IF NOT HERE, WHERE? THE LIBRARY AS PUBLIC LEARNING SPACE IN THE DIGITAL AGE

1. IF NOT HERE, WHERE?THE LIBRARY AS PUBLIC LEARNING SPACE IN THE DIGITAL AGE Paul Sturges Loughborough University, UK

2. ‘If not here, where?’ • Thomas C. Schelling. The strategy of conflict. Harvard University Press, 1960. • Schelling noted that when people coordinated activities they very often agreed on a common focal point, for example, a place to meet. • Will the library, as a physical space, still be a focal point of this kind in the digital age?

3. TRENDS • End user searching of databases believed to remove the need for an intermediary, even when using in the library. • The Internet makes information searching independent of the librarian, and the library. • The popularity of ICT makes print increasingly unnecessary/marginal.

4. TRENDS (UK PUBLIC LIBRARIES) • Fall in number of visits to libraries of 17% (CABE Report 2003) • Book borrowing reduced by 35%,1994-2004. (Libri Report, April 2004). • Expenditure on books 9% of total budget. • Counter indicators • Level of satisfaction 95% • Level of visits disputed • Greater variety of services

5. A FUTURE FOR THE LIBRARY? • If there is to be a future for libraries as physical space, as opposed to digital libraries, we need to understand: • Trends in use of media (including print) • People’s study and leisure preferences • The space that would meet these preferences • The space that existing libraries have.

6. DIGITAL INFORMATION • Location of access governed by devices not buildings • Access not time limited and mode of study flexible • Use of information and media controlled by user • Resources (and media) disposable • Not compatible with the library as we know it?

7. HOW PEOPLE STUDY • With one text or many • With one format or several • With silence or background noise • Sitting, standing or lying • In company or alone • Eating and drinking or not • In a customised environment (their own room).

8. PUBLIC LEARNING SPACE • Media of all types (including print) • Spaces including open or enclosed, for individuals or groups • Seating of different types (plus standing and lying?) • Sound environments from silent to noisy • Physical comfort (the café concept) • Cultural, educational and leisure activities.

9. THE LIBRARY AS IT IS NOW • Still influenced by monastic mode of study • Book as authoritative document • Reading a duty, not a pleasure • Influences on library space and practice • Protection of the documents (closed access, security systems) • Low priority for user comfort

10. IS PUBLIC LEARNING SPACE NECESSARY? • Wider range of media and resources • Presence of intermediary/instructor • Community environment and social contact • For those with no computer and other resources • For those with no home or inadequate accommodation for study.

11. NEW SPACES? • Learning Centre • George Mason University: interaction with books, technology, students, faculty, in a varied space with café facilities. • Laban Centre for Contemporary Dance: vibrant, fluid space, showing learning in action. • Knowledge spa • Royal Cornwall Hospitals: Learning space for a medical education centre • Idea store • Bow, London: Public life-long learning resource

12. IF NOT THE LIBRARY, WHERE? • Existing sites in public buildings, schools, colleges, etc. • Already have • Print materials • Existing network connections • Trained staff • Free, or nearly free, service • Policy of social inclusion