the times are a changin'

The changes to sound recordings over recent years is truly amazing. The Way the Music Died piece was helpful in understanding some of the changes from insiders’ views and even though this production for PBS’ Frontline program was made in 2004, many of the trends the artists discussed continue today. Since this program was made mp3 players and iPods have exploded into such a pervasive part of our society and I believe this was mentioned in our session last night for class. This program in particular made me think about my time working at the Bloomington Public Library (IL) and how music cds were such a huge collection seemingly when I began working there in 2001 and how they began to decline in numbers overall and in new titles as I was about to leave there in 2007. Since that time the collections only gotten sparser it seems. The number of audio books on cd has diminished likewise in a similar pattern which stinks for me as I had only just figured out how to use My Media Mall last summer when Bloomington and others in the library system got rid of it. Now I have to find new reads from this limited format there. I was ready to make the technology leap and the rug got pulled out from under me! I think many patrons like myself in public libraries will have to adapt likewise as it’s more feasible to have services like My Media Mall than cds and other physical formats. I wonder whether music collections at public libraries will dwindle to nothing with so many using services like iTunes, Rhapsody, and the like. In schools, especially in this cash strapped state, I imagine audio books on tape or cd will have longer lives but even in this library setting mp3 audio books like Playaways are making in-roads.