Spamming not the way to promote libraries

“As public libraries across the country struggle to remain relevant in a digital age amid budget cuts and declining use, one city is hoping to rejuvenate enthusiasm for books with a simple step — getting rid of overdue fines.” — Windsor library gets rid of overdue fines, Toronto Star, Jan. 3, 2012

There was a time, long ago, before the Internet, before video games, before iphones and laptops and 60- inch televisions, when adults seeking entertainment turned to literature. Today, however, the printed word has too much competition. Fewer people read books for pleasure, and public libraries, once popular destinations, are struggling.

To draw more visitors, some libraries have adopted new practices or dropped unpopular ones. The Windsor Public Library, for example, has eliminated fines for overdue items. I am not so enthusiastic, though, about another tactic many libraries are employing: email spamming.

The spam filter on my email account generally does a good job, but, occasionally, a piece of junk mail sneaks through. I was perusing my inbox one day last week, for instance, when I noticed this message:

“Subject: GROW your vocab by 6ix wrds a day!!!

Tired of having a teeny, weeny vocabulary? Come to the library! Read more books! Learn more words! Watch your vocabulary grow and grow!”

Then, the following day, this one appeared:

“Subject: Looking 4 CHE@ p ED meds V1agra C1aliss?

Having trouble performing in the bedroom? How frustrating! But don’t turn to drugs. Instead, turn the pages of a romance novel. Come to the library and choose from our extensive collection. Warning: side effects include increased passion!”

I typed “library spam” into Google and was surprised to find that, in 2011, libraries were among the world’s top spammers. According to Internet security company SSNTYM ( Spam Spam No Thank You Ma’am), these are last year’s most widely disseminated spam emails from libraries:

1. Subject: Tracking No. for package CA1909909

There is a special package waiting for you — at the library! Our packages are full of adventure and mystery and wonder. Some people call them books, but we call them boredom busters. Why not drop by and pick one up today?

2. Subject: URGENT! Important message from Windows anti- virus team

Your computer may already be full of viruses but don’t let your mind become infected — with boredom! The best cure for a case of boredomitis is a good book. Fortunately, the library has thousands of good books. Pay us a visit and we’ll fill your literary prescription.

3. Subject: Hey stud, Wanna knight Stand?

Tired of lonely evenings in the bedroom? Why settle for a one- night stand when you can have a nightstand stacked with incredible literature? Spend your nights with Dickens and Nabokov and Tolstoy. Our shelves are stuffed with thousands of companions awaiting your gentle caress.

Desperate times, as the saying goes, call for desperate measures, but this is unacceptable. Surely there is a better way to attract patrons.

Instead, libraries should expand the services they offer to make people’s lives more convenient. People don’t have time to read, but that might change if libraries provided some of the services people seek elsewhere.

Other countries have already implemented this strategy and their libraries are flourishing. In the United Kingdom, many libraries provide oil changes, financial planning and MRI scans. Sweden requires all its librarians to also be certified personal trainers. The central public library in Norway’s capital city, Oslo, offers deep- tissue massage and an international buffet with more than 200 dishes.

Would such measures work in Canada? Surely they couldn’t hurt.

Whatever public libraries in Canada plan on doing to attract more visitors, they would be wise to do it now.

The solution lies in making our lives easier, not in making our inboxes spammier.

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