I am sitting in a library contemplating technology. People come here all the time, but an extremely low percentage of the people here will touch any of the library’s books today. While the shelves hold thousands of books, the computers here hold virtually endless information on almost any subject. As I look around me, almost everyone is using a computer. But then, almost all of them also have a smaller version of a computer in their pocket.
Modern technology allows them to access the Internet almost anywhere. And I thought it was amazing that my little USB drive that I carry holds hundreds of pictures that chronicle the last couple years of my life. The iPod in my pocket holds a couple thousand songs — but if I get tired of the songs I actually have, I can use any number of apps to listen to whatever I don’t own. My parents remember using typewriters. I remember dial-up Internet. Maybe one day my children will look back and vaguely remember books — and they’ll wonder why people ever went to the library.
Jason Christensen
Orem