Can Architects Save Libraries from the Internet?

theodp writes "Slate has an interesting photo essay exploring the question of how to build a public library in the age of Google, Wikipedia, and Kindle. The grand old reading rooms and stacks of past civic monuments are giving way to a new library-as-urban-hangout concept, as evidenced by Seattle's Starbucks-meets-mega-bookstore central library and Salt Lake City's shop-lined education mall. Without some dramatic changes, The Extinction Timeline predicts libraries will R.I.P. in 2019."

urban hangout? try indigent hangout

[boguslinks]

The grand old reading rooms and stacks of past civic monuments are giving way to a new library-as-urban-hangout concept

As opposed to the library-as-indigent-hangout concept, which has been around for decades or maybe centuries.

Re:The better question is: should they?

[garett_spencley]

"Being an antique book collector myself, I would hate to know that precious antique books are being touched by people who don't wash their hands, or worse."

Or worse ?

Does your wife know that you collect these kinds of books ?

Re:The better question is: should they?

[Naughty Bob]

I don't think you can get a better question than 'Can Architects Save Libraries from the Internet?', only different ones:

Can jealousy save biscuits from a motorbike?

Can mice protect oscilloscopes from Scientology?

Should tardigrades steal tarte-tatin from the middle-eight of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Freebird?

Tune in next week, same bat-time etc. etc....

Check out Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge

[Exp315]

A fine novel by a fine SF author (review: http://blog.wired.com/tableofmalcontents/2006/11/vernor_vinges_r.html [wired.com]) He forecasts (probably tongue-in-cheek) the end of paper-book libraries when a private company gets the contract to digitize all the remaining paper books by the equivalent of the Human Genome Project "shotgun" technique. Their quick and efficient method of digitizing is to throw multiple copies of the book into a shredder, blow the fragments down a tunnel lined with scanning cameras, and fast computers piece all the fragments together to make a 99.99% accurate representation of the original text. Naturally they are opposed by book lovers who consider this horrifying - but it's all incidental to the main story line. I love Vernor Vinge's ideas!

Re:Extinction Timeline

[amccaf1]

Agreed. Half of the stuff on the so-called Extinction Timeline looks like it was put on there to a) cause controversy b) be silly and light-hearted.

Land-line telephones gone by 2011? Can anyone see that happening?

Retirement? Gone before 2020? What does that even mean? We're going to pull people out of nursing homes and stick them back into their factory jobs?

Lunch will be gone by 2030?

The phrase "thank you" will be gone by 2013? Are they anticipating us all switching over to LOLCAT talk by then and ending conversations with: "KTHXBYE"?

Re:Extinction Timeline

[snarkh]

Lists of predictions by 2050. Not bad.

Re:why not provide some improvements

[sconeu]

Growing up, I used the library to be able to freely read books.

Cue the MAFIAA saying this guy is a thief for not paying for his reading.

Self Appointed Prophets

[dreamchaser]

It gives the so called, self appointed 'technologists' something to do other than produce any useful work.

Here is my prediction: By 2020 people will finally get sick of these self appointed prophets and will hook them up to the Matrix to use as power sources.