"2004 Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers" by OCLC Marketing staff
This article resonated with me in many ways. I'm definitely part of that older (I don't know about richer!) demographic that has no problem with the new technologies. I'm past the half century mark but I have 2 cell phones, an MP3 player, have participated in blogs (and now have my own!), have bought many individual songs, borrowed digital texts from the e-library supported by my local library system, am on my fourth PC which I want to replace soon, work almost exclusively at home via the internet, will be looking for a laptop soon so I can take advantage of free wireless so I can work whenever and whereever I want to, and have done a lot of internet research for various purposes. I know from personal experience, and sometime frustration, that the trend toward consumer defined containers is here to stay. However, I can't help but hope that the traditional book and library will continue to have a place in our society. I have a little girl; we love to be on the computer together. She learned to click and hold with the mouse at 18 months old. As exciting as that was for me, it cannot compare to seeing her delight at the picture books at our local branch library, or snuggling with her in a chair to look at a beautiful new book or magazine and reading a bedtime story to her with all the drama I can muster. It's not just fiction though; she loves non-fiction, too. I want both options open to me; so I guess I am exactly like the information consumers defined in this article!
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1 comment:
I understand you perspective well. I am also a bit older but somewhat technologically savvy. I truly love going to the library or bookstore and browsing for books. When I read about doing away with the containers I think that would be terrible. On the other hand, when I read an article that shows how technologically great a library can be I feel that is a beautiful thing as well. And watching my children grow up using a computer like pros I am amazed, proud and thankful that they can do that.
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