The Aspen Institute Dialogue on Public Libraries was created in order to understand the impact that libraries have on society and to help libraries continue to be on the forefront of providing access to information to all people in our digital, hyper-connected world (Garmer, 2014).

 

One of the results of this dialogue is The Rising to the Challenge : Re-Envisioning Public Libraries Report which defines three key assets

• People

• Place

• Platform

that libraries must understand and utilize to stay relevant in the 21st Century.  

 

No longer can libraries just be warehouses of books but must

connect people to

• their community 

• information

• the creative process

 

Twenty-first century library customers might be entrepreneurs looking for small business information, or immigrants who need to learn a new language or children who are just learning to read or job seekers who are trying to update their resume. The most vibrant libraries will provide programs, services and access to ALL these groups.  (Garmer, 2014)

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Connect to the PEOPLE page of this website in order to see how EPL Rises to the Challenge.