The declining need for physical public libraries 📚

A few years back the local public library – Bethlehem Public Library put up a Bond Act that would have ‘modernized’ the library. It would have added more study rooms, and a bigger community room – but if anything it kept or shrunk the amount of books the library would have. Seemed like an odd proposal – when you traditionally think of a place to borrow books.

But I found myself starting a year or two almost never going to the library. For one, my basic smartphone was upgraded to essentially unlimited – they say they may reduce your speed after a certain amount – but I’ve never noticed any slowing of service. My phone basically does everything my laptop does except for map making and coding, without he big bulky computer or it’s electricity consumption. I ended up keeping my laptop at work most weekends.

Yet, what also changed with the Libby and Hoopla library apps for online borrowing of books and audio books. Basically everything you could get at the library now can be requested through and browsed on your phone, in a compact, lightweight package. The apps works well, they are easy to read on for the most part, and you don’t have to worry about damaging books, much less picking up or returning books. They return automatically on their expiration date if you don’t return them sooner.

Not only do the libraries now offer Libby and Hoopla, other options at least with my library is access to New York Times, the Times Union, along with many magazines and historical archives. They have Kanopy for documentaries and education movies. And many other online products accessed by your library card. And that builds on the wealth of other free internet resources, like the Internet Archive and YouTube. And at least in the Upper Hudson Library System, it’s not just the wealthy suburban libraries that offer these services, but virtually all of the other libraries in the system, though the actual extent of books and services may very a bit from library to library.

If any thing, libraries offer much more, but it’s not the physical library where you take out physical books or browse magazines where the action is. Indeed, if you review the library’s budget and other documents, you will see that more then half of the borrows are online, and that’s where more and more of the budget goes every year. The physical library still exists, but it’s getting less and less money, they are buying fewer new books, as most people are just logging on using their smartphones, their computers or Kindle tablets.