When you think of a library, what’s the image that pops up in your head? Is it a silent building full of books, presided over by a stern woman with her hair in a bun and a sensible cardigan? Reflecting on the history and evolution of libraries through to their 21st century incarnations, this lecture will challenge you to consider your perception of what both public and academic libraries are, as well as exploring the ever-changing role of the librarian. Set against a backdrop of austerity in public funding, ongoing changes in Higher Education, and fast-paced technological change, this lecture will also explore what the future might look like for libraries and what librarians are doing to prepare for the challenges ahead.

1. I’m a Librarian, Don’t Make Me Shush You!
Dr Sarah Pittaway
Library Services @ The Hive,
University of Worcester
s.pittaway@worc.ac.uk

2. Is this a library?

3. John Rylands, Manchester

4. British Library, London

5. Learning Commons,
Tec de Monterrey library, Mexico City

6. Makerspace, Phoenix Public Library

7. “Little free library” = free
book swapping only

8. As a library director I’m
in a people business,
not a book business

9. Myth busting

10. Grover in the library

11. It’s all just books
isn’t it?

12. The stereotypical
librarian –
now an action figure!

13. My personal
favourite
The rules:
1.Silence
2.Books must not be
returned later than
the date shown
3.Do not meddle with
the nature of causality
http://discworld.wikia.com/wiki/The_Librarian

14. Why do we think
this stuff?
What’s the history?

15. Alexandria – the
world’s most
famous library?

16. Christianity
&
the monastic library

17. Gloucester
Cathedral
Cloisters

18. University of Houston &
Mt. Prospect Public Library

19. The Middle Ages
&
the Renaissance

20. The printing press

21. 19th century –
more familiar territory?

22. Late 20th and 21st
centuries – things are
changing

23. In the 21st century libraries are changing and
evolving to match modern society. Lots of libraries
are facing financial issues and crises. But are
finding ways to adapt to people's needs. Such as
providing digital services to patrons at home, and
creating more user friendly places.
The Wikipedia entry for the history of libraries in
the 21st century is a bit sparse!

24. Before online catalogues

25. Technological change – do
we need libraries?
Spoiler alert –
yes, we do!

26. 9 out of 10 households have
internet access
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/householdcharacteristics/homeinternetandsocialmediausage/bulle
tins/internetaccesshouseholdsandindividuals/2018#9-out-of-10-households-have-internet-access

27. That’s around 6.44 million people who don’t
have the internet at home

28. That’s roughly the equivalent of ¾ of
the population of London
http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/london-population/

29. Libraries are for our communities

30. Children’s story time,
Mt Victoria Library

31. Books for the Blind, 1949

32. The Hive

33. How popular
are libraries?

34. 29,105,496
243,000,000
170,616,775
39,200,000
23,900,0
00
Visits in
2017-18https://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/eng-premier-league-2017-2018/3/
https://www.launchingfilms.com/research-databank/
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/leisureandtourism/articles/traveltrends/2017
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-
attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2017-18/
www.cipfastats.net

35. Public UK library visits are actually
down 14% over 5 years
BUT

36. 105 public libraries were shut in 2016/17, 38 higher than the previous
year
Opening hours have been reduced
Budgets slashed by £66m in 2016/17
Staff spend reduced (full time staff dropped by 17.7% over 5 year period)
and volunteer numbers increasing;
https://www.thebookseller.com/news/cipfa-library-figures-687596
https://www.cipfa.org/about-cipfa/press-office/archived-press-releases/2017-press-releases/spending-on-
public-libraries-falls-by-%C2%A366m-in-a-year
And this figure
doesn’t include
online library use

37. Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Public
Libraries and Museums Act 1964 ‘to provide a
comprehensive and efficient library service for all
persons’ in the area that want to make use of it (section
7).
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-libraries-as-a-statutory-
service/libraries-as-a-statutory-service

38. University libraries are
often some of the
busiest places on
campus
This clue was in Redbrick,
the University of
Birmingham’s student
newspaper
Y_ _ R

39. A common scene, no
matter how large the
library!

40. Just like our
public library
colleagues,
academic
librarians
wear many
hats

41. Challenges for university libraries

42. Some cool
new libraries

43. The Hive
Worcester

44. “I simply wanted to congratulate you on providing such a fantastic
facility for all and catering for so many needs. It is so fantastic, I love
everything – the great staff, the sustainable build, the modern surround
etc. Thank You!”

48. 42% consumption since May13
24% reduction in heat energy
consumption since Feb14
87% reduction in natural gas
consumption since Feb14
Konidari, A-M. & Knight, I. 2017. Just the Ticket – Monitoring at the Hive. CIBSE
Journal, pp. 28-30. Available at: https://www.cibsejournal.com/case-studies/just-
the-ticket-monitoring-at-the-hive/

49. The Word
South Tyneside

50. Amazing architecture

51. More traditional spaces

54. Laser cutting

55. The Diamond
Sheffield

57. The Storyhouse
Chester

61. What does
the future
hold?

62. Near future industries
Asteroid mining
Drone engineering
DNA editing
Robot wrangling

63. Technology and
the future of
libraries

65. “Coding workshops. 3D printers. And books. Far
from extinct, today’s public library is about
access to technology as much as to knowledge”
https://www.macleans.ca/society/how-public-libraries-are-reinventing-themselves-for-the-21st-century/

66. Image credits
From https://flickr.com/, under Creative Commons licence:
Slide 1, M Cheung, CC BY-NC 2.0
Slide 3, Michael D Beckwith, CC0 1.0
Slide 6, Agnieszka Koszowska, CC BY-SA 2.0
Slide 7, Roland Tanglao, CC BY 2.0
Slide 12, Paul L Dineen, CC BY 2.0
Slide 17, Michael D Beckwith, CC0 1.0
Slide 18, University of Houston Digital Library, CC BY-SA 2.0 & Anthony Auston, CC BY-NC 2.0
Slide 24, Mary Helen Cochran Library, CC BY-NC 2.0
Slide 30, Blue Mountains Library, CC BY-SA 2.0
Slide 31, Multnomah County Library, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Slide 39, Rachel Titiriga, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Slide 40, jojo nicdao, CC BY 2.0
Slide 49, Graham Robson, CC BY-SA 2.0
Slides 50-54, 57, 59-60, Libraries Taskforce, CC BY 2.0
Slide 56, artq55, CC BY-SA 2.0

67. From https://commons.wikimedia.org/, under Creative Commons licence:
Slide 4, Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), CC BY-SA 4.0
Slide 5, Thelmadatter, CC BY-SA 4.0
Slide 11, [No author], CC BY 3.0 CC BY 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13856909
Slide 15, By O. Von Corven, Public domain
Slide 16, Trinity College, Public domain
Slide 55, Chemical Engineer, CC BY-SA 4.0
Slide 58, Rept0n1x, CC BY-SA 3.0
Other sources
Slide 19, public domain, BL MS ADD. 42555, f.6v, https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=14620
Slide 38, courtesy of Edward Craft, University of Birmingham via Facebook
Slides, 43, 44, 46, 47 & 48 © The Hive
Slide 63 – Liz McGettigan on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6458613177289633792
All other images copyright cleared from https://pixabay.com and https://www.iconfinder.com
Image credits, cont’d