Libraries are changing, but I think they are as important as ever. They may eventually contain fewer paper books, but they will always be a place to quietly read or study, to find help with research, or perhaps even find a date.
I think libraries should remain libraries. I don't like when a library is called a "learning commons" or "resource center". They are still libraries no matter what you call them, just as a "judicial center" is still a courthouse and a "public safety building" remains a police station. (Though I understand that a combined police and fire station might be sensibly called a public safety building.)
I hear the case made that as society becomes more digital, public libraries are more important than ever, since they provide internet access to those who can't afford it at home. Sure, that is true. But public libraries shouldn't serve only the poor. They should be celebrated public places with resources and an atmosphere rich enough to attract people from all walks of life.
It is an interesting time to build new libraries or renovate old ones. Nobody knows exactly what kind of physical space we will want in a library in the years ahead. Maybe we will still have a lot of books. Maybe no books. Or perhaps it will be typical for libraries to contain a small archive of particularly important paper books as technology makes them impractical for everyday use.
Perhaps paper books will become obsolete. A physically adaptable public space in a rapidly changing world, however, will not become obsolete.
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