November 2018 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - 5
Then & Now: Libraries find ways to stay relevant
By JENNIFER COSTLEY
When I was in library school
everyone was talking about the
library of the future. What would
it look like? Would it all live on-
line? Would we be virtual librar-
ians Facetiming patrons from our
apartments in the sky? Or worse,
would it not exist at all? My guess
is they still ask every new librarian
that question. After all, if you don’t
have some concept of the future
of libraries, what will motivate you
to finish school and what contribu-
tion will you make when you finally
land that first job?
To many of my co-workers,
Pendleton Public Library has trans-
formed over the last 20 years. It
might not be what they imagined
as the library of the future, but
it is far different than the library
they once knew. Twenty years ago,
Pendleton Public Library
had just moved from the
old Carnegie Library build-
ing (now the Pendleton
Center for the Arts) to the
former Helen McCune
Junior High School, home
to both city hall and the
library. Patrons came to
check out vinyl records,
VHS tapes, books, audio-
books (some still on cas-
settes), and magazines.
Each summer they had
a summer reading program
and each week there was
a story time. There were
no programs for adults and
public-use computers were a new
and exciting development, thanks
to the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. Service was focused
on reference and readers advisory.
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People came for the books and
movies, and the people that led
them to those things. You might be
surprised to hear that our circu-
lation was actually five percent
higher than it is today and the
library owned more items as well.
That was 1998 and then, like
now, people said the internet
would do away with the library. If
it took 20 years to knock five per-
cent off our circulation statistics,
should we really be worried that li-
braries are being wiped out by the
internet and other digital options?
I would argue that the opposite is
happening. The library is evolving
to ensure that our patrons have
full access to those things. We un-
derstand that you want more than
books and magazines and we are
trying to meet you where you are.
For example, we now offer
programs outside of the library,
programs like our summer story
time in the park, and author read-
ings and trivia night at Prodigal
Son. And though our children’s
program attendance has grown by
97 percent over the last 20 years
(making that five percent
decrease in circulation
seem pretty insignifi-
cant), one of the biggest
changes we have made is
in recognizing the need
for adult programming.
Did you know that the
library offers monthly
parent education classes?
Also beginning computer
courses, technology
classes such as how to
use Google Drive, build-
ing a resume, and getting
started with digital check-
outs? Or that we have bi-
monthly author readings
and monthly Do it Yourself craft
programs, designed specifically for
adults?
We hope you know about these
things because getting the word
out on our services has been one
of our major goals over the last
few years. With the advent of so-
cial media, our potential to reach
you has increased infinitely, but we
still struggle to make people see
us as more than books, magazines,
and story times. I’m not worried
that libraries won’t be here in 20
years. I’m worried that the Library
of the Future will be awesome, but
a good portion of the population
will remain in the dark about all
they truly offer.
If it has been a while since you
visited the library now is a good
time to drop in and ask what has
changed. We’re dying to tell you!
________
Jennifer Costley is Assistant Direc-
tor and Youth Services Librarian at
the Pendleton Public Library, as well
as author of the new young adult
novel “The Exchange.”