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The walking paper blog from Aaron Schmidt, a 25-year-old reference librarian in Western Springs, IL, nicely shows how libraries can use Instant Messaging to reel in young people.

Now imagine a mix of IM and online resources such as e-books, where library users can go for instant gratification.

Meanwhile I’ll pass on a suggestion for Aaron and others. The patron in Aaron’s example asked him how long it would take to read The Illiad. Aaron said, “I can put it on hold for you if you like.” In the future, though, he might also flash a Web address on the screen and invite the patron to click on it for the full text–yes, an e-book version.

The turnstile syndrome

Part of the problem, of course, is that most online resources are not part of individual libraries’ collections, and that librarians have their hearts set on luring people to physical libraries. What happens, though, when users would like the information immediately? Whether it’s in changing the reporting procedures for budget planning purposes or in other ways, librarians should worry more about serving patrons and less about turnstile counts. More and more, they are not the same thing.

Perhaps the patron wanted a paper book. But he or she would have been better off if given an electronic option as well. Actually in Aaron’s place, I might even have gone beyond “Click here.” If there were sufficient interest from the patron, I’d have said, “You can find thousands of electronic book at a bunch of sites in various formats. Here’s a particularly good one if you own a PDA.”

Hey, great job–just the same!

That’s just me. I’m nitpicking. As it is, Aaron Schmidt happens to be doing a great job. Rather laudably he did do a “click here” act to send the patron to an online article on Atlantis. Neat! Plus, Aaron also directed the patron to the paper version of the Odyssey–already read, it turns out. Also excellent on Aaron’s part!

What’s more, I’m not against physical libraries–especially much-needed neighborhood branches. But, again, libraries would also do well to offer e-books among the options for patrons, especially the IM crowd. Remember, public domain books can be kept forever–meaning that the patron will be even more grateful since they won’t have to worry about fines and other joys.

Tip for librarians: So far I’ve found Blackmask to be the site with public domain books in the most convenient formats. Manybooks.net and GutenTalk are also good sources of public domain e-books in different formats.

The blog angle: Aaron’s reproduction of the unidentified patron’s questions suggests that younger people could do better in the spelling department, at least if the quoted questions are representative. This is one area where blogging could help. Even for formal papers from students, teachers should experiment with student blogging–while at the same time holding students up to traditional standards in that case. (A little hypocrisy here. I myself am a rotten proofreader. One of my specialties, alas, is in leaving out the “l” in “public domain.” Just a moment ago, I caught myself at it again and did a very quick fix.)

Related: Library Journal article mentioning Aaron and other young male librarians–badly needed, given the failure of so many librarians and teachers to be responsive to the tastes of young male readers. (Found via The Shifted Librarian.)

Update, 2:56 EDT: “What bull!” is a female librarian’s comment on the need for more male librarians. But, hey, more men probably would mean more money, given the present patterns of sexism in the salary scales of various professions. (I think she was kidding anyway.)

 
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