Christian Zabriskie

Founder, Urban Librarians Unite

This event has a hypnotic quality to it. After being there for 72 hours now there are patterns which are emerging.

Rita Meade

Librarian

The paint on my worn out ol' library soapbox is getting rather chipped these days, but I'm about to get back up on it, my friends. Brace yourselves.

Michael Rosenblum

Video producer, Founder of Current TV

I live across the street from a library, or at least what used to be a library. The Donnell Library on West 53rd Street. Today, it is a big hole in the ground.

Foz Meadows

Author, blogger, bipedal mammal with delusions of immortality and carbon-based lifeform extraordinaire.

If someone too poor or otherwise unable to buy a specific product is given that product for free, has the product's creator lost a sale?

Impatient Optimists

Blog of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Pew found that 91 percent of Americans (16 or older) say that public libraries are important to their communities, and 76 percent say libraries are important to them and their families. I can't think of another idea, place, or issue that 91 percent of Americans support.

Caitlin Moran

Columnist, Author

A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination.

Haipeng Li and Janice M. Rice

University Librarian

Libraries are necessary to support these dreams, since they are the public institutions that new Americans and diverse groups rely on the most to support continued education, and English language and technology skills needed to thrive and compete in today's competitive global market.

Molly Raphael

President, American Library Association (ALA)

To the surprise of many readers, public library e-book "shelves" now sport gaping holes. The Witness by Nora Roberts? Unseen. The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark? Missing. Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs? DOA.

Christian Zabriskie

Founder, Urban Librarians Unite

Google has not killed the library and ebooks won't do it either. The biggest threat to the public library in American culture is limited hours.

Brad Meltzer

Host, The History Channel's Brad Meltzer's Decoded

In our schools today, there are many Mrs. Spicers, teachers who work away from the spotlight, going about the business of inspiring their students to aspire to greatness. This is especially true of our school librarians.

Larry Eichel

Project Director, Philadelphia Research Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts

Revenue-challenged local governments have cut back on contributions to library budgets -- at a time when libraries are being asked to perform a new and changing range of functions.

Susan H. Hildreth

Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services

People depend on libraries now more than ever. I see three big goals for libraries: provide engaging learning experiences, become community anchors, and provide access to content even as the devices for accessing that content change rapidly.

Erinn Batykefer , Laura Damon-Moore and Christina Endres

Co-Founder, Library As Incubator Project

Libraries can be an office, a gallery, a performance space, even a studio. Take, for example, the ArtWalk gallery space in the Hartford Public Library in Hartford, CT which will be featured on the site soon. It's a gorgeous, spacious exhibition area attached to the library.

Christian Zabriskie

Founder, Urban Librarians Unite

Urban Librarians Unite started as a way to get librarians to exchange ideas. Over time, we've cultivated an effective mix of Social Media and old fashioned advocacy. The stereotype of the quiet, meek librarian has given us a lot to play with.

Carl Harvey II

President, AASL

As the leader of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and an educator, I am struck by the lack of support for school libraries from federal and local governments. Do decision makers fully realize how their lack of support will hinder the education of America's next generation?

Ramon Resa, MD

Father; Pediatrician

As time goes by, and our reliance on electronic gadgets increases, there will be less funding provided for our beloved brick-and-mortar establishments. We must never let this happen.