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Libraries are essential for internet access, even as national broadband projects ramp up

Aug 23, 2024
The federal government wants to bring fiber connections to every home. In the meantime, some areas will still rely on the library.
Debra Lawson, director of the Spencer County Public Library, says she doesn't know what some patrons would do without the library's internet access. "The way they use our computers, they're participating in society," she says.
Andie Corban/Marketplace

Librarians aim for better e-book accessibility

Jun 20, 2024
While e-book rentals may be free for library patrons, public libraries are still on the hook for expensive digital licensing fees.
"Because the copies that we circulate have digital rights management on them, we don't feel that we are violating anything having to do with copyright," says Sarah McCusker, head of the Connecticut Library Association.
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It checks out — libraries are an "investment that's well worth it"

Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell discusses how these social institutions continue to give back to communities.
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In Denmark, long opening hours for unstaffed libraries

Apr 3, 2019
Almost half of Denmark's libraries are open 24 hours a day.
Almost half of Denmark's libraries are open 24 hours a day.
Golden_Brown/iStock/Getty Images Plus
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The economics of presidential libraries

Feb 19, 2018
Thirteen presidents have libraries built in their names.

LA County libraries go fine-free for their younger readers

Jan 8, 2018
Officials say when young readers rack up fines, the likelihood they'll use their card again, or return to the library, diminishes.
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For public good, not for profit.

Things millennials love about the library

Aug 25, 2017
Millennials are making libraries cool again. A Pew Research Center study found that 53 percent of millennials in the U.S. had used their public library at least once in the year prior to the survey.
A library at a secondary school in London.
Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Public libraries are now lending out ukuleles, neckties, and even telescopes

Aug 23, 2017
Libraries have started to lend out not just books and movies, but musical instruments and other paraphernalia for hobbies.
Library patrons in East Boston can check out gardening books and take seed packets home with them.
Daniel A. Gross/ for Marketplace

My Economy: Using grants to preserve moving image history

Apr 10, 2017
It’s Hannah Palin’s job to keep old films from decaying on the shelf.
"Kirks' Camera," 1976, opening sequence.
University of Washington Digital Collections