Our raison d'être

For some reason, there has been an increasing amount of discussion about the future role of libraries (these discussions aren't taking place down at the local bar, of course, but they're out there somewhere). People with an eye to the future seem to feel that with the exploding growth of the Internet, libraries are becoming unnecessary. Want a good book? Download it. Want to watch a documentary? Download it. Looking for information about your illness/garden/retirement plan/marriage/hotel options? Google it. These proponents of the digital future (remember the promise of the paperless society?) forget one thing: the importance of human contact and compassionate assistance.
Here is a lovely quote from David Tyckoson -

"Librarians rarely save lives, but we shape lives on a daily basis. Through the process of interacting with the librarian, members of the community - and the community itself - grow and evolve. By communicating with a teenager today, the librarian may be keeping that child out of jail tomorrow. By working with the unemployed today, we may be getting them back into the workplace tomorrow. By working with new immigrants today, we may be helping to develop the community leaders of tomorrow."
from “Reference at its Core: the Reference Interview.” Reference and User Services Quarterly 41 (Fall 2003): 49-51.

just some food for thought..........