Tardy: to move or act slowly or delaying through reluctance.

That accurately sums up my purchasing behaviour when it comes to any gadget that the rest of the world has not only embraced with open arms, but has bear hugged to within an inch of its natural life, before relegating it to the nearest W.E.E.E. recycling centre and making way for the purchase of a shinier and superior Mark 2. Whether it’s flat screen TVs, smartphones, iPods, netbooks or eReaders, I’m always a latecomer and it’s rarely because I can’t see the benefits of the technology but more because I’m hopelessly sentimental about the impact the interloping newbie will have on its predecessor(s).

Thankfully some friends saved me from ‘delaying through reluctance’ when they gave me a Kindle as a gift; first stop my local library’s website. A wasted visit it transpired as Kindle doesn’t currently support the ebook formats available through libraries (apart from in the US) but this got me thinking.

If you want to watch a film you can either download it to your computer or TV. Music is readily available in MP3 formats or you can subscribe to a listen only service like Spotify. And now ebooks are increasingly available, from a variety of sources, in a number of formats (the British Library and Google are even planning to digitise a quarter of a million out of copyright books from the 18th and 19th centuries). It seems that unless you’re over, or under, a certain age your local library could fast become a place that fails to meet the needs of you and your local community. Whilst my local library is adapting to the demand for digital services it still feels very old school so my question is this:

What purpose will/should the library serve in the future?

• Well aside from being venues for pre-school story time or to partake in a leisurely read of the papers why not create THE meeting place for local groups to get together to either learn a language, hold a book club (Kindles/iPads at the ready) or debate community issues

• And given that navigating digital content can be time consuming; as data custodians, librarians could become the digital route-finders for individuals and groups adding extra value by combining this knowledge with access to local information that doesn’t reside online

• Become a WiFi hotspot with a coffee area for business people or students to use in between meetings or during ‘free periods’ offering a bank of hot desks so that phones and laptops can be recharged during the visit (add in a small cafe and there’s an opportunity for revenue generation too)

• Support Race Online 2012 and become more than just an internet cafe; the local library should be the online hub providing banks of computers for those without internet access at home and including access to media services such as iPlayer and the library’s own online film download service

• Finally don’t forget the website; having an online presence that is easy to navigate and promotes the services of the library building will stimulate usage of both digital and physical services

As a book geek I love my local library but once I can loan ebooks on my kindle I’ll struggle to find a valid reason to keep visiting it. However if I were able to learn a new skill, share a workspace with a colleague or client and get a decent coffee and a slice of homemade cake I could be persuaded to continue to make the 6 mile round trip for some years to come.

Image with thanks to Alegrya