My MIS for this week was in Branch Libraries on page 47. It was describing the two main parts of the "digital divide", saying "One is that many people still do not have computers, computer skills, or access to the internet. The other is that institutions increasingly assume that 'everybody' uses computers...So the computer and internet developments that some believed would kill public libraries actually provide new reasons for going to them."

I think this is the perfect explanation for why so many libraries do still thrive, it's just that many people do not realize it. Although there are so many people with their own computers and access to the internet in their own homes, there are just as many who do not or who do not know how to use the internet to their best advantage. As long as libraries such as the CPL keep up with the speed of technology and have well-informed librarians, they will not be "killed" by technology. But this statement can also explain why smaller libraries unlike the CPL might be having the opposite results. If a library is in a smaller, wealthier town, the residents may not need the public books and computers because they are capable of buying their own.