Demand for library books on the slide

Library book issues in all Wairarapa libraries are dropping and the internet, fine weather and increasing fees are being blamed.
Comparing last month with February 2004, all five Wairarapa libraries show a reduction in book issues.
Masterton issued 20,797 books in February, compared with 22,035 in February, 2004; Carterton 5593 (6382), Featherston 3236 (3604), Greytown 3016 (3194) and Martinborough 2912 (2950).
Sunny days are notorious for keeping people outside and taking part in more active leisure activities, the internet offers immediate information without leaving home and user charges take away the incentive to use the library when they soak up discretionary money.
These are all reasons Wairarapa libraries cite for the drop, and it's an increasing challenge for them to keep the book attraction up.
Ewan Hyde, from the Carterton district library, said the continuing drop in issues had been plaguing librarians for months.
He said it was a national trend that had been the subject of many library seminars and conferences as librarians grapple with the changes in information delivery.
It has been said that librarianship is one of the fastest changing professions in the world and with the most challenges to face, according to Mr Hyde.
The libraries are an integral part of that change. They offer a range of information sources including reference databases, homepages on their websites along with email and internet services.
Both Mr Hyde and Sandy Green at Masterton Library report that they are as busy as they've ever been, but their customers don't always head for the books to take away.
Mr Hyde said his library sees a lot of tourists in the holiday season heading for the email service while Mrs Green notes the newspapers and computers are popular in Masterton.
The Carterton library charges 50c a fiction book and Mr Hyde says he experiences many older people budgeting carefully for that cost.
Mrs Green agrees that user charges can soak up people's discretionary money.
Mr Hyde's book purchase budget is $30,000 a year and this is divided roughly among the children's, fiction and non-fiction sections.
Non-fiction books are expensive, he says, but these are the ones many people are asking for as universities and polytechnics allow more home study.
"It puts a demand on text books we simply can't afford to have in the library and it's discouraging not to be able to supply".
Another changing role for libraries is the social service that's beginning to emerge. He says people are using the library as a drop in centre for some company and conversation, whereas in the past there were more social agencies open to them.
"That's fine, but it's another change we have to accept and reveals how much creative thinking outside the square is needed in libraries today."