The future of libraries
So many people have been wondering about the state of libraries. With the advent of electronic resources, kindles, nooks and ipads, where does that leave the future of the public library? If suddenly, the library is not buying books anymore, what will fill the shelves?
Thankfully, for lovers of the printed word, we are not anywhere near the emptying of our shelves. The majority of folks still want to touch the pages of a book; they want to flip the cover and study the photograph and read the bio of the author, they want to leaf through the pages and see how far they have left until the end of the chapter. These are tangible interactions with an object that no electronic device can completely duplicate, yet.
But we librarians do not want to stick our heads in the sand and firmly oppose all technology. Despite the complications of new formats, change is coming to the publishing world. Much like media, from 8 tracks to streaming, the printed word is finally catching up. And when is the last time the format changed for books? With the advent of the printing press, how many centuries ago was that? Libraries or repositories of a culture’s information have been around long before the printing press and will surely survive the demise of the printing press.
 Founded circa 300bc, the Great Library of Alexandria was the most famed literary repository of the ancient world.
There is a movement in England that refers to libraries as “the idea store.” I rather like that. The Radford library certainly strives to be the location for ideas from tots to seniors, a mental workout and a place to engage in stimulating conversation with your neighbors. And to prove the popularity of this library, our attendance at programs during the last twelve months increased over 23%. The number of people with a library card increased 7%. So not only has the kindle Not killed this library, but you can check them out here, you can also check out a laptop for two weeks and take it on that business trip. Come into the idea store in Radford and find out more.