Libraries and the internet, instead of libraries or theinternet

Abstract

The intensive process of electronic transformation of libraries started in Hungary 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. The resulting changes became evident to library users at the final stage. Online, web-based services enabled them to use many library services remotely, without visiting libraries inperson. Remote library services, adapted to the mobile way of life and the accelerating tempo of the 21st century, have become increasingly popular all over the world, and now constitute a dominant and dynamically growing part of library use. This trend, as evidenced by statistical data, demonstrates a substantial and increasing social demand for libraries as contentproviding organisations, consequently, instead of discussing the question “libraries or the internet”, we should focus on issues of “libraries and the internet”. The study deals with the impact of the above trends and processes on library use in Hungary, along with the wider availability of new services, as well as with the change in the ratio of in-person and remote library use. It also discusses whether the primary users of different types of libraries, meeting various types of demand, are any different from each other in this respect, or these tendencies are present and typical in all library types. As the Hungarian national library statistics started to publish data on remote use in 2006 only, the study discusses data from the past seven years (2006 through 2012).