Moving PA Forward | Pennsylvania Libraries

On Monday February 13, Pennsylvania's libraries launched PA Forward before a crowd of state legislators, business leaders, statewide association executives, state agency delegates and library supporters at the State Capitol.

Part revolution and part evolution, PA Forward is a dynamic, new movement that redefines Pennsylvania's libraries as a central hub for promoting the five literacies essential to our citizens' success:

     - Basic literacy 
     - Information literacy
     - Civic and social literacy
     - Health literacy
     - Financial literacy

Visit paforward.org to learn more about what makes your local library uniquely qualified to be your community's leader of information, technology, and learning — places that fuel educational and economic opportunity for all.

Demise of Libraries?

Doesn't the Internet make libraries obsolete?

That's one of the most common questions that I'm asked about my job. 

Last Friday, The Huffington Post published a great article that said "Those who prematurely announced the demise of libraries at the hands of the Internet failed to anticipate the symbiotic relationship that would develop between the two institutions."

In fact, studies show that Internet users are much more likely to visit public libraries than non-Internet users.

The ways in which library visitors use the Internet show just how important a public service this has become.   The article's author, Susan Hildreth reported that:

• 42 percent of those using library Internet computers used it to advance educational goals;
• 40 percent had career or employment purposes, with three-quarters of those specifically seeking a job;
• 37 percent were focused on health and wellness; and
• 34 percent used the library's Internet connection to link to government officials, programs, and services.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Opportunity for All

According to a newly released national study, nearly 1/3rd of Americans age 14 or older used a public library computer or its wireless network to access the Internet last year.

That's a lot of people!

Nationally, it's 77 million people who relied on library technology to find work, apply for college, secure government benefits, learn about critical medical treatments, and connect with their communities. In Cumberland County, we had more than 185,000 people use our computers last year — an increase of 18%.

The study, Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries (PDF) documents what Cumberland County's libraries have been seeing the past several years.

In today's tough economic times, a lot of people are using libraries as their back-up plan when they can't afford the ink to print out their resume, or can't afford the monthly Internet service fees to research a new job or get information on a new prescription drug.

We're glad we can help!