Bookless libraries?
By Steve Jordan
When does a library cease to be a library?
This was the central point of a debate about the fate of educational institutions’ brick-and-mortar libraries at the 2009 Educause Conference in Denver, as reported by Inside Higher Ed.
Despite the objections of “a minority of very loud faculty members,” (Suzanne E. Thorin, dean of libraries at Syracuse University) said, the days of wandering through the stacks are over. “People,” she told the audience, of whom many were librarians, “the world has changed, and so have your students, and so have your faculty!”
Though some centered on the need for a physical presence, others discussed how the physical space could morph to accommodate the changing of the times. This parallels discussions being held across the country (and in other posts here) on the future of the very concept of the public library.
November 6th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Keep in mind when they are discussing the library, they are talking about academic libraries. It’s still a good discussion, but there are vastly different issues between the two when we discuss libraries as a place. Thanks for posting this.