From Marilyn Johnson's book: "This Book is Overdue!"
"Since the '90s, libraries have become computer centers, Blockbusters and community centers, all in one. We have this illusion that you can find anything on the Web, that you can type in a keyword and the world will open up. But you can get a lot of garbage and wrong information, and many, many things get lost in cyberspace or do not appear in digital form.
"As for librarians, they're civil servants. They deal with all kinds of social welfare problems, from childcare to homelessness to people who can't navigate the bureaucracy to get benefits or help finding a job. The buck stops at the library. If we keep cutting library aid, people who can't figure out how to file for taxes, or how to use e-mail, are going to be out of luck. About 20 percent of the population is not wired; they don't have Internet access or a smart phone. They can't go to Starbucks and get Wi-Fi with their $4 latte."
If you're interested in reading the entire article, http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2010/02/21/interview_marilyn_johnson_librarians/index.html.