Here's an interesting article from the Nashville Public Library's director about what they found after conducting focus groups with various people - including library users and non-library-users:

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/OPINION01/807290353/1008

One of the phrases that struck me from this article is that people want the library to be a "civic living room." This is similar to the "third place" concept that's been floating around recently -- not home, and not work, just a place to go and hang out and read magazines, use the Internet (either on library computers or wireless), participate in programs, etc.

This is a really interesting time to be a librarian, that's for sure.