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Technology In the Modern Library
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, August 5, 2009.
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Walk into a public library today and you’ll see tradition battling technology. On one side there are the stacks: row upon row of leather bound, hardcover books arranged by the secret code of the Dewey Decimal system.
Across the aisle: a chain of humming computers with patrons queuing up to search for jobs, connect to Facebook and print travel itineraries. Librarian William Wisner sides with the books in this battle.
In a recent op-ed piece for the Christian Science Monitor Wisner argues that the goal for any library should be the noble pursuit of knowledge, not the rush to track information. He joins us from his library on the campus of Laredo Community College in Texas to tell us more.
Christian Science Monitor: Restore the noble purpose of libraries
(Photo by altopower via Flickr/Creative Commons)
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I'm definitely with William Wisner on this. A library is meant to be full of books to be pored over. Various books used for reference and searching through different works for some information. It is a magical world to get lost in. And the joy of it lies in spending time on it. Its not for those who want quick answers.