Re: “Commentary: Checking out the future” (July 12):

Your Sunday column from The Washington Post on the replacement of the books in stacks with electronic materials piqued my interest, as I am both a librarian and an avid public library user.

I have to take exception, though, to one sentence of the article: “With Plato only a download away, libraries have lost their monopoly on knowledge.”

Libraries have never had a monopoly on knowledge – they have just been a conduit of knowledge. Whether in bits or letters, paper or digital, we continue this tradition proudly. If anyone is seeking a monopoly, it’s been the Googles and Amazons of this world.

Moira Steven

Portland

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