Across the country — including in Austin — academic, public and school libraries are going through a kind of renaissance, reinventing themselves as they experiment with their services and spaces. At some libraries you can now build custom creations with 3-D printers, run your business from a shared work space or even record a music album. Reed calls the transformation “the second Gutenberg revolution,” referencing the creator of the printing press. And like any revolution, it also comes with some fears and concerns about a future that’s rapidly changing. When she gives presentations about the topic, she typically throws out a few sentences like: It’ll destroy culture. It’ll make people lazy. Then she asks people to guess what these sentences are about. “Internet! Television!,” people will answer. Reed says these statements were actually made about Gutenberg when the masses could have access to anything in print. “Many of the things that people are concerned about around technology or how information is dispersed is the same as people felt 500 years ago,” she says. There’s a sentimentality around the book, she says, “because of how we grew up with books in our homes and what the reading experience has meant to us.” So libraries often play a tricky balancing act, providing what communities still need now while also shifting toward the demands on the horizon. In 2013, San Antonio opened the country’s first bookless library. In Austin, in addition to the physical libraries, patrons also have access to a virtual library, which offers everything from downloadable books to access to magazines and newspapers from around the world. Reed foresees the publishing distribution model changing in the future, but says books and printed materials aren’t going away entirely anytime soon. “No one has to worry,” she says. “We’re interested in providing the content in whatever container people are using at the time,” adds Kanya Lyons, Austin Public Library spokeswoman.“We’re not pushing e-books, and we’re not saying we’re not going to have regular books. It’s what the people want.” Capturing community spirit As more people want to talk, learn and share at the library, it’s becoming less of a repository for information and increasingly tapping into the community spirit by bringing people together. Last year, the Ferguson Public Library gained national attention when it kept its doors open following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown and the grand jury decision not to charge the police officer who shot him. When riots and unrest swept the city and caused schools to close, the library instead put out a call for volunteers on social media. It held impromptu classes for students, provided space for community leaders to meet and put together healing kits for children. News of the library’s efforts quickly went viral and donations poured in from across the country as people recognized the powerful connection a library can have with its community. Community is at the heart of plans for Austin’s new central library, which is expected to open in 2016. It’ll be a “library of the future,” which emphasizes technology as well as community gathering spaces like atriums, a gallery, bookstore and cafe. Movable bookshelves will give the library wiggle room in case it eventually needs more space. Reading porches overlooking Shoal Creek and Lady Bird Lake promise to keep tranquil nooks alive. “We can download all the books we want,” Lyons says. “But people also want to interact. And without the people, it’s just a storehouse of stuff.”
The rise of technology has changed how students gain knowledge, challenging both school and public libraries" traditional roles as curators of academic knowledge. In response, libraries are rethinking the services they provide, behaving as more of a tech-savvy community centre. In 2013, San Antonio opened the country"s first bookless library, and in many towns (in addition to the physical libraries), patrons have access to a virtual library, which offers everything from downloadable books to access to magazines and newspapers from around the world.