Eric Lease Morgan wrote:
> .... Google has (more or less) solved the discovery problem. It is
> time to move on to the more challenging aspects of library service --
> putting the information to use.
>
But Google expressly states its mission as being "to make the world's
knowledge universally accessible and useful".
That would put libraries on their way out? But actually, that statement
is hugely euphoric, not to say hubristic. Libraries will, for more
than one reason, be needed for some time to come. One reason being that
the body of scanned books, as of yet, is nowhere near exhaustive in
its coverage but still in the 1-digit percentages, or so I believe.
Predictions for any longer term are, as always, impossible. (If it
turned out that only copyright laws stand in the way of a totally
digital future, then that would of course not be the most convincing
raison d'être for libraries.)
B.Eversberg
Received on Wed Sep 09 2009 - 08:37:09 EDT