Kevin Sharpe details the shift in libraries from a quiet place of study to a rowdy social space over on Times Higher Education. Needless to say, he is not a fan of the changes.

At a time when student learning has never been more important, we need to restore the library to its vital role as a “learning environment” – a quiet haven of independent study removed from the cacophony of everyday life. Please may we have our libraries back?

What are your thoughts on this? Here in Seattle, our public library is a local architectural icon that attracts a large number of tourists; it’s free shelter for hundreds of the city’s homeless when they’re chased out of wherever they stayed the night before (especially on days with inclement weather); it’s a social gathering point with free computers; and finally, it’s host to job seekers in use of the free internet. Am I leaving any big group out? On many days, it feel like the minority of people in there are there for the books.

On the one hand, it’s totally legitimate that the library as social institution changes as our media migrates to new formats but it’s hard to balance the social impact of these shifts when their full impact is still unknown.