'Libraries of the Future' will use technology to enhance

Among the March 20 actions of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors was the presentation of a report on “Libraries of the Future” for the County Library system, and library director Jose Aponte emphasized that technology won’t eliminate physical libraries but instead will enhance them.

“They’re no longer passive places, but they’re active ones with impact,” Aponte said.

Aponte stressed that the stereotypical librarian with a turtleneck and glasses on a string wasn’t the image of the 21st century library system. “This plan relies heavily on technology, creativity, and innovative thinking,” he said. “Libraries aren’t just book collections any more or a place to read.”

The mission to inform, education, inspire, and entertain includes traditional books, but additional programs and services include senior chess, the Socrates Cafe, career centers, and a Read to Your Breed program at the Valley Center branch in which children are paired with a pet and practice reading to that animal.

Aponte also noted such programs as senior lunches, law enforcement activity, and joint use with schools. “Libraries of the future are built upon partnerships,” he said. “Everywhere you look there are opportunities for us to partner.”

In 2006 the county’s branches had nearly 3.8 million visits and approximately 5 million titles circulated. “Collections must respond to the needs and interests of our communities,” he said. “The library of the future values and nurtures community initiatives.”

Library staff members and volunteers have been working with Indian tribes at the Valley Center branch and with the Chaldean and other Iraqi communities in East County.

In addition to the County Library system, the Board of Supervisors also addresses matters such as public safety which address items to save lives. “What we at the library talk about is quality of life,” Aponte said.

The libraries of the future will stress that quality. Facilities goals include expanding capacity, building communities, facilitating access, and responding to growth and diversity. An effort will be made to provide an environment which will welcome the “customer,” and future libraries will seek easy access, clear signage, and prominent display function.

“Beyond that look is technology,” Aponte said.

That technology includes not only Internet activity but also self-service checkout, allowing for increased circulation and library capacity without increasing staff costs. A radio frequency identification checkout system allows several books to be scanned at one time. Wireless connections will allow access even when the library building is closed to the public. Music collections will be able to be downloaded to Ipod or MP3 devices. Technology, along with less recent electronics, will also allow for oral history archives.

The County Library system has also become a partner in the San Diego Library Consortium, an interlibrary loan service which links the County Library branches to the libraries of San Diego State University, the University of California San Diego, the University of San Diego, and Cal State University San Marcos.

“We’re not shutting down branches. We’re not deferring maintenance,” Aponte said. “Libraries of the future aren’t just relevant. They are indispensable.”

In addition to its mobile bookmobiles and its books by mail program, the County Library system has 32 branches.

“It certainly should be a model for others in this region who have confused a library with a building,” said Supervisor Ron Roberts. “This is what libraries ought to do.”

Supervisor Dianne Jacob concurs that a library isn’t just a building. “It’s a facility that brings people together,” she said.

Jacob looks forward to breaking ground on the new Alpine and Ramona libraries in her district later this year. “This is a great idea and another extraordinary program in our county,” she said of the Libraries of the Future report.

“We are doing the things the community wants,” said Supervisor Greg Cox.

“Libraries during open hours are packed,” said Supervisor Pam Slater-Price.

“Libraries are really what make our communities healthy,” said Supervisor Bill Horn.

“I think this is one of the fundamental services the county should be providing,” Roberts said.