Reading Assignment #1

When DaVinci died and left his masterpieces of art, inventions, and writings, he had no idea what would become of them. Even as they passed through countless hands and libraries, the collection maintained and is preserved today. Thanks to the help of libraries collections like DaVinci's can stay safe and preserved. It is unfortunate that the works of many brilliant people might be lost and never discovered because they were not taken care of or preserved. I was lucky enough to travel to Italy a few summers ago and actually stayed in Vinci, the birthplace of Leonardo. We went to the farmhouse that he was born at, and also the Museo Leonardiano, which is a museum of some of his inventions that were drawn in his notebooks. It is amazing to think that his work impacted so many lives, countries, and even technology today. With Gutenberg's invention of the printing press and Andrew Carnegie's funding for public libraries, the archives of information was vast. Now there are ten key trends that are affecting the development of the next generation library. Communication will change, technologies that we have now will be replaced, and global information will be heavily impacted.
The future of libraries is almost scary to think about. Will there even be bookshelves in 50 years? I think technology is a great thing and it has improved the way of life tremendously. However, it has also spoiled us. When my phone quit working for 3 days I had never felt more out of loop before. Not only that, but I couldn't take or place any calls for work, school, or friends. Frey mentioned that 66% of young people surf the web and watch TV at the same time and that could not be more true. Sometimes I even watch TV on my computer. I think that libraries should embrace the newest technologies and use it as a way to grow. Frey's recommendations for libraries are a very good way to get started. The future is coming quick and we don't want to be left behind.