Prepared by Jeffrey Scherer, AIA, and contributors from the Minnesota State University System.
At the turn of the 17th century, western civilization was undergoing one of the great transformations in history--the unfolding of the modern world from the medieval world. Some analysts trace the origins of the evolution to the introduction of printing with movable type, a major revolution in communication technology. Eleven generations later, between 1890 and 1920, the development of electricity created a great discussion in American society about its role, benefits, how it should be transmitted, what standards should apply and who should own or control the generating plants. [1] Only 100 years later, electronics and digital storage and dissemination of information have ushered in the second great revolution in communications. And like the debates on the ownership and distribution of electricity, the implications of this revolution--bearing on how information is stored, where it is stored and who will have access to it--are every bit as profound as the earlier one. Like any new frontier, the pioneers will discover and stake out new territories and applications. The ramifications of the argument that information be made available only to the electronically literate pioneers is strongly at odds with the democratic notion that has been the rationale of libraries for more than three centuries. Because knowledge is power, the proponents of such an argument would ultimately preside over the disenfranchisement of vast segments of the population, who, without libraries or the resources to access information electronically, would be denied a fundamental tool of self-empowerment and actualization.
The library has traditionally been the repository of the cultural and historical data that represents the heart, mind, and soul of a civilization. It is now, with the arrival of the digital age, at the center of the evolving debate on how information will be archive and disseminated in the future. It is also one of the primary frontiers--a place to be discovered. This discovery is taking place from within--at the physical place and without--from the electronic connections being established on a world wide scale. This debate is shaping not only the physical form but also the service of the contemporary library. Indeed, many view the library as an anachronism in this era of remote, instantaneous retrieval of digitized information. Yet this change is constant. As Isaac Asimov said, "It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.... This, in turn, means that our statesmen, our businessmen, our everyman must take on a science fictional way of thinking."
There is a revolution taking place that is striking the very core of how we think about and access information. Computers are eradicating state and national boundaries, eliminating time delays in acquiring stock market and weather data, reducing the cost of conducting business and increasing the ability to store pictures for immediate access. Yet computers are also a device that must be bought, maintained, and continually be updated. At The University of Texas at Austin, for example, architecture students require a $5,000 workstation to be able to do their work. At the same University, a 200-station computer center located in an existing building cost $2 million. These costs do not include maintenance or staff. The typical online family, according to the NPD Group, Inc., has a 34-year old head of household (the average head of household is 40); with a median income of $54,440 (77% above the national average); and is likelier than not to have a college education (56% are graduates).
This pamphlet addresses issues which should be considered in the debate about the requirement that local institutions pay for a portion of the debt service for library construction. This requirement does and will continue to affect their ability to accommodate the changing imperatives of the digital age; remain a vital institution in a society with an informed and culturally literate populace; and embrace the long standing traditions of the library that serves everyone in general and students in particular. This requirement could also result in the partial demise of the library. This is not only an untenable development for a free and democratic society, but one that is also unnecessary.
Several factors are converging at the close of this century to define the vitality of the library in this democratic society. These factors require us to take a close examination of the role of the library in a world which is becoming dependent on immediate access to information to remain competitive and current. This dependency is born out of the interdependency of world markets and cultures. There factors include:
Minnesota should set a goal of having the most
highly trained, most productive workforce
in the world. Our heritage supports it;
our future calls for it.
Over the past few decades, "information" has moved from knowledge derived from study or experience to a commodity that can be collected, processed, and distributed. With the dawn of the digital age, we are now referring to information by its quantifiable size rather than content. For example, we often see articles referred to by the "k" or kilobyte size. In the past, seldom was an article or book defined by its size. This trend, of course, is essential if the information will be transmitted over glass or copper conduits--rather than imprinted on a piece of paper. This trend is not limited to the written word. Machine controls, image processing, video signals, radio, voice processing, ultrasonic imaging and drawing are all forms of information. This merging of different medium and contents into one form--information--creates a term which is, according to German linguist Uwe Purksen, an "amoebae word with over two dozen connotations." The more that information is seen as a common commodity, the greater the demand will be for access.
Libraries, by virtue of the physical proximity of books devoted to a variety of disciplines, enable users to advance their studies not simply in logical progressions but in serendipitous, non-linear ways. This is part of the magic of the library environment. Browsing through a book stack may lead to previously unthought of connections. While researching the economics of soybean production, for example, a student may see an article on recycled building materials made from newsprint and soybeans. This serendipitous discovery could lead to new thoughts about the economics of production in the State. The challenge in serving the State is for libraries to preserve the magic, to retain an environment where the cross-pollination of ideas can flourish in concert with the strict, sequential nature of digitally stored information. Libraries are the element in our society which maintain the essential continuity between the ages and the requisite cross-references between all forms of information.
The ever-evolving nature of information technology has already taxed the resources and physical plants of many libraries, which have made valiant efforts to keep abreast of the quickening pace of technological innovation--the Internet, video-text, digital sky-broadcast, CD-ROM, real-time cross-platform editing, digitized text transmission and duplicating and consolidation of the information industries. "if we want everything to remain as it is, it will be necessary for everything to change." [2] Yet the establishment of networks of libraries can increase sharing and reduce duplication--while freeing up resources to cope with these changes and provide better service. The libraries must be designed to remain flexible and adaptable to ever-changing technologies. While this re-engineering takes place, the libraries will continue to serve traditional uses. Says Alan G. Merten, dean of Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management: "It's not emerging, but merging technologies that are important to understand." This merging will demand flexibility and financial support.
The new technologies are redefining how the library user interacts with the library and how the library makes information available. The issues affecting library design include:
The resolution of the theoretical and practical will define the library of the future. Whether it is defined as virtual or real does not, ultimately, matter. The issue is the manner in which libraries enable people to have equal access and embrace the content for their own purposes. As the power and cost of methods to retrieve information move in opposite directions, more and more information will become accessible. Yet this ever increasing quantity of information can lead to chaos. As this quantity increases, the need for quality maps and guides also increases. Commercial enterprises will certainly make sure that the most marketable elements are clearly visible and accessible. It is the non-commercial, content-rich research materials that may be obfuscated without libraries and librarians. These people are trained to cross-reference and provide pointers.
As the methods for searching the world's information sources standardizes, more and more people will have common means for accessing and retrieving the information they need for business, education and entertainment. Out of necessity, students, individuals and business are, for the first time, using common tools to reach these sources of information. The administrator of the computer which magnetically stores information as 1s and 0s must establish remote access rules for these groups. These rules can be simple or tied to receiving a fee. For example, to access West Law, a database of citable law rulings, an individual or company must pay $240 per hour. On the other hand, to access up-to-date statistics on the Kobe earthquake from Glocom, World Wide Web site in Japan, one only needs to access the Internet. Yet every computer that permits remote access is an "open book" subject only to the rules established by the computer administrator. This means that the libraries within the State University system can be accessed by a researcher in Australia, Austin, or on Ash Street. This transparency factor clearly demonstrates why libraries must be considered regional and world-wide resources.
The relationship between "What do libraries do?" and "How much can we afford to pay?" is of primary concern to the State University System. Every $1,000 of debt service that a particular institution must pay represents approximately 40 items that cannot be selected for the students or 25 hours of help. As our State and the Nation struggle to establish a fair relationship between mandates and their associated cost, so too must we understand the impact of debt service on the ability of libraries throughout Minnesota to act as regional rather than strictly local resources. In 1994, the State Legislature created legislation that all library projects which receive State funding be reviewed to ensure that they:
This law establishes a clear intent to begin to recognize and utilize each library with the State as a link in a Statewide information chain or web. Requiring that a portion of the debt service be borne by the local institution contradicts the spirit and intent of this legislation. As this digital age continues to redefine the library as we know it, the facts remain--libraries collect, evaluate, catalog, disseminate, and preserve information. And while the tasks will stay the same--the patrons (students and citizens from all over the State and the world) and the tools will continually change.
When books and other non-print materials were bought, cataloged, and used primarily by the students and faculty at one campus, the treatment of the library as a campus resource made perfect sense. Yet the role of the State University Libraries is shifting to that of regional resource and training centers. For example, in fiscal year 1991, the St. Cloud State University Library provided nearly 12,000 books, periodicals, and other print and non-print materials to other institutions. Because this institution has a Winona State University library made over 500 loans throughout the US and several foreign countries and loaned nearly 1,500 items to community individuals. The library also provides overnight book and journal delivery to the Rochester Community College; assists in community businesses and community organizations such as the Community Memorial Hospital, Lake Center Industries, and Hiawatha Valley Educational Cooperative with material requests; and consults with St. Mary's College with regard to electronic databases, computer and Internet usage.
In the past year at Moorhead State University, the library circulated nearly 10,000 items to area patrons. They also provide access to the Clay County Law Library, are the primary resource for the Northern Lights Library Network; and are the regional Minnesota and federal documents depository.
At Southwest State University, the library circulated nearly 4,500 items to the area high schools, responded to over 2,300 reference questions, and lent over 12,000 items to non-SSU people.
In 1994 alone at Bemidji State University, almost 400 non-university people registered to become new library borrowers--accounting for the borrowing of 2,794 items. Many community people from as far away as 90 miles use the library without becoming a borrower. Examples include business people researching alternative ways of keeping motor oil warm in the winter; students from Bemidji High School regularly researching science projects; employees of the Department of Natural Resources researching projects; and individuals accessing the State Register for contract opportunities. In 1994 they loaned 2,200 items to other libraries in Minnesota.
Each of these examples highlight the changing nature of community. Traditionally it meant a group of people licing in the same locality and under the same government. Increasingly, it means a group of people having a common interest or need--independent of geographical location. Each of the examples cited point to this changing nature of community in our state. The libraries are fast becoming a network of regional information centers working in cooperation to serve a diverse and geographically independent population. It is this dual service role--on and off campus--that is especially relevant to the need to eliminate the debt service requirement. These communities will continually be formed and reconfigured based upon the access to information--not the technological means.
History has taught uas that technology can shape society and vice versa. The printing of the Bible on a press of moveable type facilitated a changed view of the Catholic Church; the pony express sped letters across a vast geography; the telegraph coordinated rail service and armies; the telephone introduced immediacy of contact; radio changed the nature of vaudeville and entertainment; television brought war to the living room and consumers to the stores; digital transmission will ultimately do all of these things. Yet each new technological improvement has not completely eliminated the previous generation--only redefined it. What is critical, however, is the collages of the iterative time scale for the changing of technologies. The power of personal computers in use in homes today were only available to defense and research organizations only 15 years ago. According to Gordon Moore, chairman of Intel Corporation, "at any given price level, microchips will double in performance every 18 months." This changing nature of technology will continue at a dizzying pace. The need for information management will, out of necessity, increase. The demand for access will, out of need, also increase.
Every technological tool is created by a person who lives in a particular time and place. Often the consequence of the creation are not known or contemplated at the time of creation. As Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. so aptly predicted, a pure interest in science can lead to a social misunderstanding or misuse. In the 1920s the automobile liberated isolated communities. Today it clogs our air and requires dependency on oil. What will the consequences of our dependence on the computer be? Will lack of personal contact create socially maladroit populations? Will our eyesight be irrevocably altered if we only read on-screen? Will our hands and wrists be permanently damaged from the dependency to type an access code rather than turning a page? Will one hundred people accessing an article from a remote database all print it locally--thus increasing by several fold the number of pages of paper that must be produced?
This new and vital debate about the changing role of the library highlights the crucial role the librarians will have enabling our State to be vital and at the forefront of this change. Our citizens must have equal access to all sources of this information. Even in the utopian future not everyone will have access or be able to use a computer. Through cooperative sharing of print materials, open-ended and wide bandwidth computer access, archival storage at the University of Minnesota, and innovative use of fiscal resources we can ensure that this quality will occur. The elimination of the requirement that the State Universities pay a portion of the debt service would help leverage these resources for broader use by our citizens. As the public demands more accountability in government spending and increase their demand for timely and accurate information, libraries can be the central focus for non-commercial satisfaction of this demand. In 1992 a Gallup poll found that more than half of the US citizens surveyed were willing to support libraries at a rate greater than $20.00 per capita. The national average per capita in 1992 was $6.00. As more and more people become aware of the potential of accessing information at these regional libraries, demand will increase. This inevitable demand should, out of principle, be supported. For it is this demand which acts as a barometer to our State's growth--economically and intellectually. But if the demand strains the resources of an individual library, restraints may have to be imposed on "outside" access. This will be especially true if tuition paying students feel that their needs (materials, seats, etc.) are not being met. As we ponder, learn about and adapt to this information age, we should not force such restraints on free access and use. This will be counter-productive to our statewide need to become competitive and informed. Just as the availability of electricity cause industry to flourish at the turn of the century, so too must the availability of information enable companies, students, and individuals in our state-community to flourish.
The State University System recognizes that there are many demands for a limited pool of money. Yet the on-going digital revolution will transform the library as we know it today--whether or not there is support for eliminating this debt service requirement. The inevitable changes brought about by this technological revolution will be an increase in demand, need for greater expertise, insatiable growth in demand for equipment and incoming access points, and the need to learn a new language of searching for materials. "Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those languages, or we remain mute." [4] The State University System hopes that our libraries will not be muted.
Copyright 1995 Minnesota State Universities Prepared by Jeffrey A. Scherer, AIA, for presentation to the Legislature of the State of Minnesota for use in the deliberation on debt service limits.
Prepared with the support and assistance of the Minnesota State Universities and other interested persons and institutions. The author takes full responsibility for any errors or omissions. Persons contributing to this document include:
Metropolitan State University
St. Cloud State University
Winona State University
Mankato State University
Moorhead State University
Southwest State University
Minnesota State Universities
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1 Nye, David. (1992) Electrifying America. Cambridge, MIT Press. Return to text.
2 Lampedusa, Giuseppe Tomasi Di. (1958) The Leopard. Return to text.
3 Dyson, Freeman. (1979) Disturbing the Universe, pt. 1, ch. 1. Return to text.
4 Ballard, J. G. (1974) Crash, Introduction. Return to text.