Libraries in the Digital Age by Laura Bisagna

Yes, it’s here! The Digital Age has arrived!   People have often heard me say that the Digital Age is the “Age of NOT, Not Knowing” since the answers to our questions seem to be just a quick “google-search” keystroke away.  Everyone, including students, first think to look to the internet – Google -- to find answers to all of their questions and to research information on any and every subject imaginable under the sun.   Ask someone a question and they often say, “I don’t know, just google it!”  No one says, “Look it up in the encyclopedia.”  (What the heck that?!)  or “Drive down to your local library and see if you can find some material on it.”  Is this trend something libraries will be able to change in the future?  Possibly, if we build a better clicks-and-mortar library.  So what do we mean by clicks and mortar?

According to the article,  Building a Better Clicks-and-Mortar Library,  author Ken Vesey describes clicks and mortar as follows: “…an adjective describing an enterprise that conducts business both online (clicks) and from physical retail outlets (mortar).”   He also states that “We need to remind patrons of the strength and tradition of our bricks-and-mortar service: that at which we have excelled for decades.”  He continues by saying, “The long-term success of school libraries with homepages will involve the successful integration of their digital and print sides.” 

How can we do this as library techs in terms of presentation tools?  Luckily, we have an array of presentation tools at our fingertips, too many to list here in this blog post; however, one way I might suggest is: putting together a book trailer to post on your library’s webpage.  This is a great way to bridge the gap between using the library services online and bringing patrons through the doors of the brick-and-mortar library.   Through this tool we can entice people to come into the library to check out a particular book, to bring their kids in for storytimes or author visits.  I have posted a link to an example of a booktrailer I put together, along with details on how you, too, can easily make a book trailer and other promotional presentations for your library events.  

Work cited:

Building a Better Clicks-and-Mortar Library, Vesey, Ken, Library Media Connection. Apr/May2004, Vol. 22 Issue 7, p28029. 2 p.