Libraries: perfect spot on a cold day — or any day

THE MON VALLEY HAS SETTLED INTO the long, bleak days of winter.

That’s why we want to share our annual reminder to check out our many local libraries.

It wasn’t that long ago that a trip to the public library meant getting a book or perhaps using reference material for a school project.

Today, the odds are pretty good that a visit to your local library could have absolutely nothing to do with checking out a book.

What was once a given that books always will be the centerpiece of a public library seems a little less certain in today’s digital world.

Broader access to the internet has given people the ability to get a lot of what they used to get exclusively from libraries on their laptops, tablets and cell phones.

Over the last few decades, libraries have been forced to adapt.

And adapt they have. Libraries nationally — and locally — have diversified, doing a lot more for their communities than just dispensing books.

With foresight, librarians could see the changing face of media and were beginning the transformation.

Today, we see libraries as community centers, still places of learning, but places where groups can meet, those without internet access can get it and you might be able to take a class. They offer movies, music, downloads for Kindles and iPads and instant access to archives so someone never even needs to visit a library in person to enjoy some of what the system can offer.

Most libraries lend audio books, music and movies, as well as traditional books.

Library directors throughout the Mon Valley are busy planning programming — for both children and adults — on a daily basis. Our local libraries host job training, seminars, art programs, kids’ programs, health screenings and so much more.

Our local libraries are valuable assets in our communities and we encourage Valley residents to take advantage of the programming that is available.

While encouraging children to read is an important part of the libraries’ mission, it’s so much more than that.

The Valley’s libraries have done a remarkably good job of adapting to the needs of the public.

And they will need to continue to do so to stay relevant. Just as this school-aged generation thinks of libraries differently than their parents and grandparents did, we fully expect that their children will think of them in another way.

It’s hard to imagine exactly what future libraries will look like, though we hope printed books will still be available.

We’re pretty sure they will be. Check out your local library and find out what it has to offer.

We doubt you’ll be disappointed.