Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:42:45 -0400
From: Rick C. Mason (Capital U.) <rmason2_at_capital.edu>
Subject: RE - The Future of Book Buying
My take on this question (and I think it is a very good thing
to occasionally look that far ahead for planning) is that there
is one element that is not predictable, and will make all
the difference : the electronic reader.
At whatever point that an effective and inexpensive electronic
reader is accepted by the general public, then we as a society will
dramatically (and likely quickly) change a large portion of our
publishing model. Think of the impact that Apple has had on
music purchasing with the I-pod; I think that this could be a model
for how things may change. Think of how we are transitioning from
CD purchases to online music purchases.
If a student could purchase a lightweight, durable, long-battery
life reader for $100, and load every textbook they would need for
the a semester onto it for the same or less cost than purchasing
paper copies, wouldn't there be a demand? And wouldn't that lead
to a demand/interest in obtaining library materials in the same manner?
What are we waiting for? A unit that provides the same or
better usability than a book, for a reasonable cost.
Will this happen? I truly think so.
When will it happen? Next year? Next decade? 20 years? 50 years?
Will books disappear? No. Will some types of books be used more on
these readers than in print? Yes.
To answer your specific question: I would design the library to be as
flexible in its use of space as possible. Assume that we will be using
books as a primary source; also assume that books will go digital and the
demand for bound copies will decrease. How would you then use the space?
On the serials/books cost issue: I suspect that subscription access to
serials is going to change dramatically: financial pressures from libraries
and researchers, as well as the open access movement, will force a change
in the model, making it less expensive for everyone to access articles
and journals (the broader scale of use will keep them profitable,
although many niche journals will need to find other funding models).
These are my thoughts on the matter, for what they are worth....
Best of luck... predicting the future is never easy, and less so in
these uncharted waters.
Rick Mason
Acquisitions Assistant
Capital University
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:08:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: Thomas W. Leonhardt (St. Edwards U.) <thomasl_at_stedwards.edu>
Subject: RE - The Future of Book Buying
If I am alive in thirty years, I will be a very old man but not quite 100. I
would expect to find books still being published. My wish is that if I
should live that long, I would still be able to read those books.
But no one can say with certainty what life will be like in thirty years.
Having just returned from the Frankfurt Book Fair, I was gratified and
astounded at the new books being published in every language (written)under
the sun. The German book stores that I visited were busy and stocked lots of
books in translation.
But there is a point that I want to make regarding non-research academic
libraries. There are some disciplines that don't lend themselves to weeding
as much as others. Your collection could be contained, depending on your
programs, curriculum, and scholarly activity, that is, not an emphasis on
publishing in top refereed journals. It is better to plan for some growth in
the collection than not to, as evidenced by Florida Gulf Coast University
where just a couple of years after opening its doors, had to put books in
storage and begin raising money for an addition to the library that wasn't
going to need books. Stacks can be removed and other uses found for the
space.
Tom
Thomas W. Leonhardt
Director, Scarborough-Phillips Library
St. Edward's University
3001 South Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704-6489
512.448.8470
fax 512.448.8737
thomasl_at_stedwards.edu
http://libr.stedwards.edu
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Received on Wed Oct 31 2007 - 14:24:08 EDT