Replacing the library

The End Of The Library | TechCrunch

I know this sucks. Libraries have been an invaluable part of human history, propagating our culture and knowledge over centuries. But recognizing the changing times and pointing out the obvious shouldn’t be considered blasphemy. It is what it is.

The internet has replaced the importance of libraries as a repository for knowledge. And digital distribution has replaced the role of a library as a central hub for obtaining the containers of such knowledge: books. And digital bits have replaced the need to cut down trees to make paper and waste ink to create those books. This is evolution, not devolution.

Interesting points on where we may be going with libraries. But is there a future without libraries? I don’t see them disappearing, but I do see them morphing into something else. Just like the shift over the last 30 with school libraries, I mean, library media centers. 🙂