LOS ANGELES, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Libraries are racing to reinvent themselves as readers turn to their computers and phones for information, librarians say.
They are posting more material online so patrons can peruse genealogical records, historical maps or rare volumes without leaving home.
Many libraries are also becoming digital activity centers with game rooms, computer clusters and Internet cafes. DVD collections and high-definition televisions are proliferating.
But some librarians fear they are losing their mission.
"If you want to have game rooms and ping pong tables and God knows what -- poker parties -- fine, do it, but don't pretend it has anything to do with libraries," Michael Gorman, a former president of the American Library Association, told the Los Angeles Times. "The argument that all these young people would turn up to play video games and think, 'Oh by the way, I must borrow that book by Dostoyevsky' -- it seems ludicrous to me."
The number of books checked out by the average public library patron fell nearly 6 percent from 1997 to 2007, said the Institute of Museum and Library Services. But the Los Angeles library system lent out 102,000 e-books last year, more than doubling 2008 figures.
