State of the Library

With more consumers turning to digital media for news, books and entertainment, how does a public library compete?

Dawn Bussey, executive director of the , recently presented village trustees with a presentation on the state of the library. Her staff will benefit from an increased taxy levy and trustees wanted to know how the library was competing in the digital era. Bussey explained that the usage of the library has increased during the past ten years and her staff is working to provide patrons with more digital services. 

The Glen Ellyn Public Library is just like any other traditional library but throughout the years it's added more than just books to its shelves. Now, patrons don't even have to step foot in the library to use its services.

Through the library's website patrons can download and rent books to read on their e-reader devices like Barnes and Noble Nook or Amazon's Kindle. The library also allows patrons to download free music to their MP3 players, up to three songs per week for free.  

Bussey said the internet first hit public librarys really hard and patrons' usage of a library began to change rapidly. Which meant her group has to continually reinvent their space. Bussey has an interesting 10-year outlook on what the library will look like in the future. 

People are turning to the public library as a place for conversations," said Bussey. The physical space needs are going to change, she said they will have large open spaces that can transition into smaller spaces.

Since 2000, Bussey has noticed an increase in the amount of individuals who work from home. The meeting room usage almost doubled since 2000 and she attributes this to the stay at home work force. These trends all point to a need for a more flexible space. 

While the uses of a public library are continually changing, Bussey's staff offers programming and services from birt 

"I like change and I feel that we do still have a purpose," said Bussey.