Far from becoming irrelevant in the digital age, libraries in New York City and around the nation are thriving: adding weekend and evening hours; hiring more librarians and staff; and expanding their catalog of classes and services to include things like job counseling, coding classes and knitting groups.

No longer just repositories for books, public libraries have reinvented themselves as one-stop community centers that aim to offer something for everyone. In so doing, they are reaffirming their role as an essential part of civic life in America by making themselves indispensable to new generations of patrons.

Future Ready Schools (FRS), led by the Alliance for Excellent Education (the Alliance), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, has announced Future Ready Librarians, aimed at positioning librarians as leaders in the digital transformation of learning, according to a release. The project is an extension of the FRS initiative, which helps district leaders recognize the potential of digital tools and align necessary technologies with instructional goals to support teaching and learning.

Academic life changes greatly from high school to college. Think back to the difference after transitioning from middle school. Topics and assignments grew more refined and specialized. The same jump will occur because of the vast intellectual offerings and facilities that can support academic inquiry. At Synocate we encourage in-depth research to uncover all of the unique collegiate opportunities. College decisions should weigh academic potential between universities.

Archives

Not all libraries are created equally- some afford special access to students. Library collection differ in content as relics of the past often deteriorate beyond recognition or simply disappear. Universities typically house special records across discipline with requests processed search engine or in-person query. This is different from typical book requests as aged manuscripts and documents line their shelves.

A library has become more than a place that purchases commercial books from standard publishers,” says Fiels. “Increasingly, a library is a place where people can create content and share it with other community members. Whether it’s a place where people can put old family photos or things related to community history, or their great unpublished novel, this has become a huge area that a lot of libraries are looking at.

What is a library, except a gateway to other worlds?

Libraries are the place where experience meets narrative – where the “real world” touches stories, imaginings, memories, histories, designs, plans, and dreams. That’s not being fanciful – it’s the hard and painstaking work of careful curation, building partnerships on a limited budget, and trying to address the pressing issues of our time in a lively, inventive way.