The project anticipated the mass move from print information to electronic information that has become a vivid reality as Amazon reports that it now sells more electronic books than physical books.   The Outpost is a digital hub, offering a public window to the expanding universe of books, music, video, and other media available online.  Librarians are there acting as guides to shape that window with the library patrons. The Outpost doesn’t seek to replace the libraries we have now, the whole space is meant to function as a different type of service within the full suite of services offered by a library system as a whole.  It is a small, flexible storefront library facility where the only physical collection is books that are requested for delivery and pickup online. This frees up floorspace for co-creative activities like lectures, exhibits, classes, media creation, and community activities of all sorts.

I’ve been revisiting the Library Outpost service model recently for two reasons.

The first is the many engaging conversations about a Digital Public Library of America. If in fact a DPLA is realized, it will strengthen the case to deconstruct existing library services and offer different kinds of information access in different places.  The DPLA’s clean slate approach has the potential to connect and magnify the success and the considerable digital content already offered by projects like the Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, or the American Memory project.  The public good that could come of making convenient, customizable access to all of this information (and more) is mind boggling.  If this happens, DPLA content might eventually become a significant amount of all of the material a library offers, and the only thing that will differentiate a good library from a bad one will be how well the librarians design localized context for the electronic content.  Every year libraries invest more and more of their scarce resources in electronic content.  Eventually, libraries will follow Amazon’s lead and we will ‘circulate’ more electronic content than physical books.  The question we need to be asking in light of these projections is not only whether the Carnegie building from 1895 is still a practical singular means of service delivery, it is also whether the Koolhaas building from 2004 remains a practical singular means of service delivery.  A Library Outpost is the ideal physical world service point for a Digital Public Library of America.

The second is the forthcoming RFP from IMLS and the MacArthur Foundation for eligible libraries and museums to create Learning Labs in the likeness of the successful YouMedia project in Chicago.  Thirty of these YouMedia style Learning Labs will be built in libraries and museums across the country.  A description of YouMedia in their words, “High school age teens engaging with YOUmedia can access thousands of books, over 100 laptop and desktop computers, and a variety of media creation tools and software, all of which allow them to stretch their imaginations and their digital media skills. By working both in teams and individually, teens have an opportunity to engage in projects that promote critical thinking, creativity, and skill-building.”  I’ve visited the space and can attest to the fact it is dynamic, exciting, and well used.  The YouMedia library space is not a singular means of service delivery at Chicago Public Library, instead it is a node in a network of differentiated library services.  I’d argue that while a Learning Lab in a few thousand square feet of an existing library building works, it would be even more interesting to open it as a separate storefront in a busy downtown area that is convenient for teens to access.  A Learning Lab is no different from a Library Outpost designed specifically for a teen audience.

A few things are certain.  Libraries cannot continue to deliver all of their services well with only one type of facility.  Times have changed. The demands and nature of electronic content support an argument for Library Outposts as the ideal public space to interact with digital libraries.  The constraints and costs associated with the transport and storage of print materials support an argument for giant, warehoused, browseable print collections: self service Costcos and Home Depots that serve as central distribution centers.  Finally, we need to maintain and support the libraries we have now that meet elements of both these needs.  I’m not saying that they are useless, I’m saying they are insufficient and unwieldy.  Make no mistake though: beyond the surface, there is not as much difference between the Carnegie building and the Koolhaas building as one might think.

Good news! The U.S. House of Representatives has scheduled a vote on the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) for Tuesday, December 14, 2010. Your phone calls to Congress are especially important now as your representatives will be making a decision on how they plan to vote on this bill. Please call your representative and then distribute this message to your lists as well.

Please call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your representative’s office. Tell their staffs that passing MLSA is imperative to ensuring libraries can continue providing critical resources and services to their constituents, particularly in this tough economy. Specifically highlighting programs or resources your library provides to the member’s constituents will make your message stronger. A link to the full action alert can be found here.
MLSA will ensure that all library programs under the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), are authorized, therefore equipping IMLS to lead America’s libraries. This bill received bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats when it passed the Senate late week, and it will need the same bipartisan support to pass the House. To access the full text of this bill, click here.

Your calls are urgently needed TODAY! If the House fails to pass this legislation when it is on the floor tomorrow, the whole reauthorization process will have to start over after the first of the year. We cannot let that happen.

Library use is on a steady rise and the economic downturn has resulted in even greater need for library services. IMLS introduced Libraries to the Rescue to share with libraries steps that other libraries have taken to help their communities.

“Libraries have emerged as one of the go-to place for people looking for work or filing for unemployment, starting new businesses, or learning how to use computers for the first time,” said Anne-Imelda Radice, IMLS Director. “Libraries are proving just how important they are to their communities. In these episodes, library leaders share their expertise so others don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”

Libraries to the Rescue provides valuable insights from:
* Mary Boone, State Librarian of North Carolina
* Bernard Margolis, State Librarian of New York
* Sheryl Mase, Michigan Library’s Director of Statewide Services
* Jan Walsh, State Librarian of Washington, and Randall Simmons, Program Manager for Library Development in Washington
* Kendall Wiggin, State Librarian of Connecticut

The five episodes cover a range of topics, including how libraries are increasing access to key information through virtual libraries, the importance of broadband access, and new partnerships between libraries and state and federal agencies to help citizens access all types of assistance. The Libraries to the Rescue episodes are short (12-15 minute), digestible audio episodes designed to educate IMLS’s library audience.

Accompanying the series is a list of online resources for libraries that are still navigating the new terrain. To view the list of resources, visit http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/062409_list.shtm. If you have additional online links to share, please email them to IMLS Public Affairs Officer Jeannine Mjoseth at .

Libraries to the Rescue can be accessed and enjoyed at the listener’s convenience. Audio can be accessed on the IMLS Web site
(http://www.imls.gov/resources/podcasts_Jun09.shtm) or through iTunes.

“It is through the preservation and care of our collective heritage that America’s communities stay vital,” said Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of IMLS “These grants are intended to assist institutions, as our nation’s stewards of cultural collections, with activities that ensure the safekeeping and care of these precious artifacts and with sharing the impact of these activities with their communities.”

The grants of up to $3,000 are aimed at completing stand-alone conservation projects that convey the essential character and experience of the United States. Examples of fundable projects are provided in the grant guidelines.

The partnership builds on IMLS’s Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a multi-year, multi-pronged initiative to raise public awareness and inspire action on the care of America’s collections. That initiative implements recommendations of an IMLS-supported study, A Public Trust at
Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections, which found that nearly 190 million objects in U.S. collections are in immediate danger of deterioration and need restoration or conservation.

For questions about museum projects, please contact Christine Henry, Senior Program Officer, at 202-653-4674 to discuss your questions. For questions about library or archival projects, please contact Susan Malbin, Senior Program Officer, at 202-653-4768.

The deadline for application is September 15, 2008. IMLS and Bank of America will notify applicants of final decisions in January 2009, with projects to begin no earlier than February 1, 2009.

To learn more please visit www.imls.gov.