by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: February 04, 2010   Last Updated: February 06, 2010

Libraries are designed and funded to serve the needs of the public, whether in the form of books or in the form of internet research. Amazingly, libraries can be very active places, with books as the focus of many of the patrons, but with programs and services that go beyond accessing and reading real world textbooks.

The bottom line is that the search engines cannot compete with librarians for information locating and retrieval; a vast number of citizens do not own computers and do not plan to go on line; and temporarily borrowing real world texts is often preferable to online or downloadable versions in terms of cost.

Healthy libraries can and will adapt to meet the changing needs of the public as they provide computer access to those who do not own a home computer and who cannot afford to pay the relatively high internet access fees. A vast number of people do not have "at will" access to the internet, and most likely will not have that access for quite some time.

Many books are nowhere near ready for storing and for free access online, so the libraries will always have an audience for the printed versions. Many people cannot afford to pay thirty dollars for a hardcover new release, or ten dollars for a paperback, but the library can locate, reserve and loan a copy. This is most critical when considering that most best sellers are only read once, even by the most avid readers. And it is a fact that there is a huge population of avid readers who will not, or who can not afford the hundreds of dollars for portable automated reading systems and the related book downloads.

Many "how to" books, history books, and reference books that are expensive and bulky classics are accessed daily by individuals who cannot find what it is that they are looking for on line. Sometimes it is good to the full text available while working on a project, but it is a one time affair and purchasing the book would be additional clutter and monetary waste.

A visit to the local library can net a free read of a wide variety of expensive magazines, newspapers, and journals that a lot of people cannot afford. There are programs and events at libraries that benefit the community. Children have opportunities to read a wider variety of books than they can have at home. And every student knows the frugal goodness of a trip to the library for a hard to get, an older, or an expensive text that will only be used for one term paper.

While on line versions

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