The full text of the 2008 State of America's Libraries is available for free on the ALA website
One of the major findings of the report is that "Libraries of all kinds continue to be engines of learning, literacy, and economic development in communities nationwide".
Other findings include:
· Ebooks continued to emerge as a regular feature of libraries of all types.
· Library supporters won an important victory in 2007 when the Environmental Protection Agency was ordered to re-open many of the libraries it had closed in the past year.
· College and research libraries continue to find innovative new ways to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the academy.
· Libraries and librarians of all stripes continue to stand up for the First Amendment rights of all Americans, responding in public discourse and in court to unconstitutional snooping and aspiring book-banners. The right to read — freely and in private — remains a core value of the profession
