I absolutely agree with Phil that we want to encourage creativity - but we do also want to continue to act as a gateway to culture in it's broadest sense - rather than allowing resource pressures to limit our priorities only to the written word.
Also encouraging our customers to "consume" books is seen as a positive role of libraries - why should this be different for other media such as recorded music.
Frances Metcalfe
Information Services Team
Kent County Council
Internal:7000 6438
External:01622 696438
www.kent.gov.uk/libs
-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Bradley [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 22 June 2013 13:25
To: Metcalfe, Frances - CC CS
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Freegal Music
Rather than spending limited resources on providing musical entertainment to the library community is it not worthwhile considering ways that the library staff can help the community create their own? Encourage bands into the library (Oldham did a successful 'Battle of the bands' sometime ago) to give them a space to explore music, to record their own, to help them promote it via social media resources, or to put their work onto the library website so that other people can hear it.
That would be a more positive use of resources, it assists the local community, promotes the expertise of library staff and show the library doing what it should do best; create, rather than passively consume.
Phil
Sent from my iPad
On 20 Jun 2013, at 17:00, Frances Metcalfe <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi
>
> I just wanted to throw another thought into the ring - that with generally declining CD issues as more customers migrate to music download and streaming services - how will libraries continue to provide access to recorded music which contributes to the health and cultural priorities of public libraries. If we want to be gateways to creativity and the Arts where would this be if we could not give access to the audible experience of recorded music.
>
> With this in mind I think it is worth exploring products such as Freegal (Kent has been approached as well) - there are other products which provide online access to different music genres (Naxos Music Library gives streamed access to classical, jazz and world music for instance and is reasonably well used).
>
> Perhaps one day Spotify may offer some kind of library package!!
>
> I wonder what others think about the place - and shape - of recorded music provision in the public library of the future?
>
>
> Frances Metcalfe
> Information Services Team
> Kent County Council
> Internal:7000 6438
> External:01622 696438
> www.kent.gov.uk/libs
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lis-pub-libs: UK Public Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Phil Jones
> Sent: 20 June 2013 15:59
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Freegal Music
>
> Hi
>
> I'm totally in agreement with Laura/Matthew here - I think there's a good reason why freegal's the only provider and it's not because they've cornered the market. I'd put this in the same category as some of the high expense but low functioning Library Apps that seem to give heads of service something to impress their cabinet member with but end up as expensive white elephants. How many people will identify so strongly with individual council services that they'll install a "library app", "planning app" or "bins app"?
>
> The first question should always be "is this new service meeting or stimulating a genuine demand?" and the only answer to this question is to conduct thorough research with your users and other authorities who may already have tried it. I'd ask for hard stats though as we're all sometimes a bit prone to exaggerate our successes and downplay our failures.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Phil Jones
>
> Academic Liaison Librarian, ISES & ISE
> Information & Learning Services
> University of Worcester
> Henwick Grove
> Worcester
> WR2 6AJ
>
> Telephone: 01905 542566
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> Visit the website of the ground-breaking Hive, a completely unique facility housing an integrated University and public library: www.thehiveworcester.org
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
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