Libraries

"Libraries are in trouble" - ex-journal publisher, East Coast university press

I heard this in a recent conversation on the impact of e-books and e-journals on publishing, bookstores, and libraries. Libraries don't get talked about as much, but - at least in Berkeley - they still receive a hefty public subsidy. My informant said that library purchasing budgets have been gutted. "They're turning into living rooms," she said, wondering aloud if people won't ultimately choose to access that digital content in their own homes. That will leave urban libraries to the homeless. They may prefer something more practical.