Libraries live!

Libraries are not losing relevance, at least not in the U.S. According to a PEW study on information searches for problem solving, more than half of Americans visited a public library in 2007. The biggest users were the from the 18-30 Gen Y group. 68% of visitors used computers at the library, 65% used them to access the internet while they were there, and 62% used them to check library resources. Interestingly, usage of libraries is highly correlated with "high" access to internet (ie. broadband). And libraries are effective: 88% of users found a lot or some of what they were seeking. By contrast, 53% of those who did not use libraries found a lot or some of what they were seeking.

Digitizing content and the Open Content Alliance

The NY Times published an article today about how several large libraries have rebuffed offers from Google to scan their collections, aiming for broader distribution of their content by preferring to go with the Open Content Alliance. The OCA has recently reached an agreement with the Boston Public Library to scan content, and will be scanning 136,000 books from the Library of Congress. This content will be indexed and made available through the OCA website and Yahoo!

It is laudable that several institutions are trying to make their content available to the widest possible audience. They are standing on principle, disagreeing to cede complete control to a private entity.