History Has Its Eyes on You: Lighthouses and Libraries Weathering Storms of Change

Abstract

For hundreds of years, we in the United States have been protected by two venerable institutions. Lighthouses have served as a beacon on the shores to guide ships carrying both people and cargo to a safe harbor. Libraries have served as a beacon to guide people to books, magazines, journals, reference works, recordings and other media for enlightenment, education and enjoyment. Both lighthouses and libraries have been public goods with little question in regards to the rationale for funding and support. Skip ahead a few years, and things might not look so good. Since most ships have navigation systems and we have all library items on our smartphone (we do right???), questions are being asked about the future of these two beacons.

Change has certainly faced both lighthouses and libraries over the last 75 years, and certainly longer. Most lighthouses are automated and have been that way for years. While they still serve as a beacon for ships, many have been transformed into historical museums across the country. Libraries have seen tremendous changes of late as the collections became increasingly electronic over the past two years. With this change in how content is distributes, major changes to the library's physical space has been the norm all across these institutions at schools, universities, communities and businesses. Libraries have long viewed their role as one to support community members in the present and many years in the future. With the space pressures, this might be a more difficult challenge. This might be particularly true in the context of resource sharing and the important role that it plays for libraries.

In this presentation, we will look at the parallel paths taken by both lighthouses and libraries in fulfilling their self-mandated missions. To that end, we will look at the demands that librarians have in supporting both current use and future use of collections as we balance between community needs and aspirations. The change faced by these two institutions truly complicate our ability to fulfill our centuries old missions. How librarians (and lighthouse keepers) face the coming storm will have a tremendous impact on future generations of our community members.