Welcome to the library. Say goodbye to the books.
by David Abel, September 4 2009
"This year, after having amassed a collection of more than 20,000 books, officials at the pristine campus...have decided the 144-year-old school no longer needs a traditional library. The academy’s administrators have decided to discard all their books and have given away half of what stocked their sprawling stacks - the classics, novels, poetry, biographies, tomes on every subject from the humanities to the sciences. The future, they believe, is digital.
'When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,' said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus. 'This isn’t Fahrenheit 451. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.'"
and what the school will be replacing the library with includes flat screen TVs, e-readers, desks for students to bring their own laptops, and a cappuccino machine. i wish i were joking.
"We see this as a model for the 21st-century school"
once more, i fear the future.
