Mark Y. Herring: Are Libraries Obsolete? An Argument for Relevance in the Digital Age: McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 2014, 258 pp, $25.00 (Paperback), ISBN: 9780786473564

Abstract

  http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s12109-015-9418-3&domain=pdf Web End = Pub Res Q (2015) 31:230231 DOI 10.1007/s12109-015-9418-3 BOOK REVIEW Mark Y. Herring: Are Libraries Obsolete? An Argument for Relevance in the Digital Age McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 2014, 258 pp, $25.00 (Paperback), ISBN: 9780786473564 Alexander R. Lent1 Published online: 11 July 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015 The question Mark Y. Herring, Dean of Library Services at Winthrop University, poses in the title of his book Are Libraries Obsolete?, is one, he writes, that many librarians are reluctant to admit that they think about (1). The Internet, the maker revolution, e-books, the circulation of non-traditional items like board games and musical instruments, and a generation of library school graduates who have been trained to expect a turbulent and ever-changing library world have combined to make this a golden age of libraries.

http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s12109-015-9418-3&domain=pdf

Web End = Pub Res Q (2015) 31:230231

DOI 10.1007/s12109-015-9418-3

BOOK REVIEW

Mark Y. Herring: Are Libraries Obsolete?

An Argument for Relevance in the Digital Age

McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 2014, 258 pp, $25.00 (Paperback), ISBN: 9780786473564

Alexander R. Lent1

Published online: 11 July 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

The question Mark Y. Herring, Dean of Library Services at Winthrop University, poses in the title of his book Are Libraries Obsolete?, is one, he writes, that many librarians are reluctant to admit that they think about (1). Librarians are not known to be a question-adverse group and they have not shied away from Herrings question. A quick search yields dozens of books, articles, and professional conferences with titles like Public Libraries at the Crossroads and Libraries and the Future. Indeed, librarians have been talking about this for over 100 years: In 1883, Charles Cutter imagined what the Buffalo Public Library would look like in 1983, and concludes that [the] library is not a mere cemetery of dead books, but a living power which distributes its benets impartially [2].

The library Cutter imagined was far from obsolete, but Herring is worried. He writes that [n]ationwide, public libraries, when not cutting their hours or having their funding cut entirely, are closing their doors (216). But the Institute of Museum and Library Services reports that [t]he number of public libraries has increased over the past 10 years [[3], p 4], so Herrings claim here is questionable.

When he characterizes public libraries as being on life support (182), Herring cites the American Library Associations 2013 State of Americas Libraries report. Specically, he cites the section about academic libraries, which is an odd choice to make when discussing public libraries. The section Herring cites does not even support his claim; it states (in bold) that Academic libraries rise to the challenge by embracing transformation [1].

But Herring is correct that library use is changing. I used Google to nd the example books, articles, and conferences I alluded to in my rst paragraph, and

& Alexander R. Lent [email protected]

1 Millis Public Library, 961 Main Street, Millis, MA 02054, USA

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Wikipedia provided me with a copy of Cutters essay, now in the public domain. With Google, Wikipedia, and the Internet, some of the questions that used to require a library and a librarian to answer are now being outsourced. Herring sees this trend daily in his position as Dean of Library Services, noting that only a small fraction of [the] students [at his university] make use of the librarys reference services(28). And yet, in the 20122013 library report from Winthrop University, Herring writes that his library [has been] quite possibly more busy in the last 2 years than at any other time in [its] history... [library staff] are answering more reference questions but the kinds or types of questions have changed [[4], p 1].

I am uncertain what to make of this book. Herring certainly raises some worthwhile points and he is unquestionably an expert when it comes to academic librarianship. If Herrings purpose here is to play devils advocate, then he has been successful. But this book has real problems, one of which is accuracy. A more serious problem, however, is Herrings willingness to go along with the idea that libraries are obsolete when they are thriving. The Internet, the maker revolution, e-books, the circulation of non-traditional items like board games and musical instruments, and a generation of library school graduates who have been trained to expect a turbulent and ever-changing library world have combined to make this a golden age of libraries. So no, libraries are not obsolete.

1. ALA. The State of Americas Libraries: 2013. 2013. http://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2013/academic-libraries

Web End =http://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries- http://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2013/academic-libraries

Web End =report-2013/academic-libraries

2. Cutter C. The Buffalo Public Library in 1983. 1883. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Buffalo_Public_Library_in_1983

Web End =https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Buffalo_ https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Buffalo_Public_Library_in_1983

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3. IMLS. Public Libraries Survey: scal year 2009. 2011. http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/News/PLS2009.pdf

Web End =http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/News/PLS2009. http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/News/PLS2009.pdf

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4. Winthrop University. Library annual report: 20122013. 2013. http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/2151/901054/Annual_Report__Executive_summary_20122013.pdf

Web End =http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1. http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/2151/901054/Annual_Report__Executive_summary_20122013.pdf

Web End =amazonaws.com/docs/2151/901054/Annual_Report__Executive_summary_20122013.pdf

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