Thom Barthelmess, curator of the Butler Children's Literature Center and lecturer in the GSLIS, was invited to discuss today's libraries with WGN's John St. Augustine.
The show aired on December 26 and covered a wide variety of topics, including the public library's evolution with the advent of e-readers, increased competition from retail stores and electronic sources and the role as a community center during times of economic distress.
"Libraries are really, really vital," Barthelmess said. "One of the things we've noticed is that when the economy heads into the tank as we've experienced over the past couple years, simultaneously, support for libraries goes down because municipalities are tightening their belts, and usage goes up."