Don’t bother asking state Librarian Stacey Aldrich whether public libraries are becoming obsolete in this digital age. Librarians get asked this a lot. She’s got her rebuttals ready.
Aldrich will tell you that the islands’ 51 public libraries are not going extinct. On the contrary, she says, Hawaii’s libraries are robustly evolving, and they’re as needed and as popular as ever. Some sites are sporting fresh new looks and programs, including a new e-sports center and a budding telehealth partnership. And at least two new libraries are in the pipeline, in Waikoloa and Pahoa.
What is obsolete, Aldrich said during a recent interview, is the outdated stereotype some folks still maintain of libraries as silent repositories of dusty old tomes.
“Many people have a set mental model of public libraries being just about books. But we have been about more than just books for a long time,” she says, setting straight the signature bold-rimmed glasses she sometimes wears.
Since 2015, Aldrich has led the nation’s only statewide public library system in its ongoing shift toward more digital offerings, updated special programs and greater public access. Today’s libraries are becoming more colorful, high-tech in spots, noisy at times, places to celebrate culture, places for families to gather, she says — the updated vision is libraries as broad community centers, providing all comers with “equal access to these opportunities to build their future.”
Access. Opportunity. Aldrich uses those two words a lot, fondly but insistently, when she describes the mission of libraries now.
“No matter who you are, where you come from, how much money you have — every single person can walk into a library and have access to technology, the internet, resources, books, movies,” she said. “It’s our job to make sure that the old quote ‘Public libraries are the poor man’s university’ … continues into the 21st century.”
The state Board of Education evidently agrees with Aldrich’s vision. The BOE, which is responsible for hiring and reviewing the state librarian, gave Aldrich high marks this month in her annual job review. They’ve done so every year since she started the job. “The board strongly believes in the power and future of libraries,” board Chair Bruce Voss said. “Stacey has vision, she has worked closely with the community and she has been a real innovator.”
With such lively growth of the libraries underway, then, why do people still often posit that libraries are dying?
If measured only by foot traffic and book borrowing, the nation’s public libraries have seen more popular days. In-person visits to libraries had risen steadily since the 1990s to reach a peak of almost 1.6 billion in 2009, but have since declined at least 21%, according an analysis of U.S. library data by WordsRated, a noncommercial, international research data and analytics group. And people now borrow books about 19% less often than in 2013.
But when the newer ways libraries are being used are factored in, the data suggest they are more popular than ever.
A massive 153% rise in uses of digital collections drove total library-collection uses to a record high of 2.98 billion in 2019, up 16% since 2013, the WordsRated analysis says.
When the pandemic surfaced, Aldrich adds, digital visits spiked as people sought sources of remote and free sources of entertainment and information. Recently, an option was added for people to sign up through the Hawaii libraries website for a newly introduced library “e-card” allowing 45 days of access to digital media. That sparked 25,000 new sign-ups, Aldrich said.
Among the things you can do online for free with public library membership include learning a new language via the Mango platform, take Gale Courses in subjects ranging from design and composition to computer applications and health care, and learn to play popular band and string instruments through ArtistWorks classes. “You don’t have to pay for a master class,” Aldrich said. “The goal of these free benefits is we all are supporting equal access to information, ideas, learning.”
So with library use leaning increasingly virtual, are bricks-and-mortar libraries still necessary?
Aldrich notes the physical uses of library spaces also are evolving, with new programs and services increasingly drawing people through the doors.
Nationwide, the number of special programs for kids and adults and their attendance have both about doubled since 2004, the WordsRated analysis says.
Asked to describe recent or upcoming developments in the physical spaces of local libraries, Aldrich clasps her hands and says, “Oh, gosh, there are so many things!”
Among them:
>> The public opening on Wednesday of the TRUE Esports + Tech Lab at Waipahu Public Library. The lab offers “best-in-class gaming PCs, displays and peripherals in a space for the community to learn valuable game and software development skills,” a news release says.
“There are some kids who don’t have a $5,000 machine and fast broadband at home. They don’t have the opportunity to learn to code or to think about what are the new jobs in the e-sports universe,” Aldrich said. At the e-sports center, youths will do more than play games; they’ll learn about the science and the business of e-sports as well. Additional e-sports centers around the state are in the works, Aldrich said.
>> A telehealth partnership in development with the state Department of Health and Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center. Sixteen libraries will feature live “navigators” who will triage people with health concerns and help them to connect online with health care sources. Visitors who have a need to stay in frequent touch with their doctors can borrow internet hot spots and laptops for virtual visits.
>> Upgrades to older libraries “in need of some love,” as Aldrich likes to say. About two-thirds of Hawaii’s public libraries were built before 1970, she said. The McCully-Moiliili Public Library reopened in June after $2 million in repairs and renovations. The Pearl City Public Library also is undergoing renovation and will include a multipurpose “community learning center” space.
Other signs of growth are more subtle. New computers are quietly replacing old ones. More Chromebook laptops are available for loan. An upgrade to the network will make live, interactive courses and events possible. A better system for tracking physical materials has been installed. Outdoor lockers soon will make it possible to access materials put on hold after hours by just scanning your library card.
And there’s more coming. In the latest legislative session, Senate Bill 2214 established a digital literacy program to be implemented by the state librarian to promote digital literacy programs, including making digital technology accessible to people with disabilities.
For those who prefer “in real life” media, the Hawaii libraries offer nearly 3 million books, 165,000 DVDs, 113,000 CDs, more than 150 magazines and 100 newspapers. Some libraries even have ukulele to loan for three weeks at a time.
And there will always be some demand for the physical retreat a library offers, “where people can study, people can have quiet spaces, where they can have more technology,” Aldrich said. “You may not have enough computers for every kid in your house, so you can go to the library and everybody have their own computer and do the work they need to do.”
The take-all-comers philosophy of public libraries is not without challenges. In recent years staff have seen an increase in confrontations with visitors who have been angry about pandemic issues, and people who are homeless, mentally ill, using drugs. Staff routinely must deal with property damage and biohazards. Assaults have occurred right outside the Hawaii State Library doors.
Staffing shortages have forced the libraries to cut hours, Aldrich said. Hawaii’s libraries, with their operating budget of $37 million in general funds, are supposed to have 563 positions, but 69 positions are frozen for lack of funding, she said. She points out that the comparable 49-branch King County in Washington state has a budget of $123 million, with 800 staff for 49 branches and 12 bookmobiles.
“We’re pretty understaffed,” especially on the neighbor islands, she said. “Sometimes we’re down to two people in a branch, when you should really have three or four.”
But continual pushing through adversity is par for Aldrich, who, before working in Hawaii, served as state librarian of California and deputy secretary for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania, named by the Library Journal as one of the top 55 professionals “who are shaping the future of libraries,” and given the Link Americas Foundation Knowledge Award for vision and leadership in digital literacy.
Free public libraries indeed have flourished in America since the 1800s, surviving wars, economic fluctuations, censorship battles, the rise and fall of bookstores and more. For Aldrich, soldiering on is a mission. “To me the role of the public library is to make sure everybody has access to ideas and stories, all of our community stories,” she said. “I think there’s always going to be a group of people who say, ‘I don’t use it (the library), so it’s not important.’ But when I think about democracy, I think libraries are almost the last bastion of a democratic society. You want to make sure everybody has access.”
LIBRARY CARD CLOUT
While the “price” of a Hawaii state public library card is still unbeatable — it’s free for residents — the privileges and materials that come with it are greatly expanded.
A library card now allows you to not only borrow books, but download e-books and audiobooks; take online classes; borrow DVDs, CDs and other items, and use them at home; read e-magazines; use online databases; and more.
Initial cards are free for kamaaina, military personnel and their dependents, $25 for nonresidents. Bring valid ID to sign up at your neighborhood library. Temporary virtual library cards good for 45 days provide access to only online digital resources; apply at 808ne.ws/librarycard. You can then visit a library with ID to upgrade to activate full privileges. For more information, see librarieshawaii.org.
