With the need to acquire and store new up-to-date books, managing traditional school libraries is costly. However, despite those efforts, with advancing technology, students find it more efficient to work on the Internet.
Cushing Academy, a boarding school in Massachusetts, transformed its library last fall by giving away almost 20,000 books in favor of going completely digital.
“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ headmaster James Tracy said. “This isn’t ‘Fahrenheit 451’ [the 1953 novel in which books are banned]. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.’’
Take a virtual tour of the new library.
Listen to the story on NPR.
Should schools work to maintain their traditional libraries? Are there any consequences to having more access to computers than to print books?
E-mails have replaced writing letters. Texting has replaced ordinary phone conversation. Today’s students flock to the Internet for answers before looking in a book. In a generation driven by technology, I believe the switch to a bookless campus is necessary.
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