Saturday, September 23, 2006

Back to the Future (Thing #15)

So now we are coming to the crux of the matter. What place does technology have in libraries and how will libraries adapt, embrace and innovate as we move forward? I agree with all of the perspectives to one degree or another, but through it all, I'm seeing a lot of ideals, a lot of theory, but am still left wondering how this will all be played out in the real world.

And therein lies my real concern with all this talk about the next wave of libraries. It all seems somewhat elitist to me. I don't see any discussions about how this will affect those who don't fit within its parameters. I'm thinking of the senior population, the working class poor, and immigrants. Will the library of the future leave those people behind, or embrace them?

There's no question that we're in a transition period, and I'm the last one to consider myself some kind of Luddite, but it will be interesting to see how this all plays out, and if we can come through this better serving the communities to which we belong.

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