Do libraries still need to provide Internet access?

Why should libraries continue to serve as Internet access centers?

Given the nearly universal presence of wireless Internet options and the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, it seems as if the library Internet station has become as obsolete as the physical books that Fairfax officials so disdain. They should cut back on terminals and Internet bandwidth and spend that money on new books. For years, I visited the Fairfax City branch of the library almost daily. Over a decade, I noticed that, gradually, almost all daytime users turned into game-players and chatters. The library I had loved and patronized since childhood had evolved into a hangout spot for idle non-readers. Maybe many of the costs that bureaucrats decry are bound up in this online entertainment center aspect of libraries. With the real definition and purpose of a library in mind, Fairfax officials should strive to offer what avid readers have wanted all along: a book-filled and Internet-free library.