Carey Hagan has worked as a librarian for seven years at Fairfax County Public Library, where she handles front desk responsibilities and provides reader services. As digital readers grow in popularity, libraries are adapting to the changing landscape by embracing electronic reading and launching initiatives to negotiate affordable access to digital content from publishers. The future of libraries and digital content was a key topic of discussion at the 2013 American Library Association conference.

1. By Carey Hagan

2. Introduction
 Carey Hagan is the former assistant cataloguer at Catholic
University Library. For the last seven years, she has served
as the librarian at Fairfax County Public Library, handling
the majority of front desk responsibilities while also
providing reader’s advisory services to the library’s patrons.
Carey Hagan is a member of the American Library
Association (ALA), which is actively involved in shaping
the future of access to electronic literary content.
As digital readers become more and more popular, many
people are wondering what will happen to newspapers and
physical books.

3. Going Digital
 This leads to several questions involving the future of
libraries in America. According to a new article entitled
Digital Content: What’s Next?, librarians all over the
country are well on their way to embracing the challenges
and benefits of electronic reading.
The ALA has launched a Digital Content Working Group to
demand affordable access to electronic resources produced
by the country’s leading publishing houses. In 2012, the six
largest houses either refused to lend new digital titles to
libraries or offered economically unfavorable deals. The
future of American libraries in regards to electronic
reading was discussed at length during the 2013 Annual
American Library Association Conference in Chicago.