Libraries in the digital age

I have had many conversations with people I do and do not know about my return to school and my choice of professions I would like to have. Many people jump in and ask, " Why a library? Books are being phased out, everything is being digitalized. "

I wonder why so many people have this idea that a library is a place that houses books, still governed by one old lady who finds stuff using a card catalog. At which point the patron must then spend hours going through the books for information they could easily find at home with their phone and Google?
Libraries like any other company have grasped technology for what it is, a tool. A tool that is widely used. "The advancement of technology enables ever larger groups of libraries to participate in shared systems that manage their collections and enable access to their communities." (Smart Libraries Nov. 2014 issue) . Most libraries are also up to date with social media and regularly use it to promote themselves (Link to further reading on libraries and social media), just like other companies. Most libraries have free Wi-Fi and patrons are encouraged to use computers found within their facilities. Technology is all around us, libraries do not compete with it, they use it. As Richard P. Hulser, M.Ed.,M.L.S., Chief Librarian of the Natural History Museum of LA told us, " A library is not a place it is a thing. "

Libraries are also many different types and while all use technology to help keep their business running efficiently and helping to bridge the digital divide, the different types of libraries also have different reasons to cherish their book collections and not fall victim to the belief that the Internet will take over the Library.

Why books are needed:
School libraries - Elementary schools. Students still need to learn to read. They learn best by engaging all their senses. Touching the letters and pages, listening to read out louds, looking at beautiful illustrations, smelling the print.
Jr and Senior High schools.  Students need to learn research. Google may have answers but it is hard to prove the Internet is giving correct information.

Link to Lincoln Meme
Public Libraries - Even in this digital age a large amount of room is devoted to books. I think the reason is because the demand is still there.
Museum and University Libraries - Not everything is on the internet. Notes a professor wrote about a specific experiment, tests or other research has not all been scanned. It takes time and money and most funding is not there. Also there is a history behind books. You would not get the same awe from viewing a 200 year old book as you would if you were feet from it, watching the pages turn, knowing someone painstakingly wrote every single page with out electricity or even a ball point pen.

To me, libraries are just like any other company providing a service and information. They have combined technology into their programs but they are not in direct competition with it.