Change is constant and it is applicable to everything on earth. The world we live in isn't immune to change, it evolves from time to time, having effects on everything that lives or exist within it. Gone are those days when the significance of something of importance depends on its physical form. That was the glory led my the analogue world but here we are in a world where everything has been made less complex and more accessable. The authenticity and credibility of a material is not based on its hard form, it is defined by accessibility and quality. It is quite strange how over time the concept of visibility has changed, is it not the reason why we used to go around carrying heavy books at hand?
We now have all sort of materials online, that could be accessible to anyone at any moment, in so doing it has reduced the need of having hard copies of materials.
Development is indeed astonishing but it also possess a great threat to existing structure, in this case it is the library. An old structure from the old world that is gradually becoming extinct in our society but to an extent it relevance still remains.
In the olding days when Information was less accessible, one of the primary source of information and knowledge for everyone was library. A structure put in place to house all sort of books and materials to provide people with knowledge. As fulfilling as the existence of library was, one of the greatest disadvantage of it, is that, its significance lies in its physical existence. In those days scholars who are in need of specific material had to travel to the location where such material is being held, either in a public or private library just to have access to the information. Which makes the process of acquisition of knowledge less efficient.
The primary objective of development is to eradicate existing problems and proffer suitable solutions, in the quest for this we slowly stepped into the digital world. With the emergence of innovations of technology comes the internet, a ground breaking phenomenon that reshaped the world and the way we perceived it. The internet being a space with unlimited supply for information slowly diminished the importance of traveling thousands of miles just to access a book, when you can easily get hold of it online. Knowing this, humans focus shifted away from the relevance of library and opted for a more accessible means of information. The existing structure that has once reign supreme began to shrink in number, popularity and relevance.
Despite this, the existence of libraries still exist. In a way it evolved with the world or should I say it continues to have something the internet can't easily supply. Due to copyright issues or some policy regarding the disclosure of some materials, not all materials exist on the internet especially the vintage ones. The library continues to be one of the only places where such materials can be accessed. It is quite evident that some materials lack soft copies because some of these materials were not created using a computer, some were handwritten or through a typewriter. Even if lot of content creators and authors have tried to transcribe most of this relics by providing a modern version of it, not all can be accounted for online.
But then, it still makes you wonder, is that the only reason why libraries are still needed? I mean we still have them in various academic institutions, not just old schools but the newly built ones. Are they not aware of the digital world? Why do they continue to replicate a structure of the old world? At some point we all realised that it is not about the era a structure is from but what it symbolises as. Library continues to be a safe space were people could relax and learn. A structure that continues to promote the importance of acquisition of knowledge which is what every academic institution is all about.
Are libraries still needed in this digital age? Yes they do, not because the information contained within the walls of most libraries are not available on the internet but because of what the existence of a library stands for. Though the nature of libraries have changed, instead of being a closed wall where books and learning materials are kept, it has also evolved beyond its analogue nature. Most libraries of this digital age now have a functioning internet connection and computers. Which is something that was never part of the structure of library in the olding days, probably due to its evolvement, it has also made it possible for it to keep a fraction of its relevance in this modern age.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Who needs libraries" in hive learners community.
Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺
Image 1 - Source
Image 2 - Source
