The library has always been very important to me. As a kid, I had access to all the reading material I wanted - Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys among my favorites. As a family with six kids on a limited income, we couldn't afford to buy just anything, so access to free reading materials was precious.
As I changed and grew, my library needs changed and grew. The small town library was no longer adequate, and I had to travel to the University in Ames, Iowa, to do research for term papers, and find more diverse materials for pleasure reading. In college, I was able to use the college network of lending libraries to find materials for theses and papers.
Now, with the explosion of the internet, the role of the library is changing even more, and more rapidly. Libraries must grapple with the changes in information technology in order to remain relevant in today's society.
There will always be a place for the Library as I have always known it - a repository of print materials, including historical documents and the like, and a quiet place for reading, research and reflection. However, each library must expand it's content and capabilities to keep up with today's environment - as any good establishment must.
Libraries, more than most establishments, have the ability to cooperate with each other, as they generally don't see each other as direct competitors. Cooperation, at this point in time, is the only way libraries can keep up with the sheer numbers of changes occurring every day. Can you imagine what it would take for a single library to keep up-to-date and current, and meet the needs of all their patrons? Just the thought is enough to make one shiver!
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