The Long Tail

Anderson posits that the rise of the long tail is due to technological advances such as the internet and DVR. We are no longer constrained by shelf space or even time. This allows the rise of the niche market and the population has shown its enthusiasm in diversified interests.

Do I think libraries are set to benefit from the long tail? No. There are precursors in place, such as ILL and electronic resources. But, ILL can be expensive and I'm not sure that the average library user even knows about ILL outside of their own county system or consortium. The selection of electronic resources is still seriously lacking and can't be downloaded onto iPods, alienating a large portion of potential users. In short, I do think libraries have the potential to serve the populations increasing varied interests, but I anticipate funding as a major obstacle.

The timing of this article from The Times in London could not have been more apropos. Among the article's recommendations:

• extending weekend and evening opening hours
• introducing a web-based lending service with home delivery
• diversifying reading material to lure young people, for example with comics, film scripts and music lyrics
• consider a tie-in with Amazon, the online retailer, allowing users to order a new book for a friend once they had read the library copy