your perception of what libraries are may be at odds with the present
reality in many parts of the world. You mean to describe what you think
will happen to public libraries, and it is important to say that, since
there will always exist 'private' or institutional libraries. Now, think
virtual libraries. Public libraries, too, at least in my part of the
world, as well as storing and lending out books in physical form, are
embracing technology. There are a considerable number of people who
access computers in the public library, who don't have their own. There
are a great many books that will never be made available in audio, or
electronically (despite the best efforts of Google; because of copyright
holders' resistance): the fact that books are electronically published
doesn't mean that they are automatically made accessible: and people
here may be forgetting braille, literacy, and the need for them, both.
Now I'll leave you with this thought: Without 'libraries', there is no
future for 'books' as such, and please note the quotation marks.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry Brown" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 5:57 PM
Subject: [VICUG-L] the future of books and NLs
Hi Nan and all,
Nan brings up great points!
First of all, she is completely right that the blind should have same
day access to books that the sighted have!
The wonderful thing about that point is, with computers and scanners,
and even better, with e-readers which are now on cell phones, work as
software on computers, or, with most books being available as audio
books these days, NLS will no longer be needed in a few years.
If NLS was done away with today, it wouldn't bother me at all! I'm on a
fixed income, like many blind folks, but if I really want to read a
book, I can call Barns and Knoble, and tell them what I want, and order
it over the phone. I didn't know you could do that till I did it 2
years ago!
Secondly, libraries in general are really, a thing of the past. With
cell phone availability, and e-readers, and scanners, and scanning
software, anybody can read books if they want to.
I can say with certainty, that as governments are basically broke,
you're gonna see libraries closing, all over the country, in
communities. The tax payers only want to pay for essential services,
such as police and fire, and not libraries. Fortunately, we are living
in the greatest time of the world, as far as technology is concerned.
Harry
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