The (endangered) future of libraries, part 2
source: http://www.scholarsandrogues.com/2011/02/08/the-future-of-libraries-part-2/
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- hoosierdaddy
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http://www.scholarsandrogues.com/2011/02/08/the-future-of-libraries-p...
It’s not as if libraries aren’t already struggling with increasing uncertainty as to their public function. Library use is down, as is bookstore use. And this leads to the even bigger question facing libraries as they are fighting to stave off mass closures during a time of public budget distress—what are libraries for these days? The role of the library still fills some of the functions that it used to—it’s a gathering place, a community center, a place to do your homework, or meet other young mothers, or whatever. But these social roles, while undeniably important in many communities, aren’t really what libraries are for—it’s a public function that libraries sort of evolved into over the past several decades. And while it‘s an undeniably valuable public function, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s what libraries should be doing, nice as it is to have them doing it.