a'tris blog: How will public libraries stay relevant?

It’s a yucky day in Brooklyn today, so I thought I’d venture outside of my apartment to do some work. Conveniently, the Brooklyn Public Library is only a couple blocks away so I hoofed it over here and arrived a few moments ago. There are some dark clouds in the sky so I think I made it just in time. Regularly I’m not a big fan of rain storms; but I’ll totally take one today. My allergies have been going bonkers lately. Anything that could help control the pollen that’s in the air would be good in my book! Let it rain, I say. I have a cup of coffee and public WiFi. I’m set.

This is my first time visiting the Brooklyn library and I have to say it’s a pretty super cool place. I’m sitting across from a section of Russian books and, staring down the isles, I can see Chinese, Italian, and other world language areas. How cool is that? I really love how diverse Brooklyn is. This area is a cultural melting pot. I feel like I’m learning more each day just from interacting with the people here and I can’t wait to see how that affects the music that the guys and I continue to create. I often feel like, while the lyrics I write are primarily research-based, they are frequently colored by my experiences. It’s always fun to look back on the early material that found its way on to appeal and think about what was going on in my life at that time. I hope that you might feel the same way.

I’m feeling particularly contemplative today so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share something I’m thinking about with you. I’d love to get your thoughts on this.

How do you think public libraries will function in the future?

Or better yet, how do you feel that they will stay relevant?

It strikes me that the printed page will go the way of the CD in the coming years so I wonder what will become of our library system. Sure, the cost of digital reading devices like Amazon‘s Kindle – which, by the way, you can use to subscribe to this blog – Barnes and Noble‘s Nook, and Apple‘s iPad is restrictive at this time; but, over the next few years, the cost to manufacture will go down and the barrier to entry will be removed. It’s hard to imagine our books and newspapers being replaced by computer screens. However, I would have said the same thing about cassette tapes growing up

How do you feel about the digitalization of print media? Do you see it replacing traditional newspapers, books, and magazines?

If/when this happens, I’d like to see libraries turn in to community centers. It would be great to see people coming to places like this to learn from and connect with each other. What would you like to see?

Hope this finds you feeling healthy!

-Mason