Synthesis Essay: Is It Important To Modernize Libraries?

For libraries to remain a place for a lively exchange of ideas, librarians should be armed with the right knowledge and strong conviction to preserve people’s rights.

Reading today is a lot different then it was in the year 868 AD; when the first book was published in China. You know a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers. Society today is so advanced that everything we do is constantly changing whether we realize it or not. For example, the book, before people would go to a bookstore or library to get the books they were interested in. Today society is making fewer trips to the bookstore and library, and making purchases of novels on their e-readers in the comfort of their own home. With these e-readers you can simply purchase any book you would like, some books being under a buck or even free, saving you a trip to the bookstore. E-readers

The author starts off with a rhetorical question: “What kind of problem is a library?” urging the readers to think about this question as they continue to read the article. The question grabs the readers’ attention, and intrigues them to read on to find and answer. She further utilizes this technique of rhetorical questions throughout the article for the same purpose of emphasis on the vitality of the role of public libraries. Moreover, Smith extensively employs the use of metaphors and personification. For example, she describes the internet as libraries’ “universal death knell”, which portrays the internet’s negative impact on the development of

When Faber described how the books went out, he said, “No on waned them back. No one missed them. And then the government seeing how it advantageous was, to only have people reading about passionate lips and fists to the stomach, circled your situation with the fire eater” (Bradbury 85). The people did away with the books on their own and the government took control. Even the people who wanted books were not getting any good information because all of them revolved around nonsense. Many of the people had some kind of technology to read with rather than using a book or newspaper. When people start using electronic stuff it really throws out the need for books. To completely get rid of the books, it was very easy for the government since they saw that the people had lost interest in books. The technology did not only make people get rid of books, but also their social lives. Most people would much rather cuddle up with a kindle or something than an actual book. People also stopped spending time with their kids because it’s better to give them something to play on than listen to them whine. The kids could be learning valuable information with the stuff that their parents get them but instead they waste their time turning their brains to mush by watching dumb things like shopkins. No offense to the people that actually enjoy watching those

T.T.: "Yes, the area is more safe, and the community is more involved. Library gets involve with the community, pitches ideas to the city. People use the library as a resource, use it as a guide.”

The London Public Library is an organization spanning the city of London, delivering services from 16 physical locations. The core services of the library include reference, reader’s advisory and referral; collections and lending; technology services; programming and community outreach. The library is focused on literacy, learning, culture/leisure/recreation, information and community meeting place. The past few years have seen significant resources pegged towards fund raising strategies, resulting in other areas of the organization being neglected and

As public libraries struggle to remain relevant in today’s society and respond to the changing needs of older adult patrons it is important to become more

The author of this article Mrs. Denise Davis is the director of the Office for Research and Statistics of the American Library Association. This means that Mrs. Davis is able to access and is responsible for the reports mandatory for each library across America to turn in each fiscal year, these reports are used to determine what changes the libraries need to make to better serve the public. Given her credibility to write on such topics she then chooses a topic each year to write on to prepare libraries and librarians across the country for the upcoming years. In 2010 Mrs. Davis choose to write on eBooks and their increasing popularity throughout the American population as well as the difficulties libraries have encountered in the past fiscal year to compete with eBooks. Because this article is written in 2010 it shows just how long libraries have struggled with the topic of eBooks and can demonstrate the new policies that have been used by the libraries throughout the past four years. This information can help my research in showing how eBooks have affected the library's behavior, and consequently give me the statistics needed to show the effects of eBooks on the libraries throughout the recent years. Understanding this source is outdated other sources will also likely be used in my final project from the American Library Association websites of statistics of more recent years.

As a new revolution rears its head due to rapidly evolving technology, many are becoming concerned with the potential problems that e-books could present. Ms. Elliot, a retired librarian, expresses her apprehension and concern for this electronic book form through a speech conducted at the “Reading: the future” forum. Directing her speech to mainly booklovers, she also reaches out to parents whose children will be most affected by the development of e-books.

The library I volunteered at is run by the high school, Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute (C.I.). The school was founded in 1979 and was named after Norman Bethune; a well-known Canadian doctor. He was best known for his services during World War I and his dedication to helping the poor in Canada. Moreover, over these past few years, the school has prospered beautifully and has had many renovations and changes. For example, two years ago, the school’s library had a huge makeover. The library was given new furniture to allow to have students a better working space. Similarly, the library moved shelves around in order to make it more convenient for everyone to access books. Ultimately, Dr. Norman Bethune C.I. has it in their best interest to provide students with the tools they need to succeed in education. In other words, the school displays good citizenship by assisting their students.

As new technologies are rapidly introduced, people are able to find any information with the access of internet. This leads to people questioning the relevance of libraries and its true purpose. Public libraries cultivate the value of increased education and a social unity to advancing as a society.

The public would benefit by having immediate access to numerous texts in almost every subject; libraries would no longer be limited to what can be stored on shelves. Researchers would be able to access information instantly, enabling them to work faster, smarter and more efficiently towards their goal. Arguably the most beneficial part of a digital library would be instant translation. Texts of all genres

The Laurentian Library was commissioned and constructed by Michelangelo beginning in the early 1520’s in Florence, Italy. The library was a turning point for architecture in how buildings were artistically conceptualized. The library was built to house the 4,500 printed books and the the 11,000 family manuscripts of the Medici family. It was made for the Pope at the time, Pope Clement VII, who was a Medici. The library was meant to display the Medici family’s intelligence and to celebrate knowledge. The library was built on top of an existing convent at the Church of San Lorenzo. It was made up of two connecting parts, the vestibule with a staircase and a long reading room. The design of the library, especially the vestibule, is one of his most exceptional architectural achievements. Michelangelo had a vision to build a skylight in the vestibule, but this idea was shut down, and clerestory windows where built into the west wall instead. The windows are framed with pietra serena. Columns rest inside the walls, which appear to be supported on consoles. The texture between these columns is like a taut skin stretched out between them. The dramatic vestibule is a square area that is 48 feet high with a stone staircase that takes up most of the room. It is shocking that the vestibule is almost half as tall as it is wide. The stairs were constructed in such a complex way, and rarely has architecture ever portrayed such style that brings dynamic movement and drama. It is said the

Since their establishment, libraries have served as a gateway to knowledge and services that revolutionized the way the public attains information. Unlike many other institutions, public libraries have grown and evolved along with society by adopting new technology and offering resources tailored to the needs of their local community.

During the development of technology, most people have shifted to use electronic books to read both academic and non-academic texts. However, despite the technological changes, there has been a wide debate about the benefits of paper books over the e-books. It is important to understand that various reasons are suggesting why people should shift back to using the traditional books rather than the electronic ones. Even though some think that e-books are better that traditional ones, I believe that readers should return to traditional books because of various reasons.