The new Halifax Central Library opened this month with not one but two coffee bars, comfy seating, and lots of light. The ratio of bookshelves to square footage is considerably reduced in comparison to older public libraries. I imagine this reflects the increasing importance of Internet access, but in some ways I am disappointed. My idea of a great library is one that is full of books. As an amateur academic I still require a good-sized university library if I want to do any serious research and AFAIK public libraries have never attempted to acquire comparable collections.

The Internet itself will one day be "the" portal to the putative entirety of human knowledge, so it is difficult to say what will become of "the library" as a public/private institution. At some future date molecular memory technology should enable storage densities such that the entirety of mankind's published works might be contained in a conveniently portable appliance, which would be nice for several reasons. What is to become of libraries proper is anyone's guess.