When I was a kid, my local town had a 'leisure library'. It was a small-ish facility (10m x 10m) filled with teenage-books, videos, a few computers (back in 199

When I was a kid, my local town had a 'leisure library'. It was a small-ish facility (10m x 10m) filled with teenage-books, videos, a few computers (back in 1994!) and consoles. The librarian operated a shop where you could buy coke, pepsi, juice and snacks and there was a back-room filled with about 50 different board games, with a table that you could book to play on. There was even an alcove with a projector and a video-player and a couple of sofas. The librarian was a trained social worker who could offer all sorts of advice to teenagers who had no other adult to ask. I met a lot of new friends there, discovered a whole bunch of books and authors, learned a lot about games and computers and had a great time. The local authority closed it down after 5 years because it was unprofitable and turned it into office space. There's no way that the internet has the same possibility of offering a social/learning/entertainment centre. This community-centre/lending-centre/advice-centre model is the perfect thing for libraries to transition towards - but it requires a lot of creativity from local authorities.