The Role of Libraries in a Time of Rapid Technological and Social Change

As writers and analysts at New America, we seek out innovative approaches to learning, community-building, and healthy use of digital media—and libraries are increasingly emerging as institutions that have a lot to offer on each front. Libraries are no longer just places for borrowing books; they are places for checking out wireless hotspots, sewing machines, fishing poles, and more. They have become new arenas for making and coding, for vlogging and podcasting, for learning new languages, or preparing for job market re-entry. Some innovative libraries and school systems collaborate to wrap school IDs and library cards into one. Other libraries revise policies to better co-align with their community's needs, such as eliminating overdue fines. This growing collection of articles is designed to help tell the story of the evolution of one of society's greatest community institutions.