*EPF421 07/10/2003
Libraries Go Global
(Information Revolution Transforms Public Libraries in the U.S.) (1770)

By Stephen Holgate
Washington File Staff Writer

A revolution has swept through one of America's most revered institutions, an institution key to the fabric of its society as well as its technological and economic development. The strength and reach of this revolution has been so profound that it is unthinkable that the affected system will ever be the same again.

As with all revolutions, the old guard opposed it at first. Unlike most revolutions, though, these same people eventually accepted it, and then embraced it wholeheartedly.

We are talking about America's public libraries.

The revolution that has swept through America's libraries is nothing less than their transformation from staid temples of knowledge, dominated by row upon row of bookshelves, to dynamic community centers, plugged in, on-line, and offering a previously unimagined cornucopia of services, with books now representing only a minority of their holdings.

The transformation has affected all libraries, from the vast Library of Congress, with its complex of enormous buildings and its public reading rooms as vast and beautiful as cathedrals, to branch libraries so small they are affectionately called "twigs."

Some numbers: At last count, the United States had more than 16,500 public libraries, to which almost all citizens (97%) have access, and from which they can check out a book or video, DVD or music CD. Universities account for another 3,400 libraries. In addition, there are more than 11,000 medical, law, government or other specialized libraries. Finally, there are libraries in virtually every one of the country's tens of thousands elementary and secondary schools.

That's a lot of libraries. And Americans use them.

In 2001, the public lending libraries received 1.1 billion visitors, who checked out 1.7 billion items and made 292 million reference requests.

The largest library in the country -- in the world -- is the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C. It has more than 124 million items, though fewer than a third of these items are books. Its collection includes millions of manuscripts, movies, posters, prints and photos as well as other materials. It contains more than 5 million maps and 21 reading rooms for the public. (Though only members of Congress can check these items out, virtually anyone can obtain a research card, enter the library and use its resources.) The smallest of the country's libraries are small rooms with perhaps a few hundred books -- but still an important resource for the community.

The information revolution has, in a sense, turned all of these thousands of libraries -- from the nation's capital to its most modest and isolated towns -- into one vast system with almost unimaginable access.

Though many librarians at first resisted the coming of the computer and the Internet to their libraries, they have learned that, rather than replacing the books of degrading traditional literacy, they have complemented them. The new technologies have enhanced their institutions, making them more relevant and enlarging their reach.

From a librarian's viewpoint says Stephen Mallinger, an international library consultant, "All of the history of librarianship can be divided into two parts -- before Internet, and after Internet. In fact, we are no longer librarians, but ����cybrarians.'"

But the revolution didn't stop with the computer. Instead, the computer made librarians reexamine the entire basis of their institutions and consider new possibilities. The computer forced them to realize that the library had changed from a quiet refuge, away from the hustle and bustle of the world, to a clearinghouse of information that embraces the entire world. Though stacks of books still form the bedrock of these libraries, they have grown beyond the computer to include all information technologies. Almost all libraries now possess substantial video and music collections, huge electronic data bases, newspapers and magazines in the shelves and on-line. Even medium-sized libraries may now have dozens upon dozens of computers with access to the Internet for use by their patrons. Even the smallest grade school library will have at least one computer from which the youngest children can access the world. Information is no longer hidden as if in a temple; it is everywhere, as in a market.

The history of the library goes back long before the invention of books. Even in the ancient world many large libraries were open to anyone who might want to enter -- though few, of course, could read. The Islamic world established some of the world's greatest libraries in the 10th and 11th centuries. The development of the public lending library can be traced back to the formation of the privately formed Library Company of Philadelphia, founded by the American scientist, philosopher, and statesman Benjamin Franklin. The advent of public lending libraries, supported by taxes and offering virtually complete access to its community came in the 1850s and proved enormously popular in the United States.

The first public libraries, however, were confined to those wealthy cities that could afford them. The true popularization of the public library came from the great industrialist, Andrew Carnegie, who, beginning in the 1890s, offered to build a public library in almost any community that would make a commitment to fill it with books. He eventually built almost 1, 700 libraries across the United States, and another 830 overseas, with his own money. His brick and mortar edifices, mostly modeled on classical lines, proved invaluable to the country's large cities. But they made their biggest impact in the country's small communities, who were now proud to have their own grand sources of knowledge and learning. Knowledge was no longer a monopoly of those who lived in cities.

In the 20th century, the public lending library became ubiquitous, a treasure of great value in almost any substantial American community. The library became both a symbol of and a means for realizing a vision of community, of embracing both past and future for local citizens.

For generations of Americans, these libraries were regarded as temples of knowledge, divorced from the world outside, and took on the temple's quiet and decorous atmosphere, rich with promise, but quiet, almost mystical, smelling of floor wax and musty books. If it was a temple, its high priestess was generally a librarian of a certain age with a pencil perched behind her ear and whose liturgy consisted of the single word, "hush."

The new library came like a wind of change to these wondrous but staid confines. Once the mold of the old library had been broken, the new library became not simply a storehouse of intellectual treasures, but a window on the world; no longer a refuge, but a crossroads for the entire community.

New libraries are open, airy buildings, with lots of natural light. The range of activities reflects this opening up. At any moment you may find a schoolteacher looking at the on-line catalog of the Library of Congress, which contains a brief resume of almost every book in the collection, as well as millions of other documents. You'll find a teenager researching CD-Rom data banks for a class report, or simply writing an e-mail note to a friend. A mother may take a break to watch a movie with her young daughter on DVD. A 10-year old may be playing a computer game. A business owner may come to the library to pick up a needed tax form, track the progress in Washington of an important piece of legislation reducing tariffs, or take a moment to check the score of a baseball game in progress. An elderly woman may be using the library to find out where she can volunteer for a service group. A young man may be listening, via earphones, to music from his favorite group. A Boy Scout troop may be discussing in a large conference room off the main library and a small private reading group may be discussing a book right next door. Outside, a park-like lawn and a public fountain expressly made to allow children to play in hot weather set the library aside as a gathering place in its community.

And, of course, there are books, seemingly endless shelves of books on every conceivable topic, including the oldest classics and the newest best sellers, children's books, how-to books, books on history, art, and religion, including the Holy Koran. With new populations of immigrants arriving constantly, there are shelves of books in foreign languages -- Vietnamese, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese -- ensuring that the library offers something to all. And, except for a few reference books which must be read in the building, they, along with videos, the music and much more can be checked out, usually for three or four weeks at a time and often in almost limitless quantities. (The modest-sized library near this writer's home in Oregon sternly warns its patrons that they cannot check out more than 50 items at a time.)

For all these strengths, though, the nation's libraries still face many challenges. Most public libraries rely on local taxes for their survival. With the economy showing only modest growth, and local voters often unwilling to approve new taxes, many libraries have had to struggle with tight budgets, forcing them to cut back operating hours, reduce staff and slash acquisitions.

In addition, any institution dedicated to making available the broadest range of information will run the risk of offending some members of the community. Local efforts to ban controversial books or other materials, though seldom successful, continue to challenge some libraries. Similarly, librarians have generally opposed legislation which would restrict access to web sites. Librarians argue that, while they sympathize with the wish to restrict access, it is virtually impossible to design a program to shut down targeted web sites without also eliminating many legitimate web sites. They say that the community must finally trust other members of the community to act responsibly.

And finally, in the wake of terrorist attacks in the United States, the Congress has passed legislation making it easier to track circulation records and other library information. Some see this as an unacceptable invasion of individual liberty, while others regard it as a reasonable measure in the face of unanticipated threats.

This is no longer your grandfather's library -- quiet, conventional, self-contained. Today's library is an important community center. From the moment it opens its doors, usually at about 10:00 am, until it closes them, often far into the night, the new library hums with exploration, buzzes with ideas, pulses with the life of the community -- all waiting for the next revolution.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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