The economic crisis of recent years has brought the societal significance of libraries back into mainstream attention. Numerous news articles have documented the skyrocketing usage of already extremely busy public libraries as people—relying on the potent combination of free technology access and assistance from skilled and trusted library staff—come to search for jobs or apply for social assistance online, to use e-mail and other channels of communication, to check out books, DVDs, and other forms of entertainment they may no longer be able to afford to purchase, and to