New Tech VS. CD Dilemma
To put my dilemma into context I need to tell you a bit about where I am, what I do, and what I have done. I graduated with an MLIS in 2004. Worked on a CAP initiative in a small rural library, then moved to Reference Librarian with TPL (6 month contract) and have now been the Public Service Librarian with the Yellowknife Public Library for a year. For any of you who think I live in the the Yukon, I do not. I live in the Northwest Territories. Seems to be a common misconception among Canadians - yes, I was surprised by that too!
So, I'm in a city of about 19,000. The population of the entire territory is approximately 40,000. We are the largest library here and serve the largest population. Even though the NWT boasts the highest average family income in the country there are huge social issues here and a lot of homelessness - I know, hard to believe people live on the streets in -50 degree weather - but they do.
Now, on to my dilemma. The library I work in does not have a music collection. Apparently there was a small one 5 years ago but it was removed from circulation to "be worked on" - I put that in quotations because I don't really know what work was being done. Now, the library manager whom I greatly admire, has obtained funding for a music collection. It is a significant amount of money (thankfully we are funded fairly well) to be spent on this initiative over the next 3 years. Of course, the manager wants to bring back the very small CD collection from before and start adding to it.
I am not on board with this for the following reasons:
1)It takes years to develop a well rounded and diverse collection
2) CDs are going the way of VHS and new technology is replacing CDs (we currently have no VHS in the collection) 3) By the time all the money is spent, I fear the collection will poorly circulate due to it being a dated technology.
My manager's point is that the patrons are asking for music (this is true) and that we should meet the needs of the community. We did a very informal survey asking patrons if they would use a CD collection if we added one. I would say that 60% of respondents (not a scientific calculation in the least) said that they would use it. Others made comments about how they'd rather the money was spent on our DVD collection (not an option as the funding is earmarked for music). Others commented that music is so easy to download that they don't bother with CDs anymore.
Perhaps I am biased (I don't own a CD and haven't for years and between my husband and I we have 3 ipods.) I think my manager and I may come to an agreement that meets both needs and start the CD collection but also introduce some digital music as well. However, my dilemma is the role of the library. Shouldn't the library be an example of new technology, especially when the old is on its way out?
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