The End of Libraries?
Stanford University just removed 70,000 of the 80,000 books in it’s engineering library.
Where I live in Elgin, IL we have an amazing library. With technology drastically changing the ways that we gather information, I wonder what the future uses of buildings like this be? Maybe they will be more about face to face interaction about ideas rather than gathering information? Training centers? Community centers? What do you think?
08/05/2010 at 7:38 am
[...] the demand for printed books be then, and what will that mean for a place like the book store? Like Mark’s thoughts about the library, I’m not sure book stores will go away, I just don’t know if we’ll be able to [...]
08/16/2010 at 12:30 pm
Very perceptive read on libraries. As a librarian I see public libraries evolving in to community technology centers that accentuate literature. Strangely enough subject specialists may find the most security in employment even if the physical collection evaporates. People will seek out the engineering librarian for her or his wisdom. The public sphere will not need professionals except in technology and management. Bad news for the record amounts of graduates from masters programs in library science.
05/17/2011 at 7:27 am
[...] Last year I posted about the potential uses of Library buildings and how they will need to adapt to our digital culture. Yesterday Seth Godin posted some ideas about the future role of the librarian that I thought was terrific. Here is my favorite part: Wouldn’t you want to live and work and pay taxes in a town that had a library like that? The vibe of the best Brooklyn coffee shop combined with a passionate raconteur of information? There are one thousand things that could be done in a place like this, all built around one mission: take the world of data, combine it with the people in this community and create value. [...]