In 2009, print magazines lost advertisers, readers, and now, it seems, the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library. This year, the branch will spend about $385,000 on periodicals, down nearly $75,000 from the year before. The reason is no surprise: magazine closings, and a switch to online databases.
With the decline of the magazine industry, libraries — long temples to all things printed — have become veritable old folks’ facilities for traditional print media, a final home for 20th-century relics who are slowly dying off. A decade ago, the San Francisco Public Library system had about 15,000 print subscriptions. This year, its active collection, with at least 400 titles dropped, has fallen to fewer than 11,000, the lowest in five years, according to Main Branch chief Kathy Lawhun.
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This year, the Main Library boosted spending on its 106 databases and online resources from $750,000 to $1 million.
So what happens with the money saved on periodical subscriptions? This year’s savings go to the library’s book budget. So maybe print still wins. For now.
Source: San Francisco Weekly
See Also: The Amazing Collection of Databases (Most Available Remotely) that SF Public Library Offers Users.
See Also: The Collection of e-Media (Most Resources Available Remotely) that SF Public Libraries Offers Users.
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