Thank goodness -- no RIP for libraries

Our high-tech, Web-driven world has caused some to wonder and worry if this spells death for public libraries. Thankfully, that doesn't appear to be the case in the places where smart library leaders get the support they need to evolve with the times.

Actually, libraries have never been more important. They have been historic equalizers, helping people who lacked access to information from other sources, including their homes. Today, the knowledge of how to get and leverage information can spell the difference between a lifetime of lousy jobs and real earning power. That bank of computers with free Web access at your local library can change someone's life.

But libraries are so much more than that. When our kids were young, we loved taking them to story hours, and they enjoyed walking down the aisles picking out books. I picture my mom walking a few blocks to her neighborhood library for large-type, Western novels for my Dad to read. With about a seventh-grade education, my father didn't discover reading books as something of interest until he was well into his retirement years. They also enjoyed borrowing free movies. (And if I were half as thrifty as my Depression-era parents, I'd have a lot more money.)

Our story today from the Courier-Journal in Louisville pointed to libraries around Kentucky that face soaring demand for books and services. One of the good things about Northern Kentucky is that we seem to understand and appreciate libraries, as new facilities in Kenton and Boone counties illustrate. (Pictured is a Crescent Springs family at the Erlanger branch.)

The story said the number of annual borrowers at Kentucky's public libraries has more than doubled since the mid-1980s to more than 2 million. In a state where literacy and educational attainment rank so low, that is great, hopeful news.