Rising usage-figures show that the need is growing for the services that libraries provide. A high level of education is the force behind prosperity, and public libraries are a cornerstone of its infrastructure. Libraries need to be pro-active in defending themselves and justifying their existence. They must take a firm stand against decisions made only on financial grounds, such as the ongoing closure of branch libraries. They must emphasise the real benefits they provide, find and publicise the criteria that justify their existence, and define and sell the alternative social values by which they must be measured.
Public libraries serve all, and risk seeing their clients as a single group.
In fact, clients' needs are many and varied, so libraries will need to know their clients better, sharpen their services and target them more precisely. Public libraries tend to have very similar profiles but, based on history, location, clientele and other factors, every branch library could have its own individual profile. Saarinen sees paper books surviving well into the foreseeable future. Information technology is still in its infancy, but already the Internet is a jungle. The librarian's professional profile will be raised and sharpened.