I'm Okay If Amazon Replaces Drugstores But We Better Not Let It Replace Libraries

September 14, 2011 - 11:41am — stevenj

From an essay whose author thinks it would be a downright shame to let Amazon marginalize the public library: To lose bookstores hurts. But the idea of the library itself being supplanted by e-commerce is downright dystopian. Blockbuster was just a video store, Tower Records just a music store. But a public library is something ineffable and sacrosanct, a cornerstone of democracy. Libraries were the first pillars of the DIY movement, long before the age of Make and Etsy--they offered a do-it-yourself education, free of charge. No one is actually accusing Amazon of killing the library, the way Netflix pretty much killed Blockbuster. But as the e-book revolution continues to erode the physicality of books, we should ensure that it doesn't erode. Read more at:
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/helloworld/27158/?nlid=nlcomp&nld=2011-09-14