“Americans urgently need home access to a wealth of e-books, databases and other goodies since many people cannot conveniently visit neighborhood libraries in person, and I love the idea of a national reference service available by phone and the Web, but let’s not do away with the warm, fuzzy, in-person kind of reference help—a danger that will grow if the DPLA insists on branding itself as a ‘Public’ Library despite the risk of library enemies using this as ammunition. In fact, as I now see it, even if public librarians establish their own national system, they should avoid the P word in its name in order to keep the spotlight on local public libraries.”
From David Rothman’s post on LibraryCity.org, “Who needs ‘social worker’ librarians?[…]”