Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries for Today's Complex World

Abstract

Libraries have existed for millennia, but today many question their necessity. In an ever more digital and connected world do we still need places of books in our towns, colleges, or schools? If libraries aren’t about books, what are they about? In Expect More, David Lankes, winner of the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature, walks you through what to expect out of your library. Lankes argues that communities need libraries that go beyond bricks and mortar and beyond books. We need to expect more out of our libraries. They should be places of learning and advocates for our communities in terms of learning, privacy, intellectual property, and economic development. Expect More is a rallying call to communities to raise the bar, and their expectations, for great libraries.