I came across this interesting article today about an academic library that has established a bike lending program.  The author of this post wonders whether this type of service serves to only dilute and diminish the role – and, perhaps more importantly, the perception – of the academic library:

“The problem with offering great coffee, comfy chairs, and bicycle rentals to the library is not that these amenities are unwelcome — indeed, they are appreciated by most patrons. The problem is that they start diluting the brand of the academic library. And a dilution of the academic library brand may make it more difficult to justify hiring, retaining, and compensating highly trained academic staff.”

I would be interested in reading your thoughts about this matter.

Bike Sharing Comes to the Academic Library « The Scholarly Kitchen.