I tripped across this column with the title "Why Public Libraries Matter: And How They Can Do More" while researching an article on self-published materials. The author, David Vinjamuri, who has no obvious library connections, say nice things about the public library. "But there is another side to public libraries in America: they are dynamic, versatile community centers. They welcomed more than 1.59 billion visitors in 2009 and lent books 2.4 billion times – more than 8 times for each citizen. More than half of young adults and seniors living in poverty in the United States used public libraries to access the Internet. They used this access, among other purposes to “find work, apply to college, secure government benefits, and learn about critical medical treatments” For all this, public libraries cost just $42 per citizen each year to maintain." Comments like this have a much greater appearance of objectivity and trustworthiness when made by a non-librarian. http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2013/01/16/why-public-libraries-m... If someone else has already talked about this article, my apologies for the duplication. Bob Robert P. Holley Professor, School of Library & Information Science Wayne State University Detroit, MI 48202 aa3805@wayne.edu 248-547-0306 (phone) 313-577-7563 (fax)