This morning I responded to one of Lisa McDonald's questions; having spoken
with the Mary Lawson, the Library Director, I think I can now answer the
second.
One of the reasons to rebuild the Central Library is to make more of the
collection accessible to the public. Today, only about 15% is on public
shelves; the other 85% can only be accessed by library staff. In a new
Central Library, more than 50% of the collection would be immediately
accessible to the public.
The question McDonald asks is, "If more of the collection is accessible in a
new library, would the library still need as much staff?" [Not a direct
quote, despite the quotations.]
Judging from the experiences of new central libraries in other cities, the
answer is yes: We would need a staff of roughly the same size, but they
would be used for more skilled tasks than retrieving books. In most cities
where new libraries have been built, library usage has doubled. In
Vancouver, it has nearly tripled. Closer to home, since renovating our
Hosmer branch, we have seen its usage more than triple. Library projections
show that Minneapolis Central Library use will increase from about 800,000
annual visitors to nearly 1.5 million, and that Central Library circulation
will increase from about 1 million items to nearly 2 million. And as
library use goes up, you have more people asking questions, needing
assistance, and filling check out lines.
In the current situation with so many books inaccessible to the pbulic,
library staff spend a significant amount of time retrieving books for
patrons. In a new library, we expect to use a comparable staff far more
effectively: answering questions, directing users, coaching people in
computer and Internet use, etc., etc. - in other words, using their
expertise in the most productive manner. This ties directly back to
McDonald's previous question: are we just providing more computers, or
helping people use them? Librarians have the expertise to help library
users navigate an increasingly complex world of information technology - and
isn't that a better use of staff time than the industrial age service of
retrieving books?
Colin Hamilton
Executive Director
Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library
612/630-6172
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
