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I guess the public library experience varies largely depending on where you live. I agree with queentess's post that a library can offer a community more than just books. I can remember as a kid that my mom would take us to the library, and we would participate in story-hour while she took art classes there.
My city's library system is excellent. The downtown branch is integrated with other government buildings so there is a wide variety of community services offered both free and paid. Because the area surrounding downtown is lower-income, it offers opportunities that people might not otherwise have access to. Recently they remodeled and now have a cafe (soup, sandwiches, coffee, tea, etc) and also a gift shop. The revenue from the cafe/gift shop is used to fund library programs, services, and events. Our ebook selection is also expanding rapidly. I am fortunate to live in an area where the various cities pool together for one digital media library for the county. We even had Overdrive's traveling RV come through our area to publicize digital media services.
JeremyR, I have many good memories of time spent at the St. Louis County branches. Sorry to hear the quality isn't what it used to be there.
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