Back when the 19th Century was becoming the 20th Century and Andrew Carnegie was funding the construction of libraries in communities across the United States, information came in the form of books and the best way to store and access books was in buildings.
That was over 100 years ago and the world of information has changed. Don’t get me wrong, we absolutely still need libraries and libraries still need buildings, and one of things found in those buildings should be books (lots of books).
However, printed pages are no longer the most widely used means for storing and presenting information. Therefore, libraries need to be more than buildings with books in them. There is no reason libraries should be confined to one place. There is every reason for libraries to be ubiquitous.
Libraries should be part of the local diner, local philanthropic organizations, the kitchen table, and the local park bench as much as they are part of that wonderful building many of us turn to for a good book. Digital access to library books and magazines, digital access to library programs and services, and library programs and services themselves can and should be found everywhere. We have the technology; we just need the imagination and the willpower.