ALEXANDRIA, Va. — It’s a sign of the times. Technology is changing what and how people read. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that the number of Americans reading electronic books has doubled since 2009. With the rise of tablet computers and e-book readers, the trend from books printed in ink on paper to those downloaded from a computer is creating change — from the aisles of the large booksellers to the shelves of the church library.
First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., recently downsized its library and offered about 5,500 of its current collection and unprocessed books to other church librarians. Most of the 500 books remaining are Bible commentaries and resource books such as Bible dictionaries, concordances and encyclopedias, said Karen Jones, First Baptist’s librarian. Some are older collections that would not be available electronically.
Audio books and DVDs remain popular, said Jones, and will continue to be offered in the library, along with titles by popular fiction authors and a variety of children’s books and DVDs. “We are trying to be very intentional in what we are keeping and giving away,” she said.
Though e-readers are increasing rapidly, the costs of licensing is more than most church library budgets can sustain.
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“I’ve been told that First Baptist has the oldest library in the Southern Baptist Convention,” she said, and a library with built-in bookshelves was part of the church’s new facility built in the 1950s. Yet books require TLC — including a lot of space — which Jones acknowledges has resulted in the relocation of the library numerous times to give the church more classroom space. A smaller room and changing trends in readership were factors in the giveaway, she said.
Younger people who embrace technology and the Internet are definitely less likely to use the library, said Lee Smith, church library director at Monument Heights Baptist Church in Richmond. He currently has a staff of 12 volunteers, plus six volunteer readers for a Thursday story time. One of them is his father, Percy, who served as library director at Monument Heights from 1980-2007, and is still active on the library staff at age 90.
“Over the years we’ve seen a decline in people checking out items and older children, youth and adults in their 20s play a large role in this. Monument Heights has about 7,000 items in its library and our collections consist primarily of Christian material but also include many selections of good fiction, biography, reference/ commentaries, CDs and DVDs and monthly magazines,” he said. “Preschoolers and children up to about age 8 and adults over age 60 are the ones who most often use our library now.”
“Nowadays the bulk of our circulated materials are fiction for adults and children’s books,” echoes Beth Maxwell of Temple Baptist Church in Newport News, Va. “At one time our library was about 70 percent reference books, commentaries, Bible studies and devotions. But in recent years that has changed. So much can be found online that people prefer to access it as they need it rather than coming to the church library,” she said.
Are e-books in the future for church libraries? Not likely very soon, most librarians agree. “I’ve only had a few people inquire about electronic books,” said Smith. “The cost of the license plus the cost of each title is not something that my annual budget will allow.”
“Free e-books are available at the public libraries in Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria and over 90 percent of our population has access to them,” Jones said. While several e-book services for churches are available, Jones said most congregations would need to be in a consortium with other churches to share the cost. “Public libraries pay substantial subscription fees and with limited budget funds it’s not good stewardship for us at this time.”
According to members of the Virginia Baptist Library Association, an independent and self-sustaining organization for workers in church library ministry, a handful of larger church libraries have begun to offer e-books. But limited budget funds prohibit most from considering it. And the stereotype that those who use electronic reading devices are young does not always hold true, said Smith. The ability to increase the size of fonts greatly enhances the pleasure of reading for some older folks, as evidenced at a recent meeting when a member brought two Nooks — her preferred method of reading now.
The VBLA offers two statewide training conferences each year in the spring and fall. To assist with the establishment of new church libraries, VBLA will connect new workers with an experienced member in their area to help mentor and support their new work.
And as evidence that church libraries are not obsolete yet is the response to First Baptist Church’s book giveaway. “We had a group from Hampton [Va.] that was starting a church library and they drove away with a van filled with boxes of our books,” said Jones.
Barbara Francis ([email protected]) is on the staff of the Religious Herald.