Speaking Volumes

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SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

A bookless library...

This week I read an article from the Boston Globe that shocked me. Get this; Cushing Academy, a prep school in Ashburnham, MA, has decided to get rid of ALL the books in their library to build a completely digital library. Here are just a few of the details:

Instead of stacks they are spending $42,000 on three large flat screen TV’s.

$20,000 will go to special laptop friendly carrels.

They are replacing the reference desk with a $50,000 coffee shop, $12,000 of which will be going to a cappuccino machine.

They have purchased 18 electronic readers from Amazon and Sony for a total of 10,000. (How many students will have to share these 18 readers I wonder…)

James Tracy, the head master and head proponent of the bookless school is quoted as saying, “When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books.’’

To get the full story copy and paste the link below:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/04/a_library_without_the_books/

The whole thing sounds like an article from The Onion to me! First, I have to wonder what the parents think. This is a prep school, they are paying for their kids to attend, and now their kids won’t have access to books in the library, but they will have access to all the COFFEE they want. What happens when all this ‘cutting edge’ technology isn’t so cutting edge anymore? Something newer, faster, better, cheaper, smaller is always coming out…are they going to replace their whole entire library every few months? Is every student going to get a kindle? What if they spill their fancy cappuccino on their kindle – who’s going to replace it? (BTW – a book would just DRY and still be usable) What about the physical and eyesight problems associated with reading off a computer screen all the time?

I’m all for staying abreast of what’s new and using advances in technology to enhance education and learning. However, I just can’t see the students benefiting from the loss of their entire library of books. I’d love to hear your comments!

Add a comment (6 comments)

posted by Megan Q.

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Comments

CarolK said, on Sep. 25 at 9:43AM
I'm speechless!

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Su said, on Sep. 25 at 9:58AM
Sadly, I am not surprised, but I am still appalled. I'd read an article on this also about a week ago. I wonder what they'll do when they power goes out? I can say, if I were a parent at that school -no doubt paying a lot of tuition - my child would be withdrawn faster than one could say 'David Copperfield.'

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just me said, on Sep. 25 at 11:03AM
Oh my, this is the scariest ever! I honestly cannot believe that the headmaster of a good school could delude and lead the rest down a virtual primrose path. At huge and unnecessary expense. Let's forget about the sore neck scanning the screens,and possible problems with copyright infringements, to eradicate the book and replace it with a screen is grotesque. Of course there is a place for technology,(and of course the math teacher would agree with him) but to take away the close real relationship people have with books is to limit the way we will view the world. I could better understand if he were to add his technology, and leave the tactile friends where they were. And to say that students went to the library, but almost never went into the stacks means they were never led there, and that is a shame; not proof of their means to this end. You cannot open many screens simultaneously and spread them in front of you and go back, and forth, gently and increasingly gaining your insights. This is a drone-like future for humans, let's just get a brain implant and look out when the server crashes. I am horrified.

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Claudette said, on Sep. 25 at 12:23PM
Megan, This is really a tragedy. Thank you for sharing this with us. Truthfully, you are right about things always coming out that will be bigger and better. Their system will become outdated and will be completely useless whereas books are timeless. It's a shame that parents will pay to send their children their to become educated. Not the kind of education I would want for my child!

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bas bleu said, on Sep. 25 at 6:52PM
Both shocking and sad...

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Barb H. said, on Oct. 1 at 7:19AM
Pathetic, and narrow. Just the opposite of what this "headmaster" probably thinks he is (hip!) If you want to be advanced in your thinking make sure you have choices for ALL. I'm sure there are some students who actually like to read? What does this say for their scholastic endeavors if no one is to read? Not to mention, what if you don't like coffee?