Libraries Are Changing

     A sea of changes are happening  at libraries.  Most libraries are bustling places offering so many choices they can seem intimidating to many people. But once one learns their way around a standard library system most libraries become much more user friendly than first thought.  I have always looked at  libraries as a second home, sending hours upon hours inside their walls.  As a member of seven different library systems my choices are limitless.  From the smallest library housed inside a double wide modular building in the community I live in to the 640 branch system of the State of Texas Tex-Share library system, if I can't locate what I want it probably has not been published.
    Libraries all across the nation are struggling to redefine their roles and responsibilities in a digital world.  Opportunities to fill a void as book stores close all over America is changing what we expect from our libraries.  Most libraries have limited shelf space so one must think of a library as a kind of store stocking only what it's patrons want.  Cozy seating where people can read for hours has always been a fixture of book stores and those same fixtures are now finding their way into libraries.  It's important to make patrons happy and get them into returning to the library often.  My home library dedicated a new building a few weeks ago.  When I first joined this library 35 years ago it was housed inside the local High School, sharing space with the school library.  Later it moved to a very cramped spot in a strip shopping center and as of three weeks ago it has a beautiful new home.  In a span of 35 years my home library has really changed just as many libraries across America have