What if libraries are artifact-bound institutions?

Libraries are artifact-bound institutions, and as such, will be replaced as the dominant technology for information communication moves from tangible objects to electronic bits on a network. As this transition occurs, it is i mportant to understand not what libraries have done, but rather what they a re for. Libraries make information easily, publicly, and cheaply available. They are the means through which organizations and communities subsidize t he distribution of information to residents and members. Without such suppo rt, information is underused, and ifs potential benefit is lost. As the lib rary fades as the channel for this subsidy, if is critical that the subsidy itself is not lost. If it is, our organizations will be less effective and our communities poorer. BY understanding these issues, librarians can shap e the information economy so that institutional and community subsidy is ma intained, and new technologies enhance and extend information availability. If preserving the library as an institution is our focus, we will fail in these tasks.