Monday, September 1, 2008
Libraries Lost
Okay let me start off by saying Fred White's opinions are a little over the top. He makes libraries sound like the greatest thing in the world and he say's that online resources lead "you farther and farther from your original subject instead of shedding new light on it". I disagree with that. For me online resources help me out a lot. When I am trying to find books in a library for a particular assignment it sometimes get frustrating not knowing where to start looking. However I do agree that when looking through stacks of books in a library you sometimes find a book that you were not necessarily looking for but you found interesting. I think that storing books in metal crates and having "robotic arms" retrieve those books for you is an interesting system. It is a system for the 21st century and I believe it will make it a lot easier to find a specific book you are looking for. I am not saying that every library should inherit this new system, but I am not saying they shouldn't either.
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2 comments:
I agree with you when it comes to technology in libraries: it's a very good thing (I would not want to go back to the card catalog days!). Online journal articles are the best! But, I do think that there is something very unique about searching the stacks of books and finding something unexpected. Can this be replicated on a computer screen? Perhaps. There are some amazing electronic book readers out there now, too. (Imagine downloading your entire Naked America reading list onto one little portable computerized book!)
Take a look!
http://alumni.libraries.psu.edu/libtodaySony.html
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