Libraries Are More Relevant Than Ever

Luis Herrera

Luis Herrera is the city librarian of San Francisco.

December 27, 2012

The public library is a true American invention. Perhaps no other place captures the values of freedom of expression and democracy like this venerable institution. Libraries represent what we should never take for granted: the freedom to read, the freedom to choose and the freedom to share our ideas. The library’s mission to provide free and open access to information in all its myriad formats remains constant.

But libraries across the nation are in a state of transformation. A key issue is the transition of the publishing industry from print to electronic materials, especially as the industry grapples with allowing libraries to buy and circulate e-books to meet the growing demands of readers.

Libraries are a place for personal growth and reinvention, a gathering place for civic engagement.

Libraries are successfully moving from analog to the digital age by providing access to a broad range of digital and multimedia tools that will prepare future generations with 21st-century technology skills. Across the nation, public libraries are the No. 1 point of online access for people without Internet at home, school or work. One hundred percent of public libraries now offer access to the Internet and 90 percent offer technology training. Libraries are finding creative ways to address patrons’ technology demands. Several years ago, San Francisco Public Library began allowing patrons to check out laptop computers to use in the library. This is now the highest-circulating item in our system.

Visit a public library today and you will see a hub of activity. In San Francisco, our computer labs thrive as drop-in resource centers for job seekers and small business entrepreneurs. Librarian-led workshops teach basic computer skills (in Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish and Russian) and help avid readers of all ages to download free library e-books onto tablet computers and other devices.

Libraries are more relevant than ever. They are a place for personal growth and reinvention, a place for help in navigating the information age, a gathering place for civic and cultural engagement and a trusted place for preserving culture. While the technology for accessing library materials has changed and will continue to change, our mission – to inform, to share and to gather – will not.

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Topics: books, libraries

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