Is There Still A Point To Libraries?

Is There Still A Point To Libraries In The Digital Age?
By: Christopher Reinhold

The digital age has provided so many facilities these days that it is almost impossible for modern man to survive without the help of the digital world. The speed of growth of the digital world is remarkable, and in the near future all the information will be digitized and available to everyone across the globe. This massive explosion of information has only been possible due to the invention of the internet and the “generous contribution” goals of many organizations.

Many digital libraries have been formed that are accessible by everyone across the globe, and contain information that was previously beyond the reach of individuals. Many people might think that the internet age would never out date the traditional text book age. They think that the internet cannot possibly replace the utility of books and text journals written the ‘old fashioned’ way.

They might be right for the current era, as there are still many books, journals, and scripts etc that are still not available online and are only available via traditional sources i.e. libraries; the fact still remains that if we consider the pace at which these libraries are being digitised we might see all the information available in books in digital form in the near future.

According to a recent announcement by a digital librarian, digital PR manager, and co-founder of The Internet Archive, the pace of converting books is remarkable and in the near future we might be able to see entire libraries available online to everyone and right in the comfort of their own homes. According to popular resources, the pace of converting books into digital signals of The Internet Archive is about 1000 books per day – and this is just one organization.

When we consider all the other organizations putting their heart and soul into bringing traditional libraries into the digital world, we just might be able to comprehend how soon the internet world will feature almost everything available online. These days, cheap net-books being made available (offering internet capabilities) have made the task even more important. With this evolution in technology, people will be able to access the internet on the go and get all the information they require without having to search for a good public library.

Where all this is true, for the time being, there is still an eminent need for traditional libraries. Many of the historical texts, books and journals have not yet been transferred into digital libraries, and thus traditional libraries are still needed for such research. However, not many people require such research and thus their needs can be fulfilled even with the current information available on the internet.

Many schools have started to provide internet facilities to students along with good libraries, so that they can search for the information they need without any difficulty. It is not possible for every institution to invest a huge amount of their financial resources to supply text material to their students. Fortunately, with the help of the internet, this task can be completed with ease. All they need are some computers and a high speed internet connection, along with subscriptions to some online libraries, and they are open to a whole new world of information.

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