I can’t wait to read everyone’s Internet Librarian blog posts and whatnot. Twitter has been a great source for as it happens updates on sessions, dinners, and keynotes. It seems Joe Janes is talking about Reference 2.0. I hope there’s a podcast!

This is a topic near and dear to my heart- I went to Library School on purpose, the IT part was by accident. And it’s a topic that’s been on my mind. On Sunday, a patron called to ask if she could use the computers to buy things that weren’t books. I had to ask for clarification- it turned out she thought that perhaps we somehow (really, this would be quite the EZProxy feat!) limited our Internet access to book-related sites only. I told her we were about information and provided access to the whole Internet. Then I tried not to run around screaming.

Really, that’s what we’ve been doing, though- running around waving DVDs and CDs saying “see! more than just books!” We’re not convincing anyone, though. Part of the problem is just physical- digital information doesn’t take up room on our shelves, so we look like the book place. There’s the jargon barrier- how often do our patrons say “what the heck’s a database?” “I’m not allowed to use the Internet for this project” (okay, that’s not all jargon, that’s also a lack of connection with teachers) “I tried that, but I couldn’t find it.” More importantly, how often do they not say that, but instead just give up and walk away, or not even think of the library at all?

Libraries have never really been about books (I wonder if books really were a scary thing for the scroll-based scholars), but about information. Accumulation and dissemination are more important than format. Ranganathan’s five laws say books because that was the format of the time.

1. Books are for use.
2. Every reader his or her book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.

The words information or content work just as well. I don’t think the hang-up on books is entirely the fetish of librarians. I’m sure we’ve all fielded complaints from patrons who think we ought to give people doing “work” priority over those “just playing” and wondered how they would like it if we bumped them from their email for database usage. Books are serious, libraries are serious, you will be graded on this later! Part of why we’re not getting the “libraries are information and knowledge” message across is because no one’s quite sure where this information explosion is going. More and more information is coming at us in ones and zeros, but ebook readers aren’t ready for prime time just yet (they’re getting there) and sometimes, gosh darn it, we just like print better (and still need it).

But format shouldn’t matter- which is not to say that print is the same as digital, just that books aren’t better than serials aren’t better than online articles aren’t better than Mp3s. In an ideal world, libraries would be seen as community centers where you can hang out and soak in some pleasure reading (guilty or otherwise), maybe do a little personal research (how much can I sell my car for?), get help with more complicated work (making the family tree), download some music to try out (will I like the new KT Tunstall?), and we would all flow from dead tree to digital with nary a thought about format. How we get there from being seen as paper palaces that are only useful to kids, people without their own computers and those seeking tax forms is the $64,000 question.