Physical v. e-Library: Inflection Point?

I was in a local WLN Library on an evening recently to attend an adult program and was in and out of the programming room a couple of times, passing through the main Library space. During those outs, I observed not one single patron in the stacks, in the magazine section, at the circulation desk, or anywhere else. There is, other than for programming, never a patron swarm, but this took me a little by surprise anyway. It has led me to reflect anew, and maybe more seriously this time, about whether traditional Libraries are well enough focused on present and future public needs, and whether Boards are addressing strategic plans and financial realities in a truly meaningful way. Are public Libraries at an inflection point? My instinct, based on a fair amount of Board and corporate expe…