How the Norfolk Public Library is Adapting to Change
In this day and age, with the sale of digitized versions of books increases and the number of print copies decreases, it may seem that the number of public libraries across America is dwindling.
By News Channel NebraskaNORFOLK, NE (News Channel Nebraska) -In this day and age, with the sale of digitized versions of books increases and the number of print copies decreases, it may seem that the number of public libraries across America is dwindling.
However, at the Norfolk Public Library, the task of having to adapt to this new wave of change is something that Library Director, Jessica Chamberlain, says has been easy to to embrace.
“The mission of the library doesn’t change, but how we get those containers of information are now different,” says Chamberlain. “They all use to be contained in books and now we still have a lot contained in books, but we also have all of these digital compliments to that, and all of these online resources, and a gateway to the internet for people that don’t have access at home or work.”
As the transition from print to the e-book trend grows, Chamberlain says the library has found ways to keep up with the change, and most importantly, keeping people interested in coming to the library.
“We put money into our e-book collection every year just like we do for our regular print books and we’ve had e-books now for about ten years, so we’ve been building up that collection overtime,” says Chamberlain. “We do try to respond to people’s requests, and best sellers, and when books have holds on them, we try and purchase more of those, but our e-book services…our checkouts grow every month.”
As the library adapts and transitions into this new change, it has still managed to expand, offering educational and entertaining programs catered to kids, young adults, and even Spanish speakers.
“Another one of the services that we provide is educational and entertaining programming ,and that’s for kids all the way thru adults,” says Chamberlain. “For kids in the summer especially, we do just a huge amount of programming…there’s something going on every single day of the week.”
Membership to the library is free of charge and with a library card, you have access to checking out books, using the computers, and accessing all the online services that the library offers.