Libraries are the community learning spaces and hubs of civil society. They continue to be where more Americans go more than anywhere else, to read, to think, to write and to create. The bottom third of society depend upon their libraries for books, computers, quiet and expertise, and libraries have never been used more.

The digital age seems to have only increased the appetite for such civic learning space, and in the information age nothing could be more powerful than bringing together access to all the world’s ideas and images together with the full diversity of the populace’s talent. The library is that place. In New York, the public libraries receive 40 million physical visits per year, more than all the museums and professional sporting teams combined.

Libraries will be even more crucial going forward. They will be the only place we all gather to be and think and work together, while society otherwise splinters apart. They will be the community learning center for all ages, providing everything from after-school programs to English language and citizenship classes, to computer skills — including coding — and other classes as needed locally and not available anywhere else for free. And we will still be the institution committed to free access to information, that crucial ingredient of economic prosperity, a healthy democracy and a vibrant society. In today’s digital world, everyone should be able to connect to all the world’s information. Only the library is uniquely positioned to ensure that this vision is truly realized.

Libraries are thriving today because they are always evolving. Indeed, many of the hallmarks of what makes a great community library today didn’t exist mere decades ago: computer access, self-service check out, expansive educational programming and more. We have much to applaud in the innovations that are embedded in today’s libraries, and, accordingly, we share an obligation to identify and build on our successes. We are so excited about Knight Foundation’s latest important challenge to help inspire even more innovation.