The Houston Public Library last week announced itâs making available thousands of audiobooks, movies and music titles for free borrowing and streaming online and on mobile devices. Itâs a reminder that libraries are much different places today than they once were â or, at least, what we may have once perceived them to be. You know, that quiet, stuffy room filled only with the sound of scrolling microfiche displays, a squeaky pushcart in the distance, and the occasional âshushâ from the librarian behind the counter.
The modern library is so much more - yes, there are still stacks of books to read. But libraries are also community centers, classrooms, Internet cafés, meeting spaces, craft workshops. Even the process of checking out books has been revolutionized in the digital age.
We discuss how libraries in Houston have changed, whatâs in store for the future and the challenge of being asked to serve so many missions with limited resources.
