Question: Libraries in 2030?

Posted on by

The theme for August from the National Year of Reading 2012 is “question”.

So my questions relate to “What will the library look like in 2030?”

What will a library look like when all the books are eBooks? Will physical books survive the tsunami of eBooks?

Will the prophesized vision of the library from the original Time Machine movie be our reality? I recently tried to remind some colleagues about the scene from this movie where the dusty books in the Grand Old library disintegrate at the Time Travellers touch, and they all looked at me with blank stares alarmingly similar to the blank stares of the future human race in this movie!

When searching YouTube for a clip I found this Lego version:

How will serendipitous discoveries occur?

How will the curious readers find great reading material unfettered by firewalls, logins, advertising, and Big Brother watching?

Will the “library as haven” as quoted by Alan Bennett become a quaint memory of a bygone era? This article reports Alan Bennett and others campaigning against library closures in the UK last year.

The Library Book is a collection of short stories about libraries offered by Alan Bennett. One story The Defence of the Book by Julian Barnes provides a vision of one possible future if library closures occurred.

This image from The Time Machine of the library of the future has always stuck in my mind:

4 thoughts on “Question: Libraries in 2030?”

  1. Dear Sue
    The future of school libraries is looking more like a cafe with some coffee books and usb ports! Hope you are well. Kind regards Melissa Campbell

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Melissa, Nice to “hear” from you. Are you still at that same school in the south? I have been attending some interesting future scenario planning sessions that have been very interesting, but still so much is unknown. Who can predict? I am also following Alana and Mike’s travel blog with interest and envy. They look so happy, smiling in nearly every photo. Hope things are good with you. Kind regards, Sue

      Reply ↓

  2. Dear Sue
    Was thinking of you after the LA football incident. Still at GGS and at St Caths in Toorak. Recently met a school librarian that doesn’t have a book stack at all! I still love books. TC has a new library but archives was squeezed down so Old girls are in the old music rooms! Karma!
    pass on my regards to Alana. My email stookegal@gmail.com Have just moved to Elwood and life is good.
    Kind regards Melissa

    Reply ↓

Leave a comment