The Future Of Public Libraries

The importance of public libraries as bastions of knowledge housed in convenient, accessible locations, is waning. With the instant access to the largest database to ever exist at our fingertips from home, there’s less reason to travel to a separate physical location. Not only that, but with the speeding trend of book digitization and E-readers, the notion of a warehouse sized space containing physical copies could one day seem antiquated. Not to mention publishers putting limits on E-book circulation at libraries. One of the primary uses for libraries in this day and age, it seems, is for free Internet access. Libraries have become a place for those who need to get out of their homes or just don’t have their own Internet access to laptop-squat without distraction.

Phillip Torrone, after providing stats about the state of libraries, offers a series of suggestions about what libraries could become to stay relevant in the digital era. Instead of providing access to books, Torrone envisions a future where people will be able to go to engage in the making, creation or invention of things. He sees TechShops, Hackerspaces a FabLabs as contenders for what the library could be in the future. Rather than provide access to data everyone already has via the Internet, he believes these new spaces should give more hands-on opportunities to technology that is expensive and out of reach. These spaces would include devices such as 3D printers, laser cutters and CAD stations. They would provide unfettered access to hacking, robotics, fabrication or just

With the increasing importance of digital technology and design in everyday lives Torrone believes, providing public spaces for  people to learn about these fields is increasingly important.

Makezine: “Is It Time To Rebuild & Retool Public Libraries And Make “TechShops”?”

Image by Thomas Hawk