Public libraries serve as a hub for avid readers, a workplace for studying teens, and a goldmine of resources for those who are without the funds for a personal computer. They provide a plethora of services to an array of people, don’t they? Not any more.
In this modern-age, technology is revolutionising the way we live our lives. With these alterations in our daily lives, the need for what once were havens for the people is diminishing. What comes with the decreasing demand for public libraries, is a dilemma. Should the library be eliminated from our modern society?
As books have become more readily available to the consumer via the internet, the demand for libraries has plummeted. This fall in need has come as a result of e-books. Electronic versions of books can now be downloaded cheaply and easily, thanks to Google, Apple and other huge technological firms providing said e-books on mobile devices via the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. These firms provide books instantly, supplying consumers who needn’t move from their sofas to acquire a desired text. Moreover, physical books are also increasingly cheap online, due to sites like Amazon. This has resulted in the subsequent neglect towards the library.
Another primary need for libraries is that they provide solitude for scholars, but as mobile devices become more widespread, this need is falling. Smartphones are now increasingly cheap, and thus more common, with 70% of the nation supposedly owning one. Smartphones provide their users with all the resources that they desire, from the comfort of their own bedrooms. This leads to fewer people needing to visit their local library, as everything they need is available through devices that are already owned.
Falling prices for personal computers have also heaped pressure on the situation. The ever increasing performance of portable computers, such as laptops and tablets, have caused prices for the desktop to decline, allowing those who need to purchase them do so at a lesser expense than was previously required. Due to this fall in price, there a fewer members of the public who rely on public libraries to gain access to PCs and, therefore, fewer visit them.
Another factor is the adverse effect libraries can have on authors; as more and more authors publish books, the literary stock-pile grows increasingly. This makes it more difficult to make a living from books, and means that fewer aspiring authors will enter the field. With a smaller spectrum of authors, the average reader would suffer from a lack of new materials available to them. Allowing the public to borrow books for no fee means that authors generate a smaller income from their works, thus contributing to this effect. This is shown through authors such as Terry Deary, who has publicly expressed distaste for libraries, arguing that ‘people have to make the choice to buy books’ in an interview with the Sunderland Echo. The Horrible Histories author told the news outlet that ‘People will happily buy a cinema ticket,’ but that they ‘expect to get the book for free.’ As more authors echo Deary’s thoughts, we will see more talented writers turning away from books.
Charles Dickens was one of the founders of the modern public library, playing a key role in the opening of the first in Manchester, 1852. At the time, the goal of libraries was to promote reading to lower-class workers. Recently, however, their functions have shifted towards provision of internet access to those who would otherwise be without. Now, the internet has woven its way into the lives of everyone and very few are left without it. In turn, this means that fewer libraries are needed to meet these requirements and that some should be closed in order to protect today’s writers.
A counter-argument for what has so far been lain out could be that of the ‘Save The Libraries’ campaigns. They argue that the loss of libraries would widen the inequality gap, with the poorest classes unable to access resources. A rebuttal for this would be that there needn’t be an abolition of libraries; there only needs to be a reduction. This would improve the quality of libraries, with more funds focussed on each one, and providing a better service to the disadvantaged.
Although many people still cherish and visit public libraries, the need for them has dissipated in recent years. There is no reason to remove libraries from our society, but with so many available and the number of consumers they appeal to falling, some libraries must be shut-down. They don’t serve the general public as they’ve done in the past and it’s a shame to say, but there’s a rapidly decreasing space for libraries in our society and closing time has arrived for many of them.