Budgets of American public libraries are determined by taxpayers to a large extent. So, their objective is to provide good service to the public.

美国公共图书馆的经费多少，很大程度上是由纳税民众来决定的，因此，其定位首先是要为纳税人服好务。

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If you look at how the American public is actually using its neighborhood libraries today, however, you come up with a radically different picture.

如果看一看如今美国公众实际上是如何使用其附近的图书馆的，那么，就会有一幅与想象中完全不同的画面呈现在你的面前。

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Nearly 5, 400 public libraries in America provide some kind of access to electronic books, said a recent study by the American Library Association.

美国图书馆联合会研究表明，现在有将近5,400家美国公共图书馆提供某种形式的电子书。

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However, the American Library Association claims the program has revolutionized libraries, allowing them to provide public Internet access and other services that would disappear if the program were cut.

ENGADGET: Gov't may scrap E-rate funding of school, library net services

Writing just a few years after the birth of the Web, Oldenburg was lamenting the disappearance of cafes, taverns, restaurants, libraries, and other public places that were instrumental to the development of American civic life.

FORBES: 2012: Our Intelligent Return to the Physical World