Technology and Libraries

What will become of our libraries with the further development of technology? Will books become obsolete within the libraries? Will our future societies use only computers or E-Books when going to the library? How will our children learn in the future, will they use paper books or will they use the computer? These are only just a few questions that people today are beginning to ask. There are many other questions that are left unanswered; however, I think these are the questions that many people think about today.

As everyone knows our society is changing fast, sometimes too fast. Everywhere you look there are computers, some small, and some big. So we all use some type of technology everyday of almost every minute of our lives. Libraries are changing just as fast too. They have to in order to keep up with the changing societies, otherwise if they don't people will not use them and libraries will seize to exist. To keep that from happening libraries must update their resources.

Most libraries are now computerized. Some libraries are now using E-Books, which are another type of technology. What are E-Books you ask? Well, E-Books are small computers that can hold your standard size book, however, only the book itself is stored on a disk or a chip inside the computer. E-books can hold many large size novels, which actually helps so you don't have to carry a lot of books at once. However, some libraries consider them to be too bulky and cumbersome for people to carry around. Also, E-Books cost a lot of money and libraries are limited to how much they can spend. Yet there are libraries that have begun to get them.

E-Books seem to be a pretty good idea for libraries, but until they go down in cost very few libraries will have them available for the public.

Libraries are part of our society and we rely on them. They will definitely change along with our society, and it is unlikely that we will lose our books. They will always be a part of us one way or another.

(Adapted from Techno and Libraries, Jannifer H. http://caxton.stockton.edu/HS6/stories/storyReader$5)

Comprehension check

1. Answer the following questions.

1. Does the author sound optimistic or pessimistic about the future of libraries?

2. What should libraries be like not to disappear?

3. What is an E-book?

4. Why are E-books not widely available for the public?

5. What fact about modern libraries upsets the author? Why?

Listening

Recording 3.2

1. Which of the following adjectives can be used with the noun goal? Use a dictionary if necessary.

ambitious available accessible ultimate unabashed achievable innovative

2. Match the verbs in A with the nouns they often go with in B.

to equalize	books
to digitize	access
to scan	opportunities
to have	information
to disseminate	published works
to lend	materials

3. Listen to the programme about the Universal Digital Library and answer the questions.

1. When and where was the Universal Digital Library started?

2. What is the purpose behind this project?

3. What kinds of published works does the library include?

4. How many works are planned to digitize?

5. How many of them have already been added to the library collection?

6. How are works selected to be digitized?