LIS 5100 : Digital collections in libraries

Among “Discussions” this week for LIS 5100, Foundations of Librarianship, I responded to a post concerning a fully-digital future for libraries.

From personal experience, I can certainly see the value of a digital collection. In Santa Rosa, California, my school sites were shut down, as were so many others, during COVID-19 — and, before that, wildland firestorms provoked widespread evacuations.

During those crises, students were unable to access physical collections in a library.

On the positive side, my family and I enjoy personal memberships in the Sacramento and San Francisco public libraries, two systems that make their collections available to all California residents.

Yes, it is true, we had to go in person to activate our cards. Our San Francisco trip was a multi-modal adventure that included light rail and ferry, followed by a walk to the nearest library branch. (This was before the COVID-19 shutdown.)

Our Sacramento visit took place in October 2017, during California’s Tubbs Fire. My family had needed to evacuate and we settled temporarily in Sacramento.

Once we had made our in-person visits to activate our memberships, we have been able to access these libraries’ Overdrive and Hoopla collections. We regularly shift between libraries when searching in the “Libby” app, to see if an eBook or audiobook is available through that system’s Overdrive collection.

But in shifting to digital, I think we need to be mindful of evolving technology. To cite one example, CD-Rom has given way to thumb-drives as a platform to save our files. Our laptops and computers come regularly equipped with a port for a thumb-drive — but for CD-Rom, not-so-much anymore.

What will happen when technology shifts to a newer and better platform? Digitized collections may need to plan for future conversions to adopt the latest technology.

Another issue we will need to consider is, will our library own these materials, or will it only lease them? After so many uses, will the library need to renew its access to a book? There are many issues to wrangle with, should a library wish to go completely digital.