Libraries, like newspapers, are in a transition phase. They are by no means less relevant, but as the digital era matures, the ways people interact with them and the services they can provide to their users are shifting and expanding at an incredible rate. Print may not be dead, but a wide-ranging book collection may not be the only thing, or even the main thing, users expect from a library these days.
So now that the Harvard Public Library has settled comfortably into its new home, built up from the site of the old Bromfield School, its trustees are wise to look toward the future. Five years may not seem particularly long range, but measured by the speed of technological innovation, it is.
We urge all Harvard residents, those who use the library everyday and those who almost never use it, to take the strategic planning survey at www.harvardpubliclibrary.org before it closes on June 1. It should only take a few minutes. Let the planning committee know how you use the library and how you would like to use the library.
Harvard’s library is housed in a stunning building. It’s only with the help of the residents of Harvard that officials and staff can ensure the library’s services and collection live up to the high level of quality that building implies.
