Is A Bookless Library Still A Library?
23 Aug 2005, 9:31:05 am
3 Comments
The University of Texas - Austin has made the undergraduate library more acommodating to studying and social interaction...by removing all the books.
First there's the reaction: "What crazy Texan came up with a bookless library? That Bush governor they had must be behind this!" But that's not really at the core of this. This isn't an absurd "make more room in the library by removing books" -- the problem at the core is that the school did not consider study-space valuable enough to build a new building...they replaced the library, something considered less valuable to the school. Colleges can squeeze in community and study spaces wherever they can, or they build 'commons' for all-access spaces; many schools do this regularly. In UTexas-Austin's case, the choice to reduce the library's value is of paramount concern. No books were destroyed in Austin (they were moved to other libraries in the system); they simply figured books have less use to undergrads than space to sit and work.
Somehow, this college (and, no doubt, others are of similar mindset) has decided the choice is either books or study space; libraries have long been a shared study space, so their logic is that, if the books are recieving less use in the same space as an increase in studying or computering, then expand one and shrink the other. Nothing could be worse of an idea.
If a college is expected to provide as many resources as possible to their students, a library is an excellent example. The internet offers nothing special to a student in Austin, than it does one in London; a university with a well-stocked library has much more learning available than one with a building full of armchairs, Wi-Fi networks, and a Taco Bell on the first floor.
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User Comments
 I could not agree more! I work at the "Top Rated" Public Library in America and our system is slashing books right and left converting to a "Meeting Place" and "Social Center" paragram of service. If this is the future of the best, what lies in store for the worst? Posted by John Pittenger, 06/14/2007 10:59:42 |
