Putting off reading because the library is closed will no longer be an excuse as online books are to be made available for loan from your home computer.
A concept already in use abroad, e-book lending is being introduced by the end of the year as part of a revamp of the public library system, in a bid to tackle declining numbers of book loans.
According to recent national data, book loans declined by 17 per cent last year compared with 2013. This has partly been attributed to the limited opening hours of public libraries, and the lack of recent publications made available in public libraries.
Oliver Mamo.For national librarian Oliver Mamo, the decline was expected, but the numbers were increasing in areas where libraries were reformed in the past six months. No lending figures are yet available.
When he was appointed Malta Libraries’ CEO three years ago, Mr Mamo took stock of the situation and instructed one of his principals to audit all 42 public libraries and identify outdated books and new ones which had not yet been made available to readers. Thirty-three thousand books were found that had either not been put on the shelves or were not up to scratch, including junior science texts written before man went to the moon.
This backlog has been dealt with, including the removal of out-dated books. Libraries will now be asking readers what they would like to read, and when.
“I went to a library and noticed that despite an elderly population, most children’s books were out on loan. Grandparents there borrow books to read with their grandchildren, whom they babysit. However, they do not borrow books for themselves.
I went to a library and noticed that despite an elderly population, most children’s books were out on loan
“This could be because they prefer audio books, as they come from the Rediffusion generation and are used to listening to Maltese novels read out on the radio. Or, they might prefer e-books as these could be an alternative to large-print books.”
This is why government agency Malta Libraries will in the coming weeks launch a survey to understand what people want to read, and whether opening times should be changed.
“With a budget of €100,000 yearly to replenish all libraries with books, we need to know what readers in each particular locality want to read,” he said.
Mr Mamo hopes this survey will provide enough information to draw up a plan for each library that will be updated every year.
Meanwhile, apart from the soft and hard-bound copies, libraries will be purchasing English fiction e-books.
The borrowing system will be similar to physical lending. Once you log online, you will see the available titles and how many copies are on loan.
The same copy cannot be borrowed simultaneously, and you still have to reserve a copy to be able to read it once the current reader is finished with it.
This has only been made possible now after public libraries migrated to a new software system at the end of last year as part of the first phase of the reform that included also cataloguing and changing the method of purchasing books.
The public libraries’ online catalogue, informing readers what book is available where, can be found at: www.maltalibraries.gov.mt/publiclibrary/opac. The system will soon include e-books.