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As E-Book Trend Grows, So Do Concerns for Local Libraries

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Jul 20, 2010 at 6:39 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jul 20, 2010 at 6:39 PM MDT

With summer in full swing, many are taking advantage of the opportunity to get in some summer reading.

But a new trend means some are doing it without actually picking up a book.

And with libraries all across the country scaling back and shutting down, the convenience of new technology may be threatening their existence.

“It’s really driving a reading revolution,” remarks Great Falls Public Library Director Kathy Mora.

Since being released less than 3 years ago, the Amazon Kindle has become an international phenomenon.

The Kindle, along with e-books in general, have shaken up the notion of picking up a book and flipping pages.

Just released data from Amazon reveals they’re selling 80 percent more downloaded e-books than they are hardcover books, which calls into question the relevance of local public libraries.

“A number of years ago when we had audio and video cassettes coming out and being put in the library collections, people questioned whether that was where public money should be spent and they’ve become really an integral part of library collections. I think it’s an evolution. I don’t see print going away anytime soon,” Mora says.

For college students like Dorothy Ackerman, libraries are more than just a place for books.

“I think they’re still important, like people like me who are going to school, they’re good for research and just a quiet place to study and stuff,” she says.

While e-books are not currently offered at the Great Falls Public Library, plans are underway for them to debut later this year.

“We know it’s a big thing, lots of people are using them. We’ve had inquiries about it and we have a history of serving the community and giving them what they want,” says Mora.

And that increase in popularity may be a good thing for libraries like the one here in Great Falls.

“It shows people are reading. A number of years ago, there were studies that came out that said people just did not read anymore and that is obviously not the true. We’re seeing people use print materials, digital, e-books… I think that digital and print are going to coexist for quite some time into the future.”

Library officials say they’ve actually seen an increase in use of all of their services and collections over the last few years, and they think the addition of e-book offerings will only drive up library use even more.

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tanya said on Thursday, Jul 22 at 11:54 AM

no sympathies for libraries. nowadays, they only have the latest bestsellers. classics and hard to find items are purged, so what's the point? libraries should get their functions right.

Laurin said on Wednesday, Jul 21 at 10:29 AM

If there were free parking it would be more enticing to come to the library & spend some time browsing, reding periodicals and so forth. Nowhere I have lived, large or small has charged for parking at a public library. Drop the meters, increase the usage!

tawnya said on Wednesday, Jul 21 at 9:30 AM

as a family with young kids, we would visit the library here in great falls, if they had more to offer! it was a shock to our family to see the library for the first time. we moved from a small town and we had hoped that here would have a bigger library than it does. yes our old library was small in size but they made up for it in heart and what they had for families.

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