[Genealib] Declining use of collection

[Grundset, Eric]

I will only speak for the DAR Library on this subject, but I do want to add that declining attendance is very common for the major research facilities in the Northeast. Research centers in Boston, New York, Philadalphia, Baltimore, and Washington are experiencing a major drop in usage. We like to blame the internet in a general way, but that is too quick an answer. 
 
What I think is happening, generally, is that in the past people who had a casual interest in genealogical research because of the death of a parent, the birth of a child, historical interests, or attendance at a family reunion used to have to go into a library physically to find out information to get their fix. Once in the library, librarians had a greater opportunity to grab their attention and perhaps draw them into more indepth research. Now, with internet capabilities and the digitizing of major records, the more casually interested people probably think that whatever they find online wherever they find it is all that they need to know. They get their instant gratification online, accept what they see and don't see the need to go further because their initial curiosity was satisfied. Never mind the fact that what they find online is often full of errors (outside of the digitized original records). They found something -- that suffices. They don't learn how to do "real" research in "real" records and books -- that takes way too long. They also don't get to interact with a human being who might warn them that they have to be discriminating in their research and selective with what they accept as being accurate. The contact with a librarian is missing, and that is a major change and a major problem for us to overcome somehow.
 
Insofar as the major northeastern libraries (and I'm sure that some other libraries in large cities elsewhere have the same issues), we are seeing a drop in attendance partly because of the fact of our locations in the middle of cities with expensive parking, no parking, or poorly located subway stations and bus routes. These are major factors for our suburban visitors and for visitors from out of town, especially as our clientele ages. Coming into DC is a big problem for some people. I've heard people who live outside Boston, New York, and Philadelphia say exactly the same thing: "I don't like to come downtown anymore." So, our former visitors, who were the mainstays of our attendance in the 1980s and 1990s are aging, dying, moving away, losing interest, finishing their research, or can't afford to focus on it any longer (travel costs, photocopy costs, hotel stays, etc.). The newer researchers get their start online and don't always think to come into a library and spend the day or afternoon -- they don't have the time or won't make the time. While we certainly want our long-term users to continue to come, we are losing those bitten with the interest more recently because we never see them. Once some of them actually decide that they want to pursue genealogical research further, then they come "downtown." They discover all of the materials that are not online; those that don't miss out on a lot.
 
So, overcoming this situation is a major challenge for those of us in large metropolitan areas. To counter this, I've observed lots of efforts to hold weekly or monthly lectures and workshops. We've done some of that here. For us it is difficult to do these sorts of things in the evenings, because our building isn't open at night, and then, once again, there's that transportation situation outside of rush hours where service declines significantly. NARA just cut back on their evening hours and closed on Saturdays (except for one week a month). Around here we often refer to "Fortress Capitol Hill," because of all of the security measures in place up there. People tell us that they just won't go back to the Library of Congress because of the tight security in the area and getting into the building. That is distressing to LC's staff to say the least, and I'm sure they hear the same things.
 
I've also noticed a significant drop in attendance at my local genealogical society's meetings. I've been a member of the Fairfax Genealogical Society for nearly 30 years. In the 1990s we had meetings that often attracted 200 people on a Thursday night. While FxGS still gets a good turn-out, that number has dropped down to closer to 80 to 100. One thing that this group has done is to shift some meeting to daytime hours on both weekdays and Saturdays to enable people who don't like to go out at night (vision issues, etc.) to attend meetings. These seem to be very successful, but those of us who work can't get to most of these. I also have to admit that I don't often go to my local meetings as often as I'd like, because I've heard the topics over and over and over again in 30 years!! I do feel a little guilty, but just a little. It is, of course, difficult for society's to keep coming up with fresh new lectures.
 
Bus trips from around our region to the research centers in Washington have also dropped in frequently and attendance levels. All of the factors mentioned above are at play in this too. 
 
Still, we carry on. At DAR, we at least have a built in clientele in our Genealogy Department where application papers are reviewed for accuracy. Still, they are using online sources all day long too, so we've retired the census films to the basement to make room for other things that aren't online -- yet!
 
I'll be very interested to hear about any other ideas some of you might have for getting people into your libraries -- so long as parking isn't a prerequisite!!!
 
Eric

Eric G. Grundset 
Library Director 
DAR Library 
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution 
1776 D St., N.W. 
Washington, DC 20006-5303 
202-879-3313 (phone) 
202-879-3227 (fax) 
egrundset at dar.org 

-----Original Message-----
From: genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu [mailto:genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu]On Behalf Of Mary Van Orsdol
Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 6:42 PM
To: genealib at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
Subject: [Genealib] Declining use of collection


Over the past 5 years, we have seen a decline in the number of researchers who come in to use the Carlsbad City (CA) Library Genealogy Collection. I would like to know if other genealogy departments have seen declines in usage. And, I would like to know about programs, publicity, or other efforts taken to increase usage.
 
Thank you.
 
Mary Van Orsdol
Genealogy Librarian
Carlsbad City Library
1250 Carlsbad Village Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92008
(760) 434-2930
mvano at ci.carlsbad.ca.us

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