Read the following passage carefully and answer the question that follows:
Public libraries have historically served as quiet repositories for printed books, focusing primarily on the collection, preservation, and lending of physical literature. However, the rapid acceleration of digital technology and widespread internet access have fundamentally transformed their functional role within contemporary urban and rural communities. Far from rendering physical libraries obsolete, the digital era has catalyzed their evolution into dynamic, multi-functional community knowledge hubs. Modern public libraries now provide critical social infrastructure by offering free high-speed internet, digital literacy training, public collaborative spaces, and access to advanced technological tools. In doing so, they play a pivotal role in bridging the socio-economic digital divide and ensuring equitable access to information resources for vulnerable populations. Furthermore, by hosting civic forums, educational workshops, and local cultural initiatives, libraries foster community cohesion and lifelong learning. Consequently, urban planners and policymakers must reframe public libraries not as administrative costs from a bygone analog era, but as vital investments in inclusive social and economic development.
Which of the following statements best encapsulates the central message of the passage?
- Public libraries are evolving into multi-functional digital and community hubs that provide essential social infrastructure for inclusive development.Answer
- BDigital technology and high-speed internet have rendered physical book lending in municipal libraries completely obsolete.
- CUrban planners and policymakers have consistently failed to allocate adequate funding for modernizing public library systems.
- DThe chief obstacle facing contemporary public libraries is competition with commercial online learning platforms for younger patrons.