I've been a librarian for almost 12 years now. If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that libraries were dying and were going to be replaced by the Internet, I'd have retired by now. The truth is the author nailed it right on the head on the very last page of his article, where he said "On the other hand, in its mutating role as urban hangout, meeting place, and arbiter of information, the public library seems far from spent. This has less to do with the digital world--or the digital word--than with the age-old need for human contact." Libraries are changing and growing to embrace the world of electronic information, while maintaining there links to the past. The stereotype of the library as a deathly quiet tomb being policed by shushing librarians is entirely out of date. My library is a hub in the community, where people can come to chat over a cup of coffee or sit and watch a DVD on a cold day or pop in over lunch to check their e-mail. Parents continue to bring their children in for storytime, but now the storytime might be filmed for a video podcast or shared with another library via videoconferencing. And I've yet to see an e-book reader that matches the quality, ease, and portability of a paperback (though I have no doubt that this will change in time). Even then, libraries will remain as a cooperative for the sharing of e-books to share with others, as there would be no other way for users to have access to as many items as they do in the library without having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on books. So don't count out libraries yet - heck, you should stop in some time and see how much your local library has to offer.
Slashdot Mirror
I've been a librarian for almost 12 years now. If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that libraries were dying and were going to be replaced by the Internet, I'd have retired by now. The truth is the author nailed it right on the head on the very last page of his article, where he said "On the other hand, in its mutating role as urban hangout, meeting place, and arbiter of information, the public library seems far from spent. This has less to do with the digital world--or the digital word--than with the age-old need for human contact." Libraries are changing and growing to embrace the world of electronic information, while maintaining there links to the past. The stereotype of the library as a deathly quiet tomb being policed by shushing librarians is entirely out of date. My library is a hub in the community, where people can come to chat over a cup of coffee or sit and watch a DVD on a cold day or pop in over lunch to check their e-mail. Parents continue to bring their children in for storytime, but now the storytime might be filmed for a video podcast or shared with another library via videoconferencing. And I've yet to see an e-book reader that matches the quality, ease, and portability of a paperback (though I have no doubt that this will change in time). Even then, libraries will remain as a cooperative for the sharing of e-books to share with others, as there would be no other way for users to have access to as many items as they do in the library without having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on books. So don't count out libraries yet - heck, you should stop in some time and see how much your local library has to offer.