Commercial 'circulating libraries' were a major feature of 18th century
culture and lasted a long time. The London Library might be considered as
continuing the tradition. The 'library' in my High Street in the 1960s was a
commercial circulating library until the public library put it out of
business.
The Mirror today reports (
<http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/09/09/we-re-boys-from-the-boo
k-stuff-115875-22547960/>
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/09/09/we-re-boys-from-the-book
-stuff-115875-22547960/ ) on what I think might be considered a 21st century
take on a very old idea. Taking inspiration from the Love Film service a
couple of college students have set up a text book rental service (
<http://www.acadreamia.co.uk/> http://www.acadreamia.co.uk/ ) to fill a gap
in conventional library provision.... ('he knew it wasn't worth going to the
university library'). I found the following comments in the article
revealing....
' ...everyone knows that if you want to do well in your degree it makes a
massive difference to have the right books for as long as you need them. I
wanted to do the best I could but couldn't see how I was going to do that
without the books.'
"It just seemed such an obvious idea we couldn't believe someone else in the
UK hadn't done it."
Whilst Acadreamia is clearly tackling a very specific need of students I
think it suggests some broader implications. They aim to broaden to service
out to schools. Maybe entrepreneurs will find a way to fill gaps in public
library provision? If we take an inclusive view of what we think of a
'libraries' we see that this is a time of boom not bust. It's an
increasingly competitive world.....
Ken
Tel +44 (0)7788 727 845. Email: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask] <http://www.kenchadconsulting.com/>
www.kenchadconsulting.com
Skype: kenchadconsulting Twitter: @KenChad
Check out the Higher Education Library Technology' website (wiki)
<http://lglibtech.wikispaces.com/> http://helibtech.com/
