So what do you think, gang? People are talking about privatizing the public libraries in Dartmouth and Tewksbury, Massachusetts. The photo shows the Tewksbury library.
Of course, the same issue could arise online if public libraries can’t smoothly make the transition to e-books, already underway. Should Amazon and Google service pre-empt public libraries? It’s a very real possibility, alas, if the present privatization trends continue.
Later this weekend if time allows, I hope to post my thoughts on the need to modernize the business models of public libraries while retaining the integrity that the traditional library model at its best can promote. These will be my personal opinions only, and not necessarily those of other TeleBlog contributors. (Via LISNews.)
I think that’s pretty awesome. I wonder how the libraries will make money. If the company that buys the libraries decides to charge a small fee to rent the books (whether it be case-by-case or monthly) then it will have to boost the services offered. First off, I’m sure the number of books available would increase. I’m also sure the library would want to experiment a lot in the digital area since that would increase the number of consumers it can reach. The move to privatize it could potentially be very good for ebooks. Although, if they go through with it, I’m sure the early stages will be spent just trying to figure out how to draw in more people so the library can stay afloat.