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Libraries without books
Published: 9/10/2009 3:17 PM
Last Modified: 9/10/2009 3:17 PM

A story in today's Boston Globe details how a Massachusetts prep school has rid its library of the 20,000 or so books that it once owned, and will be replacing them with electronic readers, widescreen televisions and a coffee shop with a $12,000 espresso machine.

Read the story: A library without the books

As someone whose fondness for books and libraries is such that he remembers the time he was accidentally locked inside the library at the University of Oklahoma as not an unpleasant experience, this news is disturbing.

Understandable, maybe even inevitable. But still disturbing.

It's understandable because so much of our society and technology discounts, even demeans, the idea of the written word.

The thought of taking pains to craft one's words, because you know they are going to be committed to a medium that has some air of permanence to it, is becoming an increasingly foreign concept.

The thought of reading anything that does not easily fit onto a single computer -- or even cellular telephone -- screen -- can send some people into a panic.

The main thing I get from this story out of Boston is that this particular school does not want it students to discover anything new on their own. Because that is what a library of books offers -- a place to discover something you never imagined before.

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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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Archive

Past Articles By James D. Watts Jr

2/15/2013		'Concept/OK' exhibit ends Saturday
2/14/2013		Symphony to host piano soloist
2/14/2013		Broadway tours bring 'Shrek,' improv musical to Tulsa area this weekend
2/14/2013		Arts roundup: Improv reigns at several upcoming theater events
2/14/2013		'Lion King' returns to Tulsa PAC June 4
2/12/2013		Review: Signature Symphony reprises '100 Years of Oklahoma Music'
2/11/2013		Tulsa Symphony's concert salutes diverse American music
2/10/2013		Cherokee artist weaves messages into baskets
2/10/2013		Tesla Quartet set for Tulsa residency next week with variety of activities
2/10/2013		Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award
2/10/2013		LBJ chronicler Robert Caro to speak at TU on Tuesday
2/9/2013		Theater review: Playhouse makes "Barefoot in the Park" believable

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