Forbes, 1/16/2013)

Emphasis added in above slide.

Public libraries are located in communities of all sizes, and the majority of them are been located in small communities, where expenditures for collection development are limited.

Since the 1980s, however, shared computerized library systems have expanded access to titles for all library patrons, especially for residents of small communities.  Note in the table below that in 2009, the latest year for which statistics from Institute of Museum and Library Services is available, more than one-quarter of U.S. public libraries are located in communities with a population of less than 2,500.

Indeed, few public libraries have ever been able to "buy everything".

And I know from my own experience that LINKcat certainly influenced how collection development decisions were made at Middleton.

The author enumerates the roles of the public library as follows:

• Promoting reading
• Offering access to information
• Anchoring communities

Not exactly the official version but certainly a very concise summary.

Here's what the American Library Association has provided since 1988.

Ginnie Cooper, Director of the District of Columbia Public Library, is quoted as saying, "There was a time when libraries did not buy paperbacks."

Slide from a PowerPoint series I developed using Famous First Facts.

And as for "Public Libraries as Local Centers of Book Discovery"....

Well, here's just 1 of hundreds, if not thousands, of examples

In her letters to JoAnna and me, my mom provided regular reports of going to the library to browse and to share the excitement she experienced about finding a "new" author.

Tuesday, March 21, 2000.  Sunday was nice but windy & I walked to the library & got 4 books, one a new author to me.  The Buffalo  paper reviewed a book by Kate Wilhelm and I found she has many books available.  Nice to find a new author.  Setting of books in Oregon & California  260 pages of easy & interesting mysteries & murder.  Got 2 by Wilhelm, 1 by Sandra Brown & a favorite by M. C. Beaton.  A Hammish Macbeth mystery.  A bumbling country constable who solves murders to the consternation of his superior officer.  They are fun to read.  I'm one of those who prefers to get books at the library rather than buy them.  Library was pretty busy.

Finally, I admit there are many issues of digital publishing and distribution that I didn't touch on in this admittedly scattershot post.