Monday, April 11, 2011

Are Books Obsolete?

Contrary to dire predictions that books (and reading) are dead, a recent report cited in the March 2011 issue of the College & Research Libraries News' "Fast Facts" revealed that U.S. book sales in 2010 reached 751.7 million books, just under the record numbers achieved in 2008 (757 million) and 2009 (777 million). The latest available figure for the number of original book titles published in print was 289,729 different titles in the U.S. alone in 2008. That's good news indeed for readers, book buyers and libraries.


Here in the Rio Hondo College library, our share of book purchases focuses primarily on acquiring books related to academic curricular needs. Librarians regularly evaluate and update the book collection and purchase additional materials as needed to help students in their assignments. With an annual book budget base of $55,000 (augmented by recent grants), we have been able to buy from 1,597 to 2,440 books per year over the last five full school years, including both new titles and replacement volumes.


If you have a specific title that you need for your research paper or want to suggest more books in a particular subject area, please don't hesitate to talk to the librarians at the reference desk. You can also contact us at library@riohondo.edu or (562)908-3484. If the book you need isn't on the shelf, we can help you find alternative materials on your topic and also suggest other libraries' resources.