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Greetings! I was recently thinking - what would the library look like if the initial concept was created in the 21st century, rather than in the past?
What I mean is: what are the values of the community that the library should exemplify? Of course, the libraries at the turn of the 20th century were a bit different - the old Carnegie building on Van Buren had a men only smoking room in the basement! But at the same time in the late 19th and early 20th century there was a push in America for individual thought, knowledge, and ingenuity. Regular people could read and write, kids should attend school to learn, and information should be shared and not commodified. Monterey holds the claim for the first public library in California in 1849, but I would argue that the library really set roots once the Carnegie Library was built, and library operations transferred from a volunteer based group to a dedicated city operation. Literal and physical pillars to the individual spirit of growth and learning expanded across America. Check out our brief history here.
So what do you think? How would a library look if the initial *idea* of a public library was created in the 21st century? What innovations would have been missed if people hadn't read and dreamed in a book? Looking at their original roots, would companies like Amazon exist as it is today?
In my opinion, a library that was created in the 21st century would resemble something out of a sci-fi novel. AI avatars would scan you in and help you find what you need based on your search and purchasing history. Book recommendations would be through a paywall. Data would be reciprocal. Shelf space would be by highest bidder. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I'm just not sure a library (or our communities) would be the same if the concept wasn't supported early on as part of American culture.
By the way - did you know that the eBook platform Overdrive aka Libby was created by a Librarian?
Warmly~
Brian
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