How Libraries Can Compete With Google and Amazon

Visit the Central branch of New York City's Queens Library at 12:55 p.m. on a Tuesday, and you'll see about 100 people outside, waiting for the doors to open. At 1 p.m. they file in: Some settle in the comfy saucer chairs, while others rest in armchairs facing four TVs and open a newspaper. Splashes of blue and green interrupt white walls, and computer areas are separated by category: job information, adult learning center, and "young adult learning."

But the reach of the Queens Library extends beyond the walls of its 65 physical branches.