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Hawaii’s public libraries step up digital offerings
To view more photos from the article, visit HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER – Written by Esme M. Infante, 07/25/2022 – Page B01
Don’t bother asking state Librarian Stacey Aldrich whether public libraries are becoming obsolete in this digital age. Librarians get asked this a lot. She’s got her rebuttals ready.
Aldrich will tell you that the islands’ 51 public libraries are not going extinct. On the contrary, she says, Hawaii’s libraries are robustly evolving, and they’re as needed and as popular as ever. Some sites are sporting fresh new looks and programs, including a new e-sports center and a budding telehealth partnership. And at least two new libraries are in the pipeline, in Waikoloa and Pahoa.
What is obsolete, Aldrich said during a recent interview, is the outdated stereotype some folks still maintain of libraries as silent repositories of dusty old tomes. “Many people have a set mental model of public libraries being just about books. But we have been about more than just books for a long time,” she says, setting straight the signature bold-rimmed glasses she sometimes wears. Since 2015, Aldrich has led the nation’s only statewide public library system in its ongoing shift toward more digital offerings, updated special programs and greater public access. Today’s libraries are becoming
more colorful, high-tech in spots, noisy at times, places to celebrate culture, places for families to gather, she says — the updated vision is libraries as broad community centers, providing all comers with “equal access to these opportunities to build their future.”
Written by Esme M. Infante / EINFANTE@STARADVERTISER.COM