Renovations are part of evolution of Bata Library at Trent University in Peterborough – Peterborough Examiner

As Trent University's Bata Library is set for renovations following exams mid-April, many might wonder: Why the change?

Also, why do we need libraries when everything can be found online?

Trent's library is set to move into the 21st century with renovations beginning in May. While the university has said it will be a good thing in the long run, some students and faculty have voiced concern over the renovation process and the library being closed for a year.

The plan, though, is part of a trend at universities around the province.

Mike Ridley, librarian at the University of Guelph, said that even though more information is now going online, he estimated only 2 per cent of the world's knowledge is actually on the Internet.

"(Librarians) are aware of sources that haven't been digitized and are in collections of various sorts so we can make estimates based on that," said Ridley. "We know of huge collections in libraries that aren't digitized."

Ridley said that statistic includes information in the broadest sense of the word and even includes knowledge contained in private homes and on videos.

Robert Clarke, Trent University's librarian, said libraries first began changing from analog to digital in the late 80s when online, mainframe based catalogues began to be used.

Ridley said the university in Guelph had such a catalogue in 1972 and that a small number of libraries and banks were the only institutions using this technology at the time.

"Libraries didn't simply adapt to the online world, they were actually -in many cases - leaders in using that kind of technology," said Ridley.

Mary Ann Mavrinac, former chief librarian at the University of Toronto and current vice-provost of the University of Rochester in N.Y., said that social changes have also had a big impact on libraries shifting in purpose over the years. She explained that in the '50s and '60s during the postwar economy many learning institutions were built - Trent opened in 1964. During this time, libraries were designed for storage purposes to house large collections.

Once the shift from analog to digital took place starting as early as the '70s, libraries shifted from being a storage place of knowledge to generators of knowledge, said Mavrinac.

But it's nothing new for libraries.

"In some cases we're returning to that model of the Alexandrian library - scholars came and they gathered together to create knowledge," said Mavrinac comparing modern changes to a wonder of the ancient world over 2000 years ago.

New technologies have posed unique challenges as well.

"The algorithms for Google will have (most viewed sources) at the top and that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best," said Mavrinac.

Ridley explained that with the rapid acceleration of technology, budgets for university libraries have had to change over the years.

"Libraries are never wealthy organizations," said Ridley. "Typically (costs) came from money spent on buying collections or even sometimes on paying staff."

Ridley also said the nature of ownership with knowledge has changed with the switch to digital as well. When you buy a book, he said, you have right of ownership - it belongs to you until you choose to get rid of it. In the digital world, information is often "leased" on a subscription basis, he said.

Maintaining access to digital information has become an increasing challenge for librarians as well, said Ridley.

"There's a phrase you sometimes hear called the digital dark age and the concept is that we're going to lose a lot of contemporary information because it's either going to disappear or be inaccessible," he said.

Ridley explained that due to rapidly changing formats - for instance floppy disc to CD-ROMs - there is always a danger that digital information may get lost in technological translation.

Knowledge preservation - in both physical and digital form - has always been an important aspect of a library, said Ridley.

Mavrinac said there is also a growing trend of collaboration in libraries with students, faculty and staff.

"Now we are very much involved in the creation of knowledge. So we've moved upstream and we work with students and researchers in the activities of research," she said.

Bata Renovations

Go here to read the rest:

Renovations are part of evolution of Bata Library at Trent University in Peterborough - Peterborough Examiner