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May 8, 2007
Internet access in libraries
Apologies for absence in the past couple of weeks: a set of circumstances too complicated to explain have meant that I have been spending time out of London and without ready access to my internet connection.
Most of the time I am in a large town on which there are, despite my expectations, no internet cafes. When I ask I am told that they could not survive because the local library has put them out of business.
Of course I have joined the library, where the staff were jolly helpful. However when I want to use a terminal during the day, there are never any - and anyhow they only allow a half hour session. When I want to use a terminal in the evening, Sunday, or yesterday's bank holiday - they are shut. It's a very poor service. Therefore one has to say it is a shame that enterprising internet cafe operators have been put out of business (and probably illegal, I would have thought, to have a situation in which the state is subsidising competition to genuine trade)
Posted by Tim Coates at May 8, 2007 11:34 AM
Comments
Like the BBC ;) I'm surprised that the library, with such a limited service, represents such competition that no-one can survive as an internet cafe. I guess there must be other local factors at stake. I know that here in Rotherham there are no internet cafes, but I've not heard that this is due to the library's provision of internet access.
Posted by: Pete Smith at May 8, 2007 12:16 PM
It seems somewhat odd that these “enterprising internet cafe operators” have been driven out of business when the Internet services in libraries are as inadequate as you claim.
Our service provides up to 2 hours use a day for library members and yet we still direct people to our local Internet cafés because, by the nature of their business, they have greater technological capability than we do. There are several other services besides our library that provide free Internet access and yet there are also many thriving Internet cafes in this town.
Posted by: Miriam Palfrey at May 9, 2007 1:34 PM
Pete
Any retailer would explain that whatever goods or service they offer, the tightrope they walk is between daily income and the daily cost of staff and rent (and council tax).
The reason why internet cafes come and go and tend to be in run down secondary sites is that this equation is a very difficult one for what they do. A pound an hour is the market rate and that limits the income. Therefore when a library offers however dilute a service and creams off even part of that potential income, the business is in a very precarious state. The days when this was a booming new service have long gone. It is awful to say but the truth is that in many places the libraries have removed the opportunity for small internet cafes and the point I am making is that this alone gives them a responsibility to do the job properly. I wish they would.
Much the same thing has happened and is happening with DVD loans
Incidentally, someone else said that I only advocate books in libraries. That's incorrect, I have never ever said that, nor do I believe it. I believe that a library should offer a place of private dignified study and these days that means having computer access freely available. If you read the manifesto in the left column "public library policy" you'll see what I say.
I stress the importance of book collections because I believe they have been neglected. I also believe from my experience that offering a collection of books is extremely difficult to do well and a full time occupation - which is another reason why I worry about the diversification and distraction of management time and concentration on other things
tim
Posted by: Tim Coates at May 14, 2007 6:04 PM
Tim,
I understand the logic you present here. In my experience, where internet cafes work, they make use of something extra, be it games (Sheffield) or proximity to shopping centres (Brum.) Old school net cafes just may not be what people want/need, libraries or no.
PS I was offering Katie the link to my blog ;)
Posted by: Pete Smith at May 16, 2007 11:59 AM
any suggestions what one can do as an internet cafe owner to make sure that this does not happen to me. any marketing tricks one can implement?
Posted by: grace at September 1, 2007 10:11 AM