They've been around since the time of the Ancient Egyptians, but the humble library is probably going through its biggest change right now. They're all about the books, right? Not anymore.

Public libraries have become central to communities the world over, but what were once bastions of literature have found themselves invaded by technology. No longer are they just a place for borrowing (and forgetting to return) books. Don't fancy reading a Dickens novel? Read your emails instead.

Computers have become an integral part of this much-loved institution. The Internet, Microsoft Office and digital magazines are all available for you to use at your leisure. With the event of the e-book, it was thought that the library would, one day, be no more. But the knockers hadn't bargained on these not exactly flying off the digital shelf, nor taken into account the fact that some people would much rather flick through a paperback after staring at a computer screen in the office all day.

Nowadays it would seem that the public library is a place that brings together young and old; where ancient tradition and 21st-century innovation coexist. A new and exciting chapter seems to be unfolding.