The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Not your father’s library
Institutions continue moving forward with tech-related materials, services
With technology evolving faster than ever, through a variety of services born of both education and entertainment, it’s no surprise that local libraries have entered the digital arena when it comes to streaming services.
And the prevalence continues to soar, inevitably, with many people owning smartphones and tablets preferring to access their media on those devices.
Aurora M. Martinez, director of Morley Library in Painesville, emphasized that libraries are more than meeting the demand, adding that most public libraries offer services like hoopla and OverDrive for streaming movies, TV shows, music and audiobooks.
“The American Library Association reports that electronic circulation in public libraries increased by almost 12 percent in 2018,” Martinez said. “At Morley, our staff provides many one-onone sessions with patrons to show them how to access digital media on their personal devices.
“All Ohio libraries also offer online learning through Lynda.com. Morley Library also recently introduced Tutor.com, which provides live one-on-one online tutoring on a variety of academic subjects for grades 4-12 along with college test prep.”
Meeting demand, naturally, has its challenges as larger systems with bigger budgets and more people on staff usually introduce new technology more rapidly.
In the case of the Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, the system is currently putting together the orders for its 2020 streaming content.
Carol Tuttle, interim collections and virtual services manager, echoed Martinez, noting libraries are very much keeping at the forefront of streaming technology to help communities access information and enjoyment regardless of income.
“People are quickly becoming used to accessing what they need digitally from their phone, tablet or computer while on the go or without leaving home,” Tuttle said. “At WilloughbyEastlake Public Library, we have a digital services page where patrons can see and use our latest digital collections.
“We offer OverDrive and Flipster (magazines) which have been around for several years.”
In addition to hoopla, boasting about 5 million registered users, Lynda. com and OverDrive, used in about 43,000 libraries, Willoughby-Eastlake offers Kanopy, featuring documentaries, classics and independent films. These services all require a library card, but remote users can fill out an online form and obtain one within a day, which provides immediate access to the system’s entire digital collection.
Proliferation, again, equals cost, Tuttle noted.
“Libraries pay much more per copy for eBooks and eAudiobooks than what an individual pays,” she said. “Streaming services are additional lines in a library budget which historically purchased only books, music and movies in physical forms.
“Additionally, technological change challenges a library’s staff to be flexible and forward thinking, handling purchasing on multiple software platforms and then helping users with training and troubleshooting.”
An additional element to the use of streaming content is ensuring that patrons have Internet access.
“We circulate hotspots that allow patrons to access our streaming content even if they don’t have internet access at their home or viewing location,” Tuttle
said. “We also currently have tablets in circulation, and our plan for 2020 includes the addition of Chromebooks for patrons to check out.
“While the challenge of keeping up with technology strains library budgets and workflows, librarians are determined to help all our community members access the resources they want,” she said. “For instance, we were able to increase the limit on items checked out per patron in hoopla this month to 40 due to an analysis of our remaining budget amounts
for 2019. And since our community passed our levy last fall, we hope to be able to enrich our streaming/eMedia offerings in 2020.”
Streaming options in different combinations have continued to intrigue library patrons, too, with newer amenities being offered, for example RBDigital, introduced at Mentor Public Library this year.
And, according to Jason Lea, community outreach coordinator with Mentor Public Library, thousands of patrons use their library cards to borrow books, watch movies, and listen to music without ever setting foot into the system’s buildings.
“For example, OverDrive (including Libby) has been used nearly 70,000 times this year by our patrons,” he said. “Services like Freegal, hoopla, and Kanopy have been used tens of thousands of times. Think of streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify. Each year, more people become not just aware of but adept at using them.
“Similarly, if I told you there was a way to stream pretty much all of Earth, Wind & Fire’s or Solange’s discography for free, wouldn’t you want to know more? What if I told you that you could watch The Great Courses or A24’s filmography and all you need is a library card? People want good content. That’s what libraries have been giving people since (2nd-century Greek philosopher) Celsus. And as more people learn about these services, the more people use them.”
If it’s hard to imagine what’s next in terms of at-your-fingertips accessibility, librarians and library staff, demonstrated through ever-changing digitalization, believe people will embrace it.
“If you prefer the tactile joy of holding a book in your hand, we want to put that book in your hand,” Lea said. “If you like the ease of loading 10 eBooks on your tablet before you go on vacation, then we want to help you with that, too. It’s the same with DVDs, CDs or streaming media. If you want it, we want to give it to you via your preferred means.
“In short, we want to get people education and entertainment. However, we’re not necessarily interested in dictating how you get it. Plus, library people are naturally curious. We like to discover what’s next.”