Libraries’ choice: Change or fade into oblivion

When librarians at the Skokie Public Library near Chicago moved their reference collection online and got rid of the massive print volumes, they suddenly had a lot of newly freed-up space.

Carolyn Anthony, the library’s director, also serves on the Skokie Chamber of Commerce. She saw that after the economic downturn, many workers who’d lost their corporate jobs were starting businesses out of their homes. In fact, the fastest-growing segment of the chamber was now start-ups with fewer than five employees — many of them with just a single person running the entire operation, often out of a spare bedroom or home office. Working from home is fine, she thought, but meeting clients in a coffee shop gets old fast.

Greg Toppo, USATODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/07/changing-libraries-digital-age/9862861/