"As librarians, the library might be the center of our universe, but we really need to remember that for the rest of the population, it’s just another errand among many tasks and duties crowding our lives. Is there a way to make this particular task easier, faster, more efficient? If so, let’s do it!"

A recent blog post over at Library Revolution (one of my new favorite biblioblogs) titled Library Service and "Drive-By" Patrons has gotten me thinking about how we need to evolve our libraries using The Six Million Dollar Man for inspiration. Remember that famous opening narration?

We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better…stronger…faster.

We can rebuild our libraries by focusing on being more patron-oriented and responsive to their needs. We have the technology: computers, the Internet, self-checks, mobile devices, RSS, IM, RFID and so on. We can make our libraries better than they were before. Better…faster…easier…more efficient…more fun.

In fact, we absolutely must take these ideas to heart. If we don't, we might very well end up like the character of astronaut Steve Austin… but without the life-saving bionic implants. Which would leave the library dead on the operating table in a society that needs us now more than ever.

What are you doing to make libraries better?