The Future of Public Libraries - Ten Years from now

Image Source Pixabay

Hi Hivers and book lovers, today as I was looking through the votes I got on my previous post I noticed that the Hive Book club community had voted for me. (Thanks ‘Hive Book Club’ for voting my post up) I am ashamed to say that I've been active here for a month and half and didn't know the existence of this community. To make things right I decided to join in the community challenge right away as today is the last day to get my entry in. Let me start right at the beginning.

My first experience of a public library

We didn't have too many public libraries where I grew up, the one near home didn't have much in it for children. However, when I first strolled into it with my dad as a child of five, I was warned a few dozen times that I could not talk once I entered the hallowed premises. Dad left me at the kids’ section before he went to pick himself a few books.

Source Pixabay

The first thing that hit my senses about this place was the smell of the old books. That is something I'll never forget. I fell in love at that very moment not even knowing what I fell in love with. The books in the kids’ section were in terrible shape, they were torn and tattered. I managed to find a Lady bug book by Enid Blyton and was fascinated by it.

When I went back home that evening the smell of the public library remained with me. The images fascinated me, tickled my imagination and caused me to dream of lady bugs for nights without end. Since then, I have been in love with books. As a child the covers of the book often grabbed my attention, the images and the presentation often held me captive at first sight.

Source Pixabay

Children Ten Years From Now

Ten years from now would children even experience the smell of old books or a public library? Would they be fascinated by the cover images or the beauty of the gold gilt edged books? Would they even hold a paper and print book in their hands and feel the thrill of having bought themselves a ticket to paradise? Books were the most precious gifts to me as a child. They made my sick days( I had many of those then) away from school bearable.

Image Source Pixabay

The present Reality

I don't read books anymore. Wait before you jump the gun, I mean real paper and ink books. My husband got me a Kindle from Amazon a few years ago, it is easy on my eyes and it gets me a wide variety of books for a small price. While the joy of reading is still there, however, the trill of holding a book in my hands, smelling the pages and the excitement of getting my chores done quickly to get back to my books is now lost. I read on the go and somehow the trill of reading is not there anymore.

Image Source Pixabay

Public Libraries Ten Years From Now

Ten years from now books may be read but not seen. I guess children may have to go to a public library which I think would then be converted into a museum of books and writing aids just to see the books and read about the history of books. The pandemic has already made books redundant to kids. Even children in the underdeveloped nations of the world read from their parents’ phones today.

The fast-paced advancement that technology is seeing today added to the problem of climate change we are facing right now may make books a scarce commodity. I can imagine rare and valuable books in good condition fetching their owners millions of dollars at Sotheby's.

Even tablets and phones which we now use for reading could find their place in these museums by then. We may be reading books from wearable stickers which could become our phone, music gadget, GPS, etc basically a single interface for all our needs.

My idea of Public Libraries in the age of technology - Ten Years From Now

My imagination runs wild when I think of what would become of public libraries if technological development advances at its current pace or even accelerates. Public libraries would then be ‘the place’ to go to on the weekends. You don't get me? Read on.

Public libraries would have become a one stop shop for massages, personal grooming, a place for enjoying culinary delights and much more. While the connoisseur would have the chosen book read to him/her by AI (artificial Intelligence) nanny, he/she could enjoy any of the services his/her mind could conceive of while he/she is there. A fancy haircut, an excellent choice of wine or perhaps a head to toe massage could all be a part of the package.

There would be so many options to choose from. This dilettante of books could choose the kind of voice he/her would like have the book to be read in, while he/she reclines in a couch meant to relax and massage his/her body gently while the mind is at work.

Private rooms/spaces like the ones we currently have at clubs could be had for a price to make the reading experience a relaxing, healing and soothing experience.

If the aesthete does not want to have his/her book read by AI's synthetic voice, he/she could just have his/her own voice read it to him/her without having to physically do it. The mind would do the job for him or her at his pace and at his/her comfort level. (Remember Stephen Hawking's machine this would be even better though.)

Image Source Pixabay

The user could have virtual reality gadgets set up his/her room ambience for him/her. This could transport the user to the deserts of Arabia or the grasslands of Savanna or the Mediterranean seashores as he/she listens to their book.

The smells, the sounds, the music of the chosen ambiance could magically fill their private space and the user could be transported to that very place virtually as the book is being read.

Technology could help the user to relive the magic of the book by perhaps virtually transporting him/her into a 13th century monastery in France in nano seconds where the story is set.

The user could choose to become the protagonist and live the story out virtually in front of his/her eyes using virtual reality technology.

VR could bring all other characters to life for a extra small price which could be debited through the wearable sticker pasted on his/her body or the chip implanted in the body of the user.

The reading experience of the user could be heightened to the level of a drama/theater experience with various characters playing out the roles.

The user would have the luxury of choosing Angelina Jolie, Richard Gere, Tom Cruise or any of the thousands of Hollywood or local actors to suit their fancy at a price.

Reading a book would no more be the humble experience that we relate to today. It wouldn’t just be about our emotions and imagination; it would become a whole new sensual experience by itself. Well, I'd like to stop here and let your imagination run wild.

Public libraries could be adventure zones and Shakespearean theaters in another ten years if technology advances at the pace at which it is moving now. Who knows we could be doing all this on the Moon or maybe Mars if Elon Musk has his way!

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I'd love to hear from you.