Library and Internet Instead of Library or Internet
Sipos Anna Magdolna dr.
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PTE FEEK Könyvtár- és Információtudományi Intézet
The intensive process of the electronic transformation of libraries in Hungary started in the second half of the 1990s. At first, the most important task was to manage cataloguing and circulation electronically; later, integrated library software was introduced, and finally, libraries began to offer online services of different types and levels. These changes became most clearly evident to library users at the final stages. The online, web-based services made it possible for library users to use many library services without having to make the trip there personally. Library services adapting to the mobile and faster lifestyle of the 21st century have become more widely available all over the world: so much so that by now online library services are more dominantly used than regular library services, and the trends indicate that this tendency is going to increase in the future. This statistically supported trend demonstrates that there is a great and ever-increasing social demand for libraries as content-providing organizations, and thus, instead of discussing the question of libraries or the Internet, we should focus on libraries in conjunction with the Internet.
The presentation discusses how the above-mentioned trends and processes along with the more widely available new services are impacting library use in Hungary. How has the ratio of in-person and remote library use changed? It is also discussed whether the primary users of different types of libraries meeting various types of demands are any different from each other in this aspect or these tendencies are present and typical in all library types. As the Hungarian national library statistics started including data on remote use in 2006, the presentation will discuss the data of the past seven years (2006-2012).