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This article was originally published by . 

On the day after Christmas in 2009, Amazon.com released a statement that their Kindle e-reader had become the most gifted item in the company鈥檚 history. That holiday season marked an explosion of reading devices into the mainstream and posed a huge challenge for libraries. Now that people had readers, they wanted to borrow ebooks from their local library.

鈥淭here are thousands of independent publishers who, without library sales, would not be able to remain in existence.鈥�

鈥淚t was a wild time,鈥� says Keith Michael Fiels, executive director of the (ALA). 鈥淗undreds of thousands of people got Kindles and showed up at their library ready to borrow ebooks. But the big six publishers [] weren鈥檛 selling ebooks to libraries. There was a lot of anxiety about the potential of this model to disrupt鈥攖hat a library would buy one copy of an ebook and then circulate it to everyone in the United States.鈥�

In hindsight, the slightly paranoid perspective is amusing. Today, the big five publishers all work with libraries and, for the majority of smaller, independent publishers and the majority of their titles, libraries constitute a majority market.

鈥淲e鈥檝e come to a much deeper understanding of how we help each other,鈥� says Fiels. 鈥淭here are thousands of independent publishers who, without library sales, would not be able to remain in existence. Whereas something like a Harry Potter or a Fifty Shades of Grey may be able to sell a billion dollars worth of books in a year, most of the thousands of publishers and the titles that are published depend on public libraries.鈥�

For libraries, supporting small publishers extends to the community level as they increasingly help individuals share their creative works. User-generated content (UGC) is a growing focus for libraries as tech platforms make self-publishing and alternative distribution easier than ever.

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 Whether it鈥檚 a place where people can put old family photos or things related to community history, or their great unpublished novel, this has become a huge area that a lot of libraries are looking at.鈥�

Several years ago, Shareable reported on libraries鈥� as community hubs offering gathering spaces, digital media labs, community resource centers, and art spaces. That trend has only grown, as makerspaces, incubators for small businesses, and programs to support entrepreneurs and the new workforce are now commonplace in libraries around the world.

Guided by a growing focus on user-centric design, , libraries are also and reimagine the ALA鈥檚 mission to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.

鈥淚ncreasingly, a library is a place where people can create content and share it with other community members.鈥�

Increasingly, that means helping people to help themselves, whether through a that provides access to video and audio recording software, a with 3D printers and digital design tools, , or membership in a , , or library, the idea is to create spaces that provide access to information and resources of all kinds.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of out of the box thinking about how community members and library users can help design spaces that are more accessible,鈥� says Fiels, 鈥渁nd an understanding that this is something that鈥檚 going to evolve on an ongoing basis. What we鈥檙e starting to see is a whole generation of libraries that look very different and act very different from traditional libraries.鈥�

A crucial aspect of empowering communities is bridging the digital divide. In the US, of the population doesn鈥檛 have access to the Internet; another doesn鈥檛 have access to a computer. Providing access to tech tools is a high-priority for librarians as accessing the Internet is now essential for job searches, employment applications, and applying for many government services. Inside libraries, librarians are there to help people navigate an ever-growing number of online resources, as well as find the most reliable sources of information.

鈥淵ou鈥檒l run into people who say, 鈥極h, we don鈥檛 need libraries because we can just use Google on our handheld,鈥欌�� says Fiels. 鈥淏ut there are a lot of assumptions underlying that. You need to have an understanding of what you鈥檙e navigating, you need to be able to tell an infomercial from real information.鈥�

For a new generation of librarians, the job has evolved.

鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to see is a whole generation of libraries that look very different and act very different from traditional libraries.鈥�

鈥淥ne hundred years ago,鈥� says Fiels, 鈥測ou鈥檇 open the doors at 9 o鈥檆lock, you鈥檇 have books on the shelves, and people would come in. Today鈥檚 library doesn鈥檛 operate that way. You鈥檙e providing 24/7 service, librarians are out talking with community members and hoping to develop new approaches to serving the community.鈥� He adds, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really an exciting development and it makes for a very vibrant institution going forward.鈥�

A next step for libraries is to create a national system where users can access materials from any library in the country. It鈥檚 an ambitious notion, but one that the the library leadership is working on.

In many communities, libraries are the great equalizers鈥攑laces where everyone is welcome to gather, work, borrow materials, or just spend time. Whether it鈥檚 bridging the digital divide, providing a quiet work space, incubating entrepreneurial projects, or offering a way for people to check their email, libraries are designed to serve everyone and are essential in underserved communities.

鈥淭he key here is that libraries have always been even more useful for people that do not have advantages,鈥� says Fiels. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got millions of young people that have potential, but don鈥檛 have the financial resources to be able to access reading materials or homework help. Lifelong learning through libraries is critical to the whole concept of opportunity in America.鈥�

As libraries evolve to meet the changing needs of communities, they face many of the same challenges that have plagued them for decades. At the top of the list is funding. The fact that many libraries are funded with rounding errors from transportation projects and other big municipal projects, making them a small, budgetary afterthought, points to a need to recognize libraries鈥� importance and prioritize funding them. The 2015 found that 48 percent of libraries reported increases in the budget for the state library, which inspired a “cautiously positive outlook for the agencies.” However, the increases were modest, with 43 percent of the reported gains in the 1-2 percent range.

鈥淎s far as the future of libraries, I鈥檓 very, very optimistic.鈥�

Funding libraries should be a priority for municipalities as they play an increasingly important role in serving diverse populations and supporting creativity, collaboration, self-improvement, and community cohesiveness. As Fiels says, 鈥淚鈥檇 love to see a stronger recognition in terms of resources, and, certainly, it鈥檚 doable. I鈥檓 optimistic because I think there are great opportunities that exist for libraries and the spaces are going to become more and more interesting. We鈥檙e seeing a lot of libraries providing leadership in designing new kinds of spaces.鈥�

Another challenge is shaking off the antiquated notion of what a library is. Part of what the ALA does is fight the perception of libraries being places that house dusty old books.

鈥淎nyone who鈥檚 been in a good library, or a progressive library, knows that most libraries are fundamentally changing the way in which they relate to communities,鈥� says Fiels. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more community engagement, a lot more openness to the library looking at the aspirations and challenges of the community and the role libraries can play.鈥� He adds, 鈥淭his really represents a whole repositioning of the library as a community institution.鈥�

The theme of this year鈥檚 , which runs April 10-16, is 鈥淟ibraries Transform.鈥� The theme illuminates the important role libraries play in transforming both communities and individuals through access to tech tools, career development resources, skills to thrive in the digital era, and an ethos of collaboration, equity, and community. It also reflects a bright future for libraries and the communities they serve, driven by the sharing spirit that is at the heart of the global library community.

鈥淎s far as the future of libraries, I鈥檓 very, very optimistic,鈥� says Fiels. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 any group of institutions and individuals that have embraced networking and resource sharing more than libraries, I think it would be hard to imagine that.鈥�