Originally Posted by Lirael
I guess the question is, what makes a library?
The library where I used to work was three stories tall with bookshelves filling every floor. The computers there could only be used to search the library catalog.
The library where I am now has a good selection of books, but it has a room dedicated to internet use and holds classes, community meetings, and employment workshops.
The library in my hometown is one small room filled with computers and DVDs, with a shelf of books that no one reads tucked away in a dusty corner.
I don't think libraries are dead, but I do believe that they're moving towards a combination of the last two models instead of the first. I think in the future we'll probably see a lot fewer books in libraries, and a lot more A/V and community workshop type stuff. Is it still a library if it has no books? I don't know.
As a child I spent pretty much every moment of my spare time wandering the bookshelves, back when the library was focused on books and the idea of public internet access was a far-off distant dream, but I personally wouldn't mind them downsizing their collection of paper books as long as they had an extensive e-collection. Then again I have a computer and thus a means of accessing it. Many people don't.
|