Libraries as Technology Innovators

Wow, Someone Predicted That?

Even though librarians clearly weren't technology experts during the dawn of computing, libraries played a large role in introducing computers to the public by providing access services and learning along with the community on how it all worked. Since being thrust into this situation, library news started actively keeping tabs on the latest in technology including highlighting new printers and other technological advancements in library publications as well as publishing predictions of technology in the future. During my research, I enjoyed finding a couple of snippets in American Libraries that informed librarians of technology that may soon be available. I was absolutely shocked at one I saw in particular from 1988 that you can see here (you may need to login). Some major ones included:

• Hypertext and hypermedia - the ability to look at the footnotes on one article and be able to click on a reference and jump instantly to another article and other relevant sources, and then be able to switch back to the original article.
• Artificial Intelligence - technology that learns as it gathers more information and stores it until it is asked for.
• E-books - a "small, hand-held flat recording device able to replay text as a portable cassette player that replays sound. Librarians who argued that mass storage devices could never replace the book may be wrong - you can cuddle up with the E-book."

I think those "E-books" sound a lot like Audiobooks! What's incredible is that the three technologies that I've highlighted above that were predicted in the late 80s do exist today.

LIBRARIES OF THE FUTURE!

We are about to enter the next chapter of computing in libraries, which is the invention of the internet and what happened when libraries started offering internet services. More and more articles begin to surface depicting libraries that offer internet access as a "Library of the Future" because the one thing that was considered more amazing that offering public access to computers was public access to internet.