Thomas Frey. The Future of Libraries Beginning the Great Transformation http://davinciinstitute.com/page.php?ID=120

Frey begins the article by explaining the importance of libraries in the past. According the Frey libraries played an important role in the preservation of Da Vinci’s artwork but it makes one wonder what has been lost in the past that could have been saved by libraries. Frey identifies 10 trends in technology and says that books are a form of technology and so is writing but literacy will be dead by 2050. The ten trends are: Communication systems are continually changing the way people access information, All technology ends. All technologies commonly used today will be replaced by something new, We haven’t yet reached the ultimate small particle for storage. But soon, Search Technology will become increasingly more complicated, Time compression is changing the lifestyle of library patrons, Over time we will be transitioning to a verbal society, The demand for global information is growing exponentially, The Stage is being set for a new era of Global Systems, We are transitioning from a product-based economy to an experience based economy, Libraries will transition from a center of information to a center of culture. Frey includes recommendations for libraries to improve to fit into the future needs of people as technology changes.
I agree with Frey that libraries need to adapt to current technology but I get the impression from reading his article that he believes that libraries are not adapting on their own. Libraries have been adapting to technology for along time now and I believe that libraries are already centers of culture, although this is more true for some libraries than others. In my opinion libraries would be more of centers of culture if they had more funding. It is a question of not what libraries want to do it is a question of what libraries can do.