Are libraries going to disappear?

The author, who is one of the most eminent Italian scholars of Library History and Bibliography, deals with the fate of libraries in the technological age. Until the half of the past century, it would not be possible to think about libraries disappearance, because they were considered fortresses of...

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Main Author: Alfredo Serrai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2016-09-01
Series:JLIS.it
Online Access:https://jlis.fupress.net/index.php/jlis/article/view/154
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author Alfredo Serrai
author_facet Alfredo Serrai
author_sort Alfredo Serrai
collection DOAJ
description The author, who is one of the most eminent Italian scholars of Library History and Bibliography, deals with the fate of libraries in the technological age. Until the half of the past century, it would not be possible to think about libraries disappearance, because they were considered fortresses of civil advancement and because even the idea of their destruction would be considered a barbarity. Nowadays, we are facing a profound crisis that led to radical transformations. In the current scenario, libraries are condemned to be "irrelevant" and the only way to control their decline is to transform them into museums, making collections available and preserving library buildings. These opinions are also true with respect to less prestigious libraries, whose collections often testify the history of a territory or a community. A honest reflection on the future of libraries could not take into account "the cultural realities in the different layers of society, of their tendencies, of their needs, and of the technological ways already existing for their satisfaction".
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spelling doaj.art-b9fa10e29e34469489b60265f0de72ba2023-08-22T16:29:12ZengFirenze University PressJLIS.it2038-10262016-09-0173Are libraries going to disappear?Alfredo SerraiThe author, who is one of the most eminent Italian scholars of Library History and Bibliography, deals with the fate of libraries in the technological age. Until the half of the past century, it would not be possible to think about libraries disappearance, because they were considered fortresses of civil advancement and because even the idea of their destruction would be considered a barbarity. Nowadays, we are facing a profound crisis that led to radical transformations. In the current scenario, libraries are condemned to be "irrelevant" and the only way to control their decline is to transform them into museums, making collections available and preserving library buildings. These opinions are also true with respect to less prestigious libraries, whose collections often testify the history of a territory or a community. A honest reflection on the future of libraries could not take into account "the cultural realities in the different layers of society, of their tendencies, of their needs, and of the technological ways already existing for their satisfaction".https://jlis.fupress.net/index.php/jlis/article/view/154
spellingShingle Alfredo Serrai
Are libraries going to disappear?
JLIS.it
title Are libraries going to disappear?
title_full Are libraries going to disappear?
title_fullStr Are libraries going to disappear?
title_full_unstemmed Are libraries going to disappear?
title_short Are libraries going to disappear?
title_sort are libraries going to disappear
url https://jlis.fupress.net/index.php/jlis/article/view/154
work_keys_str_mv AT alfredoserrai arelibrariesgoingtodisappear