Jul 22nd, 2008
Bucking the Trend Negatively: Decreased Library Use in Hawai’i
I’ve discussed before how one of my favorite places is the public library and I think we have a fabulous public library system here in Hawai’i. That said, while library use nationally appears to be on the rise, library use in the Aloha State appears to be falling according to this Honolulu Advertiser article.
Why?
Yes, information is available on the Internet which can stop many from actually going to the library to get books or music or videos, but this is not something new and certainly not unique to this state. Perhaps more of a factor is the reduction in hours (a net reduction of about 100 hours a week across the street since 2003).
The other factor sited in the article is the lack of public WiFi and the lower number of computers available in our public library system. While I can say that I have very occasionally used the computers in our libraries (mostly for using the online card catalog) I haven’t thought a whole lot about WiFi there. I think that would be an attraction, though; I know I would use it!
Ultimately, though, in these tough economic times, it boggles my mind that a great free to low cost resource like the library is seeing decreasing visits, unless times are so tough people can’t afford to travel there! I go to at least one of the public libraries on island every week, and I encourage others to do so as well. There’s a tremendous wealth of material there–which can save you a tremendous amount of your personal wealth!
