BiblioTech

If we do not have libraries, if we lose the notion of free access to most information, the world of the haves and the have-nots will grow further and further apart. Our economy will suffer, and our democracy will be put at unnecessary risk. Everyone has a stake in the future of libraries, archives, and historical societies that safeguard our culture and inspire our people.

By the early part of the twentieth century, the traditional notion of the library as a "treasure chest" or "jewel box" to preserve knowledge for the select few had given way to a far more democratic mission. The library became a central point in a community ... where anyone could pursue knowledge and skills. ... The jewel box model was largely replaced by the lively, open, exciting institution we can visit today.

The near-future libraries will be a hybrid of yesterday's predominantly print-based world and tomorrow's primarily digital world.