I also appreciate the comment on USBs. We have them at my library, but for some reason they’re complicated to use — much more so than on home computer. So you have to get help from IT if you want to upload to a flash drive. And the tech people at the library are often busy with other concerns, they might not always be immediately available.

The Dewey “problem” is one of signage. Librarians need Dewey or LC or something to be able to rapidly locate books. Enlightened libraries have added additional signage indicating the subject areas covered on the shelves. Not to say that all libraries are enlightened, of course. I’m still arguing for scrapping LC for my children’s fiction collection and organizing by author last name as most public and school libraries do.

As for the USB devices – that’s generally a matter of funding. Libraries aren’t just replacing/upgrading a few computers to add USB or whatever function, it’s dozens or even hundreds. I do remember it taking a while to get computers with USB drives at the large public library system I used to work for – but we got them eventually.