Farewell, Libraries? Not Likely!

This blog post was forwarded to me by one of my staff: Farewell Libraries?

The rise of ebooks brings up the question of the future of libraries, one that has been asked since the first personal computers hit the market. Libraries have evolved along with technology. While most people's first association with a library is still a printed book, library users today find a wide variety of resources available to them: books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, computers, online databases, ebooks, downloadable audiobooks and more. Librarians have the expertise to search beyond the first page of Google hits to help you find information to answer complex questions with reliable sources.

Libraries bridge the "digital divide", the gap between those who can afford gadgets and computers and high-speed Internet access and those who cannot (or whose PC crashes at an inopportune moment). In most communities in the US, the one place you can go to use a computer for free is the public library. If you don't have the means to own a computer or ebook reader, libraries can provide access. Yes, as libraries continue to evolve along with technology, they will change. They already have. Ten years ago, public access computers were not a core service at the Plainfield Public Library. Today, over 135 people per day sign on to a public computer at the library.

Sure, ebooks are more popular now than ever before. That's why the Plainfield Library offers ebooks and downloadable audiobooks! Like public computers, access to ebooks is just one more service we offer as the library evolves to meet your needs.