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Libraries are trying to imagine their futures with or without books.
Books are being pushed aside for digital learning centers and gaming areas. "Loud rooms" that promote public discourse and group projects are taking over the bookish quiet. Hipster staffers who blog, chat on Twitter and care little about the Dewey Decimal System are edging out old-school librarians.
And that's just the surface. By some accounts, the library system is undergoing a complete transformation that goes far beyond these image changes.
Authors, publishing houses, librarians and Web sites continue to fight Google's efforts to digitize the world's books and create the world's largest library online. Meanwhile, many real-world libraries are moving forward with the assumption that physical books will play a much-diminished or potentially nonexistent role in their efforts to educate the public.
Some books will still be around, they say, although many of those will be digital. But the goal of the library remains the same: To be a free place where people can access and share information.
"The library building isn't a warehouse for books," said Helene Blowers, digital strategy director at the Columbus [Ohio] Metropolitan Library. "It's a community gathering center."
Think of the change as a Library 2.0 revolution -- a mirror of what's happened on the Web.
Library 2.0
People used to go online for the same information they could get from newspapers. Now they go to Facebook, Digg and Twitter to discuss their lives and the news of the day. Forward-looking librarians are trying to create that same conversational loop in public libraries. The one-way flow of information from book to patron isn't good enough anymore.
1. Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series
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What pushes the Black Series up the price ladder from the SL65 AMG is the wide use of carbon-fiber body parts and some under-the-hood enhancements. Its 670-horsepower, 6-liter twin-turbo V-12 slingshots this two-seater to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds. It's also loaded to the gills with high-tech standard equipment.
2. Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG
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Capable of reaching 60 miles per hour from a standstill in just over four seconds, the S65 AMG combines opulent interior appointments with outrageously aggressive performance. It uses the same 6-liter twin-turbo V-12 found in other high-end Mercedes models but in this application it develops 604 horsepower.
3. Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG
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A strikingly handsome coupe, the CL65 AMG is more than a pretty face. Its 604-horsepower, 6-liter twin-turbo V-12 is capable of going from zero to 60 in just over four seconds. Standard gear includes a rearview camera and nighttime vision assist.
4. Audi R8
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If your goal is to get noticed, there is no surer way to do it than behind the wheel of Audi's R8. Sleek, fast and decadent, the R8 uses a mid-mounted 420-horsepower 4.2-liter V-8 to turn all four wheels. It can dash from zero to 60 in just over four seconds. Sure it's expensive, but it is arguably the most accessible exotic on the market.
5. Porsche 911 Convertible Turbo
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With an extra-cost options list as long as your arm, this two-seat drop-top offers an array of customizing choices. A 480-horsepower, 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat six-cylinder engine funnels output to all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. It gets to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds.
6. Audi A8 L W12
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The "L" in its name refers to this luxury sedan's stretched wheelbase, while the "W12" indicates it packs the potent 450-horsepower, 6-liter, W-12 engine under its hood. Fewer than six ticks of the clock are needed for the A8 L W12 to reach 60 miles per hour. Among its standard features are massaging front seats and four-zone automatic climate control.
7. Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
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The Zeus of 'Vettes, the ZR1 is a supercar by any measure. Motivating it to a zero to 60 time of just over three seconds is a 638-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter, V-8. Although it doesn't possess the amount of high-end bric-a-brac many of the other entries on this list do, pound for pound and dollar for dollar it may just be the best sports car in the world.
8. Porsche Cayenne Turbo S
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The only SUV on this list, the Cayenne Turbo S packs Porsche performance into an off-road-capable all-wheel-drive uber package. Turning all four wheels is a 550-horsepower, 4.8-liter, twin-turbo V-8. Reaching 60 miles per hour from a stop takes a hair less than five seconds. A 14-speaker surround-sound audio system and a hard-drive-based navigation system are standard.
9. BMW M6 Convertible
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The high-performance version of the 6 Series, the M6 is fitted with a 500-horsepower 5-liter, V-10, providing this soft-top with zero to 60 sprints of less than five seconds. A 13-speaker Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system and adaptive xenon headlights are standard.
10. Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG
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No sedan better captures the sleek flow of a coupe's styling than the Mercedes-Benz CLS. In its hopped-up guise as the CLS63 AMG, it complements its drop-dead curb appeal with an asphalt-chomping 507-horsepower, 6.2-liter, V-8 engine. Reaching 60 miles per hour requires just a bit more than four seconds with a top speed of more than 180 miles per hour.
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