I read an article recently which reported that college students in New York City are doing their research at the local Barnes & Noble Bookstore. They are drawn there by the comfortable chairs and coffee and muffins that are available. Other people are finding information via the computer their preferred method of research. The question is: where does this leave libraries?
In the past, libraries, especially public ones, considered themselves a free and beneficial institution for the community and assumed they wuld be supported financially for that reason. Today, libraries must be more realistic, and in oder to maintain their place in our culture, they must promote their services and resources. They need to tell people why they are necessary and more importantly, they need to convince the public that they are better than the super bookstores and the random searching that can be done on the Web.
Clerks in bookstores are not librarians; answering complicated reference questions is not really their job. Computers can bring up thousands of sites for a simple search. Many people need someone to guide them through the maze of information that is available in today's world. Librarians are trained to do this, and they need to remind their customers of that.
Libraries cannot continue to see themselves as simply a "public good." They need to adjust to what the public wants, whether it is a coffee bar in the lobby or soft chairs in the reading room.
Libraries and librarians need to market their unique services to the public in whatever ways work for their community. College libraries need to emphasize their ability to make work easier for students through things such as databases and instruction classes. Public libraries must make the popular electronic resources available, as well as the latest best sellers. Other libraries must do the same types of things.
What to promote and how to do it can be difficult for libraries, however, they must start to do so for their own survival. Libraries will never be obsolete, but they do not want to be merely tolerated, they want to be an integral part of society. In order to do this, they need to market their special services and resources to those who use and support them.