TeleRead has always supported the concept of neighborhood libraries, especially those near schools. Well-stocked national digital libraries aren’t going to happen overnight. Beyond that, neighorhood libraries help supply the glue that holds communities together. They are gathering places, not just collections of books. What’s more, librarians can help users cope with new technology.
And so it is unfortunate to read in the Baltimore Sun that Carla Hayden, the new president-elect of ALA, has “closed seven of the city’s 28 library branches because of budget cuts and because of her hopes to infuse more services and Internet technology into the remaining branches.”
By eventually reducing the costs of stocking local branches–thanks to all the extra items that would be available online, along with the spread of appropriate technology for users–TeleRead would enable cities to expand the number of neighorhood libraries.
Meanwhile please note that the news is not all bad about Carla Hayden. Her Web site notes that “in my role as director of the Pratt Library, which manages the state
