How is the Computer Age Changing Libraries?
As someone who works in a library every day, the answer seems obvious to me! But, I think the answer here is interesting to all. Some of my favorite passages (but be sure to check out the whole article!)...
If everyone can now carry a virtual library in his or her pocket, what happens to actual, real-life libraries? How are digital media changing libraries?
"The image of a library as a staid and outdated place is untrue," says Lisa German, assistant dean for Technical and Collections Services at the Penn State University Libraries. "Libraries are vibrant places, full of life and change," and with the rise of digital media over the last two decades, libraries have evolved accordingly.
"People are coming to libraries--at least to Penn State's libraries--as much as they ever have, if not more so," [German] says. What's changed is the way in which students use the library space.
Michael Furlough, assistant dean for Scholarly Communications at the Libraries, sees today's students collaborating more than their predecessors. Able to do solitary research from anywhere, students increasingly take advantage of the social aspects of the library, such as open study spaces and group meeting rooms. ... Digital media have helped transform libraries into communal spaces for students to research, discuss, and study together--which, notes Furlough, has made them much louder places than you may remember.
Massive digital databases have allowed researchers to re-discover overlooked knowledge, to make new connections among and within disciplines, and to find work they never knew existed.
As German and Furlough see it, one future role of the library and librarians will lie in helping students navigate a vast and shifting sea of information--a sea that only grows wider and deeper as digital media proliferate.
[L]ibrarians... still are invaluable guides for travelers exploring an ever-expanding virtual storehouse of information.
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