Appearance, role of libraries being recast for the future

When residents of Darien, Connecticut, walk into their new library in 2009, they will be able to read a book or magazine while sipping coffee in a cafe that spills out to the sidewalk. They will find books grouped by subject, as they are in bookstores, instead of according to the Dewey Decimal System. They will lounge in overstuffed chairs, peruse DVDs in a Blockbuster-style video section, write a report on a wireless computer or print one on a color copier in the building’s small business center. Darien is among dozens of libraries in the area that are being rebuilt or renovated, and, in the process, recast. Librarians say the changes reflect the impact of technology and communities’ increased need for places to meet, relax, socialize and even telecommute. Read the article in The New York Times.