Where's Andrew Carnegie When We Need Him?

Where’s Andrew Carnegie When We Need Him?

If Jeff Bezos can spend $250 million for a newspaper, you would think some of the other rich men from Silicon Valley could donate money to support local libraries.

The advent of the Internet has put lots of pressure on libraries. Now people can download books on to their Kindles and other ebook readers from the comfort of home. The idea of a library is to give access to rich and poor to the literary works of the world. If free libraries disappear, only the rich will have access to literature.

Libraries are doing their best to adjust. Many are becoming more like community centers. Some libraries are offering films, lectures, book clubs, Internet, etc.

The good news is that most libraries now offer free downloads of regular books and audio books.

In Portland, many neighborhoods now have book boxes located in the neighborhood. These look like oversized birdhouses. There are no real rules. People leave books in the “book boxes” for anyone to help themselves.

Many libraries will issue a library card without demanding too much information. If you’re a traveler, it’s handy to have several different library cards because this gives you a greater selection of downloadable material.