Balancing Buildings, Book, Bytes, and Bucks: Steps to Secure the Public Library Future in the Internet Age

THIS ARrrcLE IS AN TM'ITED ASALYSIS of the Benton Foundation's Buildings, Books, and Bytes: Libraries and Communities in the Diptal Age (1996). The article critiques the Benton Foundation's use of a single focus group as a counterpoint to a national survey on citizen use of public library services. It draws on various St. Louis Public Library research studies to demonstrate how conclusions different from those of the Benton Foundation authors can be supported by its own national survey data. Although disagreeing with some of the Benton Foundation's methodology and findings , the author supports the foundation's goal of creating a strong national marketing campaign to gain support for public libraries. To be successful, he suggests, such a campaign needs to be mission-driven, balance books and computers, recognize the public library's cultural values, use electronic as well as print marketing, and frequently use collaboration as both a marketing and programming tool. The ultimate purpose of such a campaign, the author concludes, should be increased funding to install and support networked computing in public libraries. The article ends with a call for greatly expanded research to help improve library practice and effectiveness.