Mobile Ministry Magazine

A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project looked into how libraries will have to adjust given the rise of freely available digital resources. And while many cannot dispute that fact, it might be true that libraries would have another reason for existing besides just "holding old books" that should be explored.

One area that I can see libraries fostering is that aspect of community Internet. That is, becoming a place where people are necessarily needing to get the resources for connecting, and then becoming that place where those folks who are digital natives can learn about healthy computing.

I also see libraries as a place where the traditional "quiet time" could be passed for the occasional teaching on discourse towards technical matters. Making the library a place where one can talk and prove on the spot issues relating to net neutrality, digital convergence, economic and cultural gaps, etc. Basically, making the library more than a resource, but a jumping off point towards how we mold one another in these mobile communities.

Of course, I don't say all of this to mean that paper should go away. We should also utilize libraries as a place to teach literacy, first with paper and then with digital. Offering services so that no person is left in a situation where they cannot get at least the basic levels of literacy and knowledge for this changing world is kind of the role libraries have always had, and I think that just because we are more mobile with how we attain this information, we just need to adjust how we view libraries in light of this change. What are your thoughts?

Labels: community, education, information technology, resources