Da Vinci Reading

This article is mainly about the way that libraries have changed since they were first introduced. At first libraries were made because books were rare and far too expensive for common people to afford and keep in their home. Once Johan Gutenberg invented the printing press and introduced it to the public libraries were changed dramatically. Another man who had a very large impact on the evolution on libraries was architect Andrew Carnegie who provided the money for thousands of libraries to be built. The article provides ten main trends that have caused libraries to change and they are: communication systems are changing the way people access information, all technologies end and will be replaced by something new, we have not yet reached the ultimate small particle storage, search technology will become increasingly complicated, time compression is changing the lifestyle of people who use libraries, over time we will be transitioning to a verbal society, demand for global information is growing exponentially, the stage is being set for a new era of Global Systems, we are transitioning from a product-based economy to an experience based economy, and libraries will transition from a center of information to a center of culture. These are the trends that are transforming our libraries today.

I think that as our society evolves and new technologies become available libraries will become less important. I believe that over time all books will be available on the Internet. The day that happens is probably not too far away because so many books are already available on websites such as Google Books. Libraries will begin to have fewer books and more computers which is another thing we are already seeing today. Here at UNCW we are experiencing a growth in computers available in the libraries. As many of you may recall, Mrs. Pemberton told us about an entire new section of Macintosh computers that will be added to our library for next year. This shows that the changes talked about in the article are already underway.

-Kevin Petersen